Public Agency

The following article is based on notes for a talk presented in June 2000 at Dance/USA's bi-annual conference, "New Directions in Moving Ground." Marda Kirn participated on a panel subtitled "Nurturing the Art of Creation" that invited panelists to talk about inventive ways that artists find time, space, and support to create new work.

Many years ago, I wanted to write a grant application to the NEA — as a kind of joke, and a kind of plea. I'd call it the Rip Van Winkle project.

2000, 218 pages, $19.95, Jossey-Bass

Don't let the medical bag with the big Red Cross on the cover of Alvin Reiss' CPR for Nonprofits fool you, the book is not about rescuing dying nonprofits. Instead it offers self-help for those willing to follow Reiss' prescription for breathing new life into organizations by identifying Challenges, developing a Plan and achieving Results.

2000, CD-ROM, The McKnight Foundation, 600 TCF Tower, 121 South Eighth Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402, (612) 333-4220.

This CD-ROM contains the results of The McKnight Foundation's recent study, the Cost of Culture, which polled 405 Minnesota artists about their economic and creative well-being. In 1996 the Foundation reported on the state of the arts in Minnesota, and now, as board chair Noa Staryk stated, "we felt it was time to take a closer look at the condition of individual artists."

June 2000, 89 pages, The Arts Marketing Center of the Arts & Business Council of Chicago.

Executive Summary and Report
Based on interviews by Morrie Warshawski and Dinah Zeiger
Contributors to preparation and editing: Sonja K. Foss, Krista Lewis, Glynis Jones, Daniel Buehler, and Daisy Whitney

1999, 54 pages; Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), Denver, Colorado, 303-629-1166.

National Arts Journalism Program, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, 2950 Broadway, Mail Code 7200, New York, New York 10027, 212-854-1912.

Policy Perspectives for Individuals, Institutions, and Communities
Edited by Gigi Bradford, Michael Gary, and Glenn Wallach
2000, 364 pages, $18.95 paper. The New Press, New York.

1995, 14 pages. Roadside Theater, 306 Madison Street, Whitesburg, Kentucky, 41858, 606-633-0108.

The Arts Education Partnership (AEP) is a private, nonprofit coalition of education, arts, business, philanthropic, and government organizations that was formed in 1995 through a cooperative agreement among four agencies: the NEA, the U.S. Education Department, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Its purpose is "to demonstrate and promote the essential role of arts education in enabling all students to succeed in school, life, and work.”

Most of us initially became acquainted with Kraft Foods as we consumed some of their products at an early age. My grandmother introduced me to the macaroni and cheese. Nowadays, I go for the Toblerone chocolate...frequently. Meanwhile, as the products filled our refrigerators and pantry shelves, the company thrived and so did the company's giving efforts, which date back to 1937.