The final session in our April webinar series will discuss how feedback and data can strengthen organizational and field-wide support to individual artists. Our presenters will address critical questions about research: Why is data important to collect? Within our organizations and field-wide, are we asking the right questions and measuring what matters? How do we meaningfully invite and integrate feedback that results in better outcomes? We will hear from Claudia Bach with AdvisArts who has recently conducted artist feedback projects with various types of funders, and from Heather Pontonio with Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation who will share information about Artist Thrive, the first national assessment tool to establish common standards, language, and goals for individual artist support.
This series is designed for organizational leaders and program staff of funding organizations who currently support or are considering support to individual artists, particularly through open application processes. It is free to the staff and board members of GIA member organizations. The fee for nonmembers is $35 per session, or $90 for the series pass.
Claudia Bach is noted for working with individual artists, public and nonprofit organizations, communities, and cross-sector initiatives to advance informed, imaginative, and purposeful change. Her work focuses on planning, research, strategy development, and training that stimulates new perspectives and generates effective action. She has presented and published on topics including support for individual artists, capacity building, audience participation, and intermediary funders. Claudia has established capacity building programs for artists and small arts organizations, and she is on the faculty of Seattle University’s MFA in arts leadership. Her particular interest in the issues and roles of the individual artist is reflected in recent projects with Artist Trust, Rasmuson Foundation, National Performance Network, Artists Up, as well as Grantmakers in the Arts' Research Initiative on Support for Individual Artists.
Heather Pontonio is the art program director at the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation (EHTF) where she has worked since April 2012. Heather oversees the national art program portfolio focused on professional practices for both artists and contemporary art curators. EHTF’s signature grant programs include Marketplace Empowerment for Artists (MEA) and the prestigious Emily Hall Tremaine Exhibition Award. Prior to the Tremaine Foundation she worked in Charlotte at the Arts & Science Council, and in New York City at the Little Orchestra Society, Irish Repertory Theatre, and Cherry Lane Theatre. Heather currently serves on the Grantmakers in the Arts’ Support for Individual Artists Committee and is the board president for the Bethel Education Foundation. She was a 2015 P.L.A.C.E.S. fellow with The Funders’ Network. Heather has a master’s degree in public administration from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in arts administration from the State University of New York at Fredonia.
