Literary arts

In the spirit of our purported "national dialogue on race," it is appropriate to consider Faces at the Bottom of the Well, long one of my favorites on the topic. We, as grantmakers, certainly need to face this topic along with the rest of the nation. Although women have found a comfortable niche among grantmakers, there is still a considerable shortage of ethnicities in our ranks. As arts grantmakers, we also need to remember that the American arts first recognized in Europe and worldwide were the myriad arts forms of black America.

The following article is based on excerpts from a program examination by Arts Action Research.

Bimbo Rivas: Artist Profile

Annual GIA Conference
November 16-18, 1998
Titled "Art Under 21: At the Crossroads of Community and Youth Development," the 1998 annual conference of Grantmakers in the Arts will be held November 16-18 in Chicago. See related article in this issue. For more information call Marion Goldfinger, MacArthur Foundation 312-726-8000.

Call for Roundtable Topics

Lance T. Izumi is a senior fellow in California studies at the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy. The following text is based on a transcript of Izumi's remarks at a symposium sponsored by the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF). The topic of the two-day symposium was the support of visual artists. It was held in Seattle on December 4 and 5, 1997. The remarks are published here with permission of Izumi and WESTAF.

1996, 142 pages, National Endowment for the Arts, Seven Locks Press, Santa Ana, California, 800-354-5348

Hotel-Motel Taxes for the Arts
AMS Planning and Research, edited by Randy Cohen - 1996, 11 pages

Sales Taxes for the Arts
Duncan M. Webb, AMS Planning and Research - 1996, 15 pages

Amusement Taxes for the Arts
Martha I. Dodson, edited by Rachel S. Moore - 1997, 14 pages

Americans for the Arts Books c/o Whitehurst & Clark, 100 Newfield Avenue, Edison, New Jersey 08837, 800-321-4510 ext. 241, www.artsusa.org.

The Arts and the Public Purpose 92nd American Assembly

From May 29 through June 1 of this year, seventy-eight individuals interested in the arts in the United States came together for the 92nd American Assembly at Arden House in Harriman, New York to debate "The Arts and the Public Purpose." The American Assembly was established by Dwight D. Eisenhower at Columbia University in 1950. Each year it holds at least two nonpartisan meetings on topics related to United States policy, each of which gives rise to a book on the subject discussed.

During the summer of 1996, the National Association of Artists' Organizations (NAAO) conducted a series of "regional think-tank sessions" with NAAO members and their constituencies in twelve cities across the country. A concern heard throughout "A Dozen Dialogues" was the need to develop, nurture, and support artists and arts professionals who are new to the field. As an initial response, NAAO brought together ten young people under the age of thirty who were identified by NAAO members as emerging leaders.

Arts Loan Fund: The Northern California Grantmakers Arts Loan Fund (ALF) is conducting a survey of Bay Area arts organizations to determine the reasons for a marked reduction in applications to the Fund. Through the survey, ALF would like to learn: How often have organizations used the program in the past and why have they not applied for loans in the past twelve months? What is the current financial environment for arts nonprofits in the region? How do organizations see themselves evolving during the next several years? Do they encounter obstacles in applying for an ALF loan?

Intersections
This report began as a standard travelog, factual, but listless. The GIA conference title, Intersections, seemed appropriate, but irritating as it pricked at some memory I could not grasp.