Dance

On May 12th, more than 60 artists and creative organizers engaged in civic participation, community development, education, social justice activism, and philanthropy came together for a White House briefing on Art, Community, Social Justice, National Recovery.

The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, 4Culture, the Seattle Foundation and the Seattle Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs commissioned Helicon Collaborative to interview leaders of diverse cultural organizations in the Northwest to determine the impacts the economy is having on their institutions. The report was released on March 9, and GIA and Philanthropy Northwest hosted two conference calls with regional and national funders to hear a summary of the report and discuss possible action.

In late January GIA polled its 309 member organizations about their organization's responses to the economic downturn. 117 (38%) members responded, which provides a healthy sample of the membership.

Members reported their expected 2009 arts grantmaking would likely compare to 2008 as follows:

• 41% expected that 2009 would be the same as 2008.
• 13% expected that it would be reduced to 90% of 2008.
• 12% expected that it would be reduced to 80% of 2008.
• 11% expected that it would be reduced to 70% of 2008.

Memo
To: David Landers
From: Holly Sidford
Re: December 4 Conference Call
Date: December 29, 2008

As promised, this memo summarizes the main points I made during the conference call of Northwest area foundations on December 4. I apologize for the delay in getting these notes to you; pre-holiday deadlines seem to have stolen several weeks of my time. But I suspect with all the snow you've had, you may have lost a few work days yourself. I hope you are shoveled out and back in business.

2010, 48 pages, The Urban Institute, 2100 M Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20037, (202) 833-7200 http://www.urban.org

Download:

   The Diversity of Cultural Participation: Findings from a National Survey (299Kb)

"While arts organizations are skilled at devising creative ways to pursue audience engagement, choosing the right strategy for the right circumstances can be guesswork," writes Michael Moore, director of the The Wallace Foundation's arts program.

This landmark RAND study offers arts providers a methodical way to avoid hit-and-miss audience-building efforts that waste scarce resources and arrive instead at more clear-headed, effective strategies.

2004, 58 pages, Performing Arts Research Coalition, 1156 15th Street NW, Suite 810, Washington, D.C., 20005

Download:

We may go to the opera, live theater, or the symphony, but we don't stop to really think about how much these performances can mean to our daily lives and to our communities. Those performing arts organizations have been concentrating on this issue for years.

2010, 72 pages, The Urban Institute, 2100 M Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20037, (202) 833-7200 http://www.urban.org

Download:

   Reggae to Rachmaninoff (397Kb)