Grantmakers in the Arts

(3-24-2011) Inaugural Talk Back blogger Isaac Butler's latest engaging post is titled "Let's Talk About Demand, Baby." A snippet:

In the face of this wondrous success, many in the funding sector (including the current chair of the NEA and the RAND corporation) have indicated that the time may have come for us to focus not on increasing supply and capacity but increasing demand.

Read more.

(3-22-2011) In an exhibition review for The Smart Set, Jennifer Fisher Wilson outlines the history of physician-artist collaborations, showcasing the many ways that artists have made important contributions to the field of medicine—from documenting specimens and procedures in the days before photography to a contemporary program at Yale University that teaches observation skills designed to fine-tune patient diagnosis.

For some interesting talking points on arts and health, read the full article here.

(3-22-2011) Ian David Moss of Fractured Atlas posts today on the NEA's Art Works blog:

The conversation we should be having is not about reducing supply. Instead it is about defining the responsibilities of cultural institutions to provide stewardship for a world in which supply of creative content is exploding and will never shrink. In this era of infinite choice, there is a desperate need for guidance as to how we should allocate the precious few hours that we have to experience something that will feed our souls, make us think differently, or incur a hearty laugh.

(March 21, 2011) - The President and CEO of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP), Sandra Gibson, announced today that she will step down at the end of this fiscal year (June 30, 2011) after eleven years at the helm of the nation's leading service organization for the performing arts presenting field. Gibson has served the Association since 2000 and is the fourth chief executive of the organization since its founding in 1957.

(3-21-2011) Be sure to check out the new GIA Talk Back series. It begins today with Isaac Butler at blogs.giarts.org/2011-talkback. If you use RSS to get new content delivered to your news feed, you can subscribe to the 2011 Talk Back series at blogs.giarts.org/2011-talkback/feed/.

(3-17-2011) An exciting new addition to the 2011 Web Conference Series lineup: On July 12, Salvador Acevedo, President of San Francisco-based Contemporánea, will present Cultural Participation in a Changing Society.

(03-16-2011) “Don’t judge me” is a line that my daughter started using in high school. It usually came after ordering dessert, talking about a party or spending money on something crazy. I’ve always liked it. It’s pretty honest. Whenever she saw “that look” on my face, she would say, “don’t judge me.” This made me stop and think about why I was being critical. Was it because she was doing something differently than I would do it or was there really an issue to be discussed? In our work in the arts, we might need more voices saying, “don’t judge me.”

(3-16-2011) From Cornelia Carey, Executive Director, Craft Emergency Relief Fund:

A number of you have written looking for suggestions about where to send contributions and aid. We strongly encourage supporting the first responders and want to pass along Network for Good’s list of some of them