As many of you heard yesterday, Broadway producer Rocco Landesman was nominated as the next chairman for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). You can read more about Mr. Landesman and his nomination here.
What would be your #1 priority for the newly-nominated NEA Chairman?
Popularity: 2%
While John Abodeely is preparing our resources for accessing Federal dollars, I’m posting this basic introduction to Donor’s Choose for our teacher members.
If you are already familiar with this, forgive the repetition. If you are not already asking Donor’s Choose for assistance with supplies in your classroom, please read the following and let us know how it goes.
Donor’s Choose steps: Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 1%
Podcast: Download (Duration: 6:36 — 6.0MB)
Nina Ozlu Tunceli, Chief Counsel of Government & Public Affairs for Americans for the Arts, discusses the importance of Arts Advocacy Day. She explains how grassroots advocacy can affect public policy on the national and local levels.
Watch the Wynton Marsalis Nancy Hanks Lecture.
Popularity: 1%
So the future is now and everyone is enmeshed in a million social networks. You are undoubtedly on Facebook, despite the threat of viruses, the fact that your sixth grade math teacher or HR Director can see your scandalous Halloween party, and the endless “How well do you know Mira?” quizzes. You probably opened up a LinkedIn account just to combat the shadow of unemployment hovering over the country. And naturally your amazing arts group has its own website – where you communicate with patrons, funders, and other staff. You see your computer screen more than your mom.
I personally manage a website, Facebook site, eblast template, some relevant Google alerts, a mini-Flickr account and a regular work email account. I count myself among the lucky ones. The thought of adding Twitter to the mix makes me break out in hives. I’m probably not going to start my own YouTube channel anytime soon. (Although I feel a bit delinquent by not doing it all.) I’m sure that the NAMP family would love a microblogging feed for conference updates, and it certainly seems that Twitter is the hot new thing in marketing. But there is that thing called “work”, even if updating all of your social networks is an integral part of that work. And strangely enough the act of writing requires a calm environment totally antithetical to Facebook updates or scrolling through emails. Then there are those things called people, sigh. There’s the fine point after which multitasking just becomes absolute madness…I’m afraid I’m approaching it.
I would love to hear about any back end strategies for managing the social networks that any marketing staffer now has to wrestle with. There is a constant struggle to balance “regular work” (meetings, proposals, events, etc.) with the time-sucking minutiae of social networking. Are there any low-cost methods you all have found to steal some time back into your day?
This article comes from Arts Watch, the newly redesigned version of the Cultural Policy Listserv. If you would like to receive Arts Watch, please sign up.
Popularity: 1%
I am pleased to introduce myself as a guest blogger for Americans for the Arts. I’m Merryl Goldberg, and I am a professor of Visual and Performing Arts at California State University San Marcos (near San Diego). I run a Center dedicated to restoring arts back to education, Center ARTES, which in cooperation with the San Diego County Office of Education, is the recipient of a current Department of Education Arts in Education grant for DREAM (Developing Reading Education through Arts Methods). I’m a professional musician having been on the road for 13 years with the Klezmer Conservatory band and still perform regularly. My performance focus these days is on contemporary music, a little bit of klezmer and folk music.
I’ll be focusing on arts education in my blogs, and emphasizing my belief that it’s time to change our conversations about education as a whole. I’ll be introducing a top ten list of challenges including reinvigorating the discussion of education with the notions of wonder, complexity, passion, risk, desire, application, confidence, and democracy, all of which I believe at the core of good art-making. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 2%
All you have to do is google “FedEx Twitter” to understand why some organizations are freaked out about social media.
For those who don’t know, an ad agency rep was on his way to FedEx HQ to discuss social media with the corporation’s worldwide communications division. (FedEx was already a client of this ad agency.) Upon the rep’s arrival in Memphis, Tennessee, he tweeted:
A viral poop-storm quickly erupted on the Web. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 1%
There are a number of fantastic, city-wide projects for arts education taking place. The latest? San Antonio:
ARTS EDUCATION PROJECT DIRECTOR
The San Antonio Arts Education Task Force seeks an individual to manage, coordinate and administer the development of a comprehensive arts education blueprint for San Antonio.
Others include Seattle, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Baltimore.
Wallace commissioned one fantastic read from RAND Education on the topic, as well. I’ve used in it in the policy class I teach and, more so, to inform our work on supporting system-wide change for arts education through partnerships with education decision makers. I call them “EDMs.” EDM examples: parents, school boards, superintendents, principals, teacher unions, and others.
Did I miss a city? Did I not post a great resource for this work? Post it in the comments below.
Popularity: 1%
I found this article this week while compiling my Arts Education Weekly News email. Each Monday I slog through hundreds of Google News alerts, electronic newsletters, new research and other data. I’m lucky to have a job where knowing who is doing what when and how is part of the responsibility.
Art Education: It may take years to realize its value (by Louis Hoglund from Perham Enterprise Bulletin)
Our art room teacher wasn’t far from retirement. Lord knows, she deserved a permanent break from us–7th and 8th graders, especially us boys.
Despite our every effort to make her life miserable, Miss Rollefson continued to teach with an almost defiant passion.
For the first half of our eighth grade year, Miss Rollefson taught what was sort of an “art literature lite” class. We were taught a very general art history timeline, that progressed roughly from DiVinci’s “Mona Lisa” to Rembrandt to the French impressionists to Picasso.
She taught with all her heart, even as the inane, smart alec boys were snickering at the masterpieces portraying partially nude women.
Read the rest of the editorial here.
Popularity: 1%
Personally speaking, since beginning my work with Americans for the Arts in 2003 as a then-project-associate-now-project-manager for Animating Democracy, I have maintained that the internet, for all its power and glory, is largely an untapped resource for non-profit organizations. It cannot be denied that organizations everywhere have stepped up to host websites, start blogs, launch listservs and more (in fact, having recently signed on to Twitter myself, I’ve been thrilled to see that the names of some of my colleagues have their own accounts they post to on behalf of their organizations). Still, there is endless untapped potential for engaging communities and getting the message out. So, when a colleague passed on the Museums and the Web 2009 “Best of the Web” awards, I was tickled pink. The awarded sites represent organizations trying new and different programs and partnerships which explore the (known) boundaries of the web, and offer great perspective for anyone looking to ‘boldly go where no site has gone before’.
First, a bit of background, Museums and the Web 2009 “Best of the Web” Awards are hosted by Archives and Museum Informatics, a Canada-based partnership of David Bearman and Jennifer Trant, “respected researchers and theorists in museum informatics specifically, and cultural informatics more broadly”. In addition to the “Best of the Web” awards, Archives and Museum Informatics hosts conferences, consulting, publishing, and training for cultural heritage professionals. The 2009 awards were recently presented at their conference in Indianapolis, April 15-18, and they are designed to ‘recognize achievement in heritage website design’, and selected by a distinguished committee of museum professionals. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 1%
The following letter was written for parents to send in to their School Board Representatives of the San Diego Unified School District which is currently faced with the possibility of having their Visual and Performing Arts Department completely eliminated due to budget cuts. At local street art fairs, Young Audiences of San Diego’s staff members walked around with a clipboard of letters, speaking to concerned parents about the potential cuts, and asking parents to sign the letter (listing their home address and the school their child attends).
Dear Education Board Member,
I am writing this letter to request that you remove cutting the San Diego Unified Visual and Performing Arts Department from the list of Plan B budget reductions.
By fueling a student’s imagination and creativity, the arts enhance a student’s problem-solving and critical thinking skills, which aid their learning in other subject areas. An education in the arts exposes students to a variety of cultures while enriching their learning experience and teaching them how to be empathetic, tolerant and open to working with others, all necessary skills for success in a multi-cultural society. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 6%
On Monday night, a friend and I went to see the Washington Performing Arts Society’s presentation of the Pittsburgh Symphony at the Kennedy Center. We were lucky enough to score seats in the chorus section of the concert hall, giving us the feeling that we were a part of the orchestra. I imagined performing right along with the musicians, and following all of the conductors’ cues. As a musician myself (flute player), the chorus section was an exciting place to be. However, I couldn’t help but notice that slight twinge of nostalgia, as I remembered the countless days, months, and years I used to spend in rehearsals, working with fellow musicians to create a good performance.
Now, I love that my career in arts management allows me to work with my fellow colleagues to make sure that artists and arts professionals have the support that they need to create good work. But the symphony performance reminded me that in order to be the best I can at my job, I need to continue connecting back to the original reason I chose arts management in the first place.
As Emerging Leaders, one of the constant challenges you hear us speak about is the issue of Work-Life Balance. Everyone will have a different definition of what a good balance is for them. For me, work-life balance means that I allow myself the time outside of work to spend with family, friends, and myself. I invest time in eating well, take a walk on a gorgeous day, and read a lot of books. Finally, participating in and going to as much as art as possible sustains my love for the work I do. All of this allows me to give 150% to my job – I’m ready and excited to start each day.
In just over a month, arts leaders from across the country will be travelling to Seattle to attend Americans for the Arts’ Convention, themed this year on Sustainability. Conversations will explore the idea of sustainability on a few different levels – sustaining our organizations during challenging economic times, and greening our organizations to create a sustainable future for our community. I believe that in order to be truly successful at any of the above, we must start with asking how we sustain ourselves. What is your definition of Work-Life Balance? When times are tough, what keeps you coming back for more? Many times, your recharge is closer than you think.
Popularity: 1%
The Arts Education Partnership, a major player in arts education research for the past 15 years–since its creation by the National Endowment for the Arts and the US Dept of Education–has opened a public call for session proposals for the 2009 Forum. The Forums are two day conferences held around the country and they attract the best and the brightest in arts education leadership. They have a strong regional pull but always a good national audience as well.
So pitch in. Join the national conversation. Show your stuff. If you complain about our field, here’s your chance to create solutions that your colleagues can participate in.
Submit your session proposal for the arts and 21st century learning Forum. October 2-3; MA. Submission deadline: May 29.
They’re also opening up the program design to Mass state art students, seeking submissions of art to be featured as the cover of the program of the AEP Fall National Forum. Deadline: Jun 25.
Popularity: 1%
I recently received my latest issue of US News & World Report. The focus of the May issue is “Jobs for the Future” and in the article “Choosing the Career Path Less Traveled: Many jobs look great on the big screen. Here are some that pay off in real life” one of the top “Overrated Careers” is “nonprofit manager”. Ouch.
Here’s what it says:
Many people want a career in which they can “make a difference.” For many, that means a career helping manage a nonprofit organization that works, for example, on environmental issues, children’s rights, or antipoverty campaigns. But many of your supervisees end up being volunteers, who, on average, tend to be less competent and reliable than paid employees. Also, much of the job often involves fundraising, which many people dislike. Plus, you’re usually expected to be so dedicated to the cause that you’re willing to work long hours for little pay. Despite all that, nonprofit management jobs that pay a good salary are difficult to find, especially now in our low economy – people donate less in tough times.
Other careers listed include: architect, professor, farmer, and police officer. For the complete list, click here. A slight irony – fundraiser was listed as one of the 30 best careers for 2009! Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 1%
Dear Keep the Arts In Public Schools members,
I’m asking those of you who can to assist me in the following way:
Thank you for leaving your comments below. Your passion is appreciated.
MacEwen
www.twitter.com/KAIPS
Popularity: 1%
I’ve been seriously delinquent in my Americans for the Arts blogging resoponsiblilities, so I’m going to try to get moving…One big theme that I think people will hear a lot about at the conference in Seattle this summer is our collaborative work around Cultural Overlay Districts.
Affordable space is not a new issue to artists and arts organizations, but in Seattle we experienced a sort of tippng point early in 2008 with the sale of the Oddfellows building which displaced dozens of arts groups that had defined the character of their neighborhood. This prompted a massive turnout to a community meeting in city hall designed to explore what could be done to prevent such occurrences in the future; how can we preserve and develop long term affordable space in our city?
The city council (and Councilmember Nick Licata in particular) convened the Cultural Overlay Distric Advisory Commitee (or CODAC) to explore different incentive zoning and code tools, and make a series of recommendations to the council to try to adress the issue of affordable space. The commitee represented developers, artists, administrators, and staff form all levels of city and county governemnet. Our recommendations went to the council yesterday. More than a static set of code changes, we proposed a concept of leveraging the arts as a means of developing neighborhoods from the ground up; more of an economic development strategy for a city than a band aid for affordable space. Talk about sustainability…stay tuned.
Popularity: 1%
|
Alec Baldwin and Nigel Lythgoe talk about the state of the arts in America at Arts Advocacy Day 2012. The acclaimed actor and famed producer discuss arts education and what inspires them.
