ARTSblog

Ben Burdick

A great article I read today by Mark Bauerlein, entitled “Advocating for Arts in the Classroom,” really got me thinking about the increasing ideological divide I think public education is facing. With budget shortfalls becoming the norm at the federal, state, county, and municipal level, public education and the funding it receives are becoming a topic of great interest, scrutiny, and concern for its proponents and opponents alike.  Education reform, overhaul, rethinking, whatever you want to call it, is the name of the game at times like this.  People want to see results, no matter how drastic the measures might be to see positive change.  But while everyone wants to arrive at the same place (increased literacy, higher graduation rates, lower dropout rates, college/workforce preparedness, etc.), the path to get there is splitting.  Those creating education policy (U.S. Department of Education, state school boards, etc.) are increasingly at odds with those who are tasked with carrying out those policies in the classroom (teachers).  While some policymakers believe that bringing “free market ideas” into public education, with a great example being the recent “Race to the Top,” is an innovative way to spur change, I think many teachers have a hard time believing that creating competition in a field where collaboration is incredibly important is going to be effective.

Bauerlein’s article covers some of the same ground in arts education, seeing a divide between those who advocate for arts education, and those who teach the arts in a classroom.  While I don’t think using the “arts-saves-kids” argument that he talks about is a bad thing for arts advocates to supply to policymakers, I think he makes a good point about how it can do a disservice to those who teach the arts.  From his article: Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 13%

Joanna Chin

Sometimes, I like to take a step away from the art itself to ask what art does for society.  In a world that often portrays our field as frivolous or boils our work down to how it can stimulate local economies, it’s a nice exercise to imagine how the thing to which we dedicate our lives actually contributes, and has even more potential to contribute, to bettering the world at large.

Shifting gears a bit, let’s talk about one of the most global issues facing…well, the globe: climate change.  A 2009 report by the Pew Research Center claims that the number of Americans who believe manmade global warming is real has dropped 14 % from 2008.  And, according to a Brookings Institute study, even among Americans who believe that global warming is occurring, there was an 18% decrease in respondents who said they were very confident that this phenomenon was taking place.

Speculation about the reasons behind the climate change movement’s loss of momentum abound.  While some popular hypotheses for its decline include the current economic crisis and the radicalization of the Republican Party in the wake of Obama’s election, one of the most interesting to me was in a Newsweek blog entry suggesting that many Americans are indifferent or unable to comprehend the long-term effects of climate change.  That indifference has emerged more strongly now because it’s much harder to prioritize abstract, far-away problems like climate change when compared to the daily threat of losing one’s job. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 18%

Marete Wester

With New York City baking in the east coast heatwave for most of the month of July, it was refreshing to head to the relatively cool, rainy, high mountains of Aspen, CO, in August for the third Americans for the Arts Seminar for Leadership in the Arts, held in collaboration with the Harman-Eisner Program in the Arts. 

This year’s program entitled “The Artful Entrepreneur: Exploring Philanthropic Innovations for Arts and Culture in the 21st Century” attracted 30 arts philanthropists, corporate and foundation leaders, arts administrators, and activists to the Aspen Institute.

Hailing from a wide range of diverging experiences, the participants ranged from individual arts patrons to foundation executives to venture capitalists, from grassroots community leaders to cultural policy experts to board members involved in major cultural capital campaigns. They rolled up their sleeves and spent two days wrestling with the particularly disturbing idea that on top of the arts losing their traditional philanthropic market share, we are also not on the radar screens of the growing number of social entrepreneurs who are sending their venture philanthropy dollars to causes other than the arts. What we can do to collectively change the trend was the question at hand? Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 14%

Liesel Fenner

For artists and/or arts administrators new to public art, two public art professional development opportunities are coming soon: a 3-day conference, Public Art 360, and the Public Art Academy, a series of three online webinars for artists. Understanding the multi-layer components of what is required to not only create artwork for public space, but also to understand the tandem administrative requisites are paramount in developing public art in your community.

IF you live in the southeastern or mid-Atlantic states, get yourself to Asheville, North Carolina! Public Art 360 is a 3-day public art conference for artists and administrators – Thursday, September 23 through Saturday, September 25, 2010 at the Crest Center and Pavilion on top of Crest Mountain in west Asheville.  

Yours truly will be co-presenting with Brendan Greaves of NC Arts Council, You Are Here: Defining Space. Understanding the context of the site and place before you begin designing is one of the keys to creating successful public art. The conference will have two tracks – one for artists, coming into the field of public art (or thinking of coming into the field of public art) and one for administrators/organizations with public art programs (or starting a public art program).  Other highlights of the conference include sessions by Barbara Goldstein, Public Art Director for the City of San Jose and creator of the Public Art Academy, a keynote address by Bill Ivey former director of the National Endowment for the Arts during the Clinton administration and a closing address by conceptual visual artist Mel Chin. 29, October 13, and November 3. You will get all the tools and connections you need to move forward successfully. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 17%

Podcast: Download (Duration: 6:44 — 7.7MB)

Here’s the second half of an interview between Alie Wickham and Mike Gagliardo, the ambassadors for the two green paper topics: Arts in Healthcare and Strings. Alie and Mike discuss how the green papers have approached a vision of the future.

The first half of their interview can be found here.

Popularity: 19%

Justin Knabb

Downturns. Busts. Shortfalls. Cutbacks. Flat-funding. These oft-cited buzzwords, which we have all heard ad nauseum (and which I am guilty of gluttonously using as well, ironic intro included), seem to particularly embed themselves in the discourse of the arts world. As the writer of a publication which tracks state and local funding trends in the arts, I’m keenly cognizant of the topics on which I rarely get to write: Upturns. Boons. Surpluses. Increases. Robust funding. (Okay, I was reaching with that last one.) But over the past few weeks, I have noticed a new, encouraging trend developing in both large and small cities all across the country: the establishment and expansion of arts districts.

These districts, usually designated through city zoning laws, with tax benefits, house the collective creativity of a community. They contain city streets lined with art galleries, theaters, studios, museums, performing arts centers, and of course, the individuals who make it all possible: artists.

As advocates, we constantly espouse the economic benefit of investing in the arts—pleas that often fall on deaf ears during times of financial turmoil (another clichéd phrase of the recession). But some cities appear to be hearing those pleas, and are engaging in concerted efforts to revitalize their economies and their infrastructures through the arts.

Here is a look at some promising new developments: Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 12%

Derrick Ashong thinks so.  Ashong spent his formative years living in several countries abroad, as well as a number of U.S. cities before attending Harvard. Fully prepared to continue his education by getting a PhD, Derrick found himself drawn toward advocacy instead. After winning Billboard Magazine’s 2007 World Song Writing Competition and founding his band Soulfège, Derrick dedicated himself to advocacy fulltime. This commitment found him as the host of his own show on Oprah radio, starting Take Back the Mic, a youth empowerment organization, and speaking to audiences all over the world.

Earlier this summer, Derrick spoke during Americans for the Arts Annual Convention in Baltimore and posed a new challenge. We, as advocates for the arts, need to shift our position from people who are in need of help, to the position that our nation needs what we offering. We are the best hope for America. So often we focus on the fact that the arts are under attack and request that anyone and everyone support us before we disappear instead of focusing on all that the arts contributes. Visit the Arts Action Fund website to listen to what Derrick Ashong has to say and let us know what you think.

Popularity: 11%

Leslie Ito

The Cultural Equity Green Paper draws out three strategic directions for the future which are also being explored at this week’s Open Dialogue conference in Chicago hosted by TAAC, the Association of American Cultures.  They are:

• Equitable funding for all cultural institutions
• Equal participation in policymaking
•  Equity in multicultural leadership

As the green paper refers to, there has been a discontinuation of some “ethnic-set-aside” or multicultural grant programs and some new ones have sprouted with a new focus on more geographically-focused, community-building through the arts types of programs.  While some of the more savvy community-based organizations are continuing to access these dollars, the pot is shrinking. I am seeing more and more organizations beginning to shift their attention to individual donors.  Programs like the San Francisco Foundation’s Fund for Artists Matching Commissions which is now being replicated in Los Angeles by the LA County Arts Commission are training and incentivizing small and mid size organizations to engage individual donors.  Service organizations like Compass Point and the Grassroots Fundraising Institute are focusing particularly on fundraising in communities of color and ethnic specific giving circles are becoming more popular.  These are all signs that a shift is taking place.  While we must not let up pressure on equitable funding from both private foundations and government agencies, we must also continue to diversify revenue and individual donor development is still a relatively untapped area when it comes to culturally specific and diverse community-based arts organizations.

Popularity: 20%

Podcast: Download (Duration: 10:49 — 12.4MB)

Check out this first part of an interview between Alie Wickham and Mike Gagliardo, the ambassadors for the two green paper topics: Arts in Healthcare and Strings. Alie and Mike discuss arts advocacy as it relates to the arts and also touch on the state of the economy and healthcare reform.  In next week’s conclusion of the interview, they will discuss how the green papers have approached a vision of the future.

Popularity: 21%

This title is neither violent onomatopoeia nor a Femi Kuti reference, rather I quote my mom’s favorite phrase which is synonymous to “check, check, check.”  While I’d cringe whenever my mom exclaimed this in her Filipino accent, I think it captures my enthusiasm around the three key accomplishments (some unexpected) that resulted from the Los Angeles emerging leader mentorship program.

People rarely wield the science to invent and hand-craft their own mentor. I’ve observed that mentors tend to emerge in unlikely places and heighten or recede in their presence throughout one’s life. But, in 2007, a nine-member taskforce of Los Angeles Emerging Arts Leaders (EAL/LA) had lost patience with an organic model of mentor acquisition, and began scheming on how to meet a dream career mentor through professional connections and a structured program.

After a year of monthly meetings to strategize recruitment, the matching process, the structure, marketing, and evaluation, we officially launched the Arts Professional Advisors Link (APAL) in the fall of 2008. Each emerging leader member completed an “application” which described professional development needs and wants in a mentor. As a team, we reviewed one another’s applications and leveraged our connections, to help match advisors to the profiles drawn up in the applications. Advisees were charged with all of the administrative work around the program and were to initiate and organize all advisor meetings (four at the least) over the course of the program year. The advisee was to steer the content of the meeting conversations and bring clear, yearlong goals to the table around which the advisor might provide guidance. Over the course of the year, we threw a kick-off orientation mixer, a mid-year opera outing and mixer and a culminating mixer. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 23%

Tim Mikulski

When it comes to television culture in the second decade of the 2000s, it seems like we’ve reached new lows in what qualifies as entertainment. From The Bachelor to The Real Housewives of (insert city/state here), reality television that celebrates being rich, obnoxious, or both dominates what now passes as pop culture (but I’m not throwing stones as an avid fan of The Amazing Race and even—gulp—Survivor).

However, many American television viewers rallied around the little arts education show that could, Glee, this past season. Despite often-tepid writing, usually the heart of the show permeated through (more in the first half of the season), mixing with interesting musical numbers to create a new genre loved and adored by millions of past, present, and future theater/music/dance geeks, dweebs, and nerds.

But for those of you that have access to BBC America, the truly inspirational arts education show is the award-winning documentary series, The Choir. The British series follows choir director Gareth Malone as he attempts to build a program in a school that had never had one before. Malone walks viewers through the entire process from auditioning singers, to dealing with voice changes, and even a very painful second round of cuts a few weeks into the process.

The goal is to get the group good enough to perform in the World Choir Games. I won’t ruin anything by telling the results, but if you Google around, you will find that he later added two more additions of the show after the initial show’s 2007 airing. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 18%

Keely Saye

Is the failure of the arts to maintain market share among providers of contributed support a short-term problem related to increased social service, health, and educational needs, or will it persist?

In my opinion, the question must be considered from two different perspectives. In reference to the short term, the answer would appear to be an unqualified yes. This can be considered a “short-term” problem in that it is one that has arisen relatively recently. Fundraising in the non-profit/arts sector, particularly in the performing arts, has seldom been more difficult than it is right now.

Deep pocket donors and corporate benefactors are being stretched to the limit as even some of the more venerable arts institutions such as Pasadena Playhouse (The State Theatre Of California) are closing their doors due to lack of operating funds. Shrinking audiences, most likely kept away by the cost of admission, have forced many arts organizations to look to their donor bases for increased assistance. Unfortunately, that donor base is dealing with the same economy as the absent ticketholder, and must also make cuts. The arts are often the first (perceived) extras to be trimmed from most budgets. In this sense, the answer is clearly “yes, we are facing a short-term problem.” The question that seems begged in the final four words of the initial query is how do we keep it from persisting? Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 25%

Michelle Dean

With the emphasis nationwide on access to health care for everyone, art therapists, creative arts therapists and other arts professionals need work to be included in the group of defined providers in national and local health care solutions. In the US, there are five major mental health professions that have occupational regulations, including: psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, counselors, and social workers. Lack of occupational regulations for art therapists in most states creates a challenge for inclusion in healthcare reform and insurance reimbursement.

Laura Greenstone, long-time, legislative advocate for art therapy, has worked tirelessly in her role as The Chair (and now Past Chair) of The National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations (NCCATA). As NCCATA Chair, Laura joined the National Arts in Healthcare Advisory Council, which was initiated by the Americans for The Arts, The Society for the Arts in Healthcare, The American Music Therapy Association, and other national arts organizations. The main task of the Advisory Council has been to create issue briefs for Arts Advocacy Day – an advocacy event held each year in DC where over 80 arts organizations and arts advocates gather to lobby in Congress. One can find the latest issue brief on Arts in Healthcare listed here: http://artsusa.org/get_involved/advocacy/aad/issue_briefs/2010/advocacy_issuebrief_011.asp

ARTS IN HEALTHCARE, is a multidisciplinary field dedicated to improving the healthcare experience for patients, families, and caregivers. This rapidly growing field integrates the arts, including literary, performing, visual arts and design, into a wide variety of healthcare settings for therapeutic, educational, and expressive purposes.  Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 23%

Alie Wickham

Hey Bloggers!!

Alright – the field of Arts in Healthcare needs your help!! Here is the deal:

The Society for the Arts in Healthcare (the international “umbrella” organization for our field) is in the running for a $25,000 Pepsi Refresh grant – which is AWESOME!! However, we (meaning the Society) cannot get this grant alone.  We need EVERYONE’S help. The best part is that getting involved is simple – all you have to do is VOTE! So, how do you do this?? Simply follow the directions at http://www.refresheverything.com/artsinhealthcare – and….VOTE!!!!

Now I am sure you are wondering what this grant is for, right?

Artist Registry: How would you rather spend your time in a hospital—anxiously staring at drab walls or calming your nerves with vibrant art and creative activities? The answer is obvious, especially for our members who know the healing power of art. The Society’s new artist registry will connect hospitals with artists to enhance the patient experience, while supporting artist employment and promotion.

Simply – this grant will bring art into the healthcare environment and provide artists with more job opportunities.  What could be better than that?? Actually getting the grant to do it! So, VOTE VOTE VOTE – EVERYDAY!!!!

Thanks everyone – happy creating!!!

Popularity: 15%

Tim Mikulski

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education released the names of the 49 awardees of Investing in Innovation Fund grants.  The purpose of the $650 million program is to “provide competitive grants that expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative and evidence-based practices, programs, and strategies that significantly: improve K-12 achievement and close achievement gaps; decrease dropout rates; increase high school graduation rates; and improve teacher and school leader effectiveness.”

Of the close to 1,700 applicants, the 49 highest-rated proposals were selected to receive funding, and of the 49, three are directly related to arts education:

• Studio in a School, Inc. (New York, NY)
• The Beaverton School District Arts for Learning Lessons Project (Beaverton, OR)
• Everyday Arts for Special Education (New York City Department of Education, District 75)

Each of the three projects falls in the Development category and can receive up to $5 million provided a private sector match of 20 percent is secured by September 8, 2010.

Studio in a School, Inc. is guided by President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Cahill, a member of the Arts Education Council of Americans for the Arts, and we congratulate Tom and the organization for receiving the grant and already securing a private sector match.

The outcome of the work being done with this grant funding will provide strong arguments for strengthening arts education in ESEA reauthorization, and we look forward to sharing the results with the arts education field.  When the i3 program was being created, with the support of arts advocates from around the country, Americans for the Arts filed comments with the U.S. Department of Education that led to increased ability for arts education programs like these to be able to apply for these grants.

The full list of grantees, and links to their grant descriptions, can be found on the Education Week website.

Popularity: 17%