04/12/2012

Ayanna Hudson to Lead NEA Arts Ed Dept

04/12/2012

Dallas Mayor Promotes Arts & Business

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings has launched what he's calling the Business/Arts Initiative. The project's goal is to encourage people in the business community to support the arts.

04/12/2012

Conference Promotes Creative Placemaking

"Urban planners, commercial real estate developers, elected and appointed officials, and academics sat down with artists and arts administrators in Newark, NJ, to learn how to use the arts to energize their communities.

04/12/2012

Universities Build Argument for More Arts

03/28/2012

Playing an Instrument Helps Tune the Brain

"A new study from Northwestern University in Evanston says lifelong playing of musical instruments has a positive impact on the brain.

03/28/2012

Nonprofits Expect More Employee Turnover

"Even as more nonprofits are adding staff, many organizations are anticipating an increase in the turnover rate of their employees, a new survey from Nonprofit HR Solutions finds.

03/19/2012

Carson Foundation Donates $1M to Endowment

"The John W. Carson Foundation has given $1 million to the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, which supports statewide arts and humanities funding.

The announcement was made [March 16] in the Capitol Rotunda in Lincoln and at the Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha.

03/19/2012

Artists Find Benefactors in Web Crowd

"In the last year alone, money troubles have pushed the New Mexico Symphony to close, New York City Opera to slash its budget by two-thirds and the State of Kansas to eliminate all public financing for the arts.

02/15/2012

Boston Schools Get $4M for Arts Education

"The Boston public schools have received a $4 million grant to maintain and expand arts education for students across the city.

02/15/2012

Tuba Thefts Plague California Schools

"When thieves broke into the high school music room [in Bell, CA], they cut through the bolts on all the storage lockers and ripped two doors off their frames. But they didn’t touch the computer or the projector or even the trumpets.

02/01/2012

OK Senator Blocks 9/11 Memorial Funding

01/26/2012

Advocacy, Civic Engagement Create Big ROI

"Every dollar that foundations and other donors invested in advocacy, community organizing, and civic engagement over a five-year period provided a return of $115 in community benefit, a new report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy finds.

01/12/2012

$200K Budget Proposed for Kansas Arts

"Gov. Sam Brownback plans to resume state funding of arts programs and merge the arts and film commissions to focus on job creation under the new state budget outlined January 12.

01/09/2012

NBC Unveils School Theater Program

"NBC is funding an initiative to create musical theater programs in U.S. schools in need of arts education.

Council Members Stephen Levin and Jimmy Van Bramer have introduced legislation at the New York City Council that would require the City to have a cultural plan. The plan calls for the city to go out to neighborhoods in the five boroughs to learn what each community wants and needs in a cultural plan, and incorporate those findings into their plan. This bill was the result of New York City being behind the curve in terms of creating a systematic cultural plan based on what the city residents want.

Barry's Blog, a service of the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), posted their Fifty Most Influential People in the Nonprofit Arts (USA) list this Sunday, August 25.

Congratulations to our long-time Board Member Bill Lehr and his wife, Beverlee, who will receive the Patron Award, one of the PA Governer's Award for the Arts at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg on Oct. 22. The Awards will be presented by First Lady Susan Corbett, who is chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts. The Lehrs established the Americans for the Arts Foundation, as well as the Bill Lehr Fund, which supports our Professional Development Programs. We are lucky to have them on our team of strong supporters, and AFTA CEO Bob Lynch looks forward to celebrating all that they have contributed to the arts at the Awards Banquet.

Agnus Gund from the Huff Post reacts to the U.S. House Appropriations Committee approval of cutting the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities by 49 percent, and contests with a strong argument in defense of the arts. In response to the Chairman's stating that the arts were nice to have but not a critical part of American's everyday lives, she mounts "a more vigorous, vital, real-life defense," stating that the arts are particularly essential to our kids, our servicemen and women, and our communities.

Healing Newtown, a project of the The Newtown Cultural Arts Commission, is focusing on the power of music and art to connect and heal a community that was shocked and devastated by the Dec. 14, 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook School. Since December, Healing Newton has been offering classes and workshops as well as hosting community events.

Even with arts education on the wane in many public schools, a new study by The Wallace Foundation suggests that digital technologies are changing the artistic landscape for many young students. "New Opportunities for Interest-Driven Arts Learning in a Digital Age" offers a new take on arts learning based on innovative efforts to bring kids, the technology they are constantly using, and the arts together. In the age of do-it-yourself and tell-your-own-story, this is a new approach - technology-based arts learning.

Art is crucial to the economic well-being of a city, and Detroit is no exception – but where does the art bring in the most revenue? The Detroit Institute of Art (DIA) is considering selling its treasured paintings to help balance the bankrupt city’s ledgers. Columnist Nora Caplan-Bricker of the New Republic argues in favor of keeping the paintings in-museum, for both cultural and economic reasons.

In an interview with 2012 National Medal of Arts honoree Lin Arison, she speaks with "Art Works" writer Paulette Beete about the importance of mentorship and her work with both the National Young Arts Foundation and the New World Symphony. Arison talks about what links artists and art education, and how first became an art-lover and eventually a passionate advocate of arts education.

The Independent Sector recently announced Sarah Johnson, director of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, as the 2013 recipient of the American Express NGen Leadership Award. The annual award, part of the NGen: Moving Nonprofit Leaders from Next to Now initiative, recognizes one accomplished nonprofit leader age 40 or under that shows the ability to collaborate in innovative, inclusive ways to address society’s critical needs. This is the first time an arts leader has received the award.

Philanthropist, life-long friend of the arts, and proud Idahoan Velma Morrison died last week in Boise at the age of 92. A former board member of the American Council for the Arts, one of the founding organizations of Americans for the Arts, Morrison’s commitment to the arts in Boise was perhaps unparalleled.

"Most dance companies make money by selling tickets to their performances. Boise-based troupe Trey McIntyre Project has a more expansive business model: 'We've decided that we have a real asset, which is the creative process itself. We're selling that,' says John Michael Schert, the company's co-founder and executive director.

Some corporate giants are interested in the pitch. The University of Chicago Booth Business School recently brought Schert in for advice on getting inspired, and several Boise businesses have teamed up with the dance company.

"Federal funds for the National Endowments for the Arts and for the Humanities would remain stable under President Obama's proposed budget for the 2014 fiscal year.

Mr. Obama's budget proposal, released on [April 10], would raise each endowment's budgets by roughly $200,000, to $154.5-million for the coming fiscal year. The two endowments offer grants to colleges for research and fellowships in the arts and humanities, among other activities.

"Though it’s likely to reshape the workplace for years to come, many organizations say they aren’t prepared for such an unprecedented brain drain. The projections of younger workers entering the workforce are even more shocking.

In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the 10 years between 2010 to 2020, the number of workers between the ages of 16 to 54 will decrease by about 1 million—while the number of workers over the age of 54 will increase by more than 11 million.

"Art museums, seeking the repeat and committed visitor, are experimenting with new ways to cultivate a closer relationship with the public—and, in essence, to become a welcoming extension of the living room, rather than a stiff, Sunday-best excursion.

The Dallas Museum of Art recently decided to offer free general admission and a no-cost 'friends' membership, aiming to encourage broader involvement and interest, said its director, Maxwell L. Anderson. Others, like the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, are trying to entice members into exploring their interest in particular collections, like contemporary American or African art.

"Arts programming by nonprofit entities is becoming increasingly important in Milwaukee as the ranks of arts teachers shrink at Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) amid tight budgets. The district, with about 80,000 students enrolled, is down to 81 full-time visual and performing arts specialists, down from 135 in the 2008–09 school year. The district hopes to push the number to 106 by next school year."