ARTSblog

A new webisode series called “Arts in America” has recently debuted on OvationTV.com. The webisodes feature discussions with top U.S. arts leaders including: Bob Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts; Bill Ivey, author of Arts Inc. and former NEA chair; and Agnes Gund, president emerita of the Museum of Modern Art.

WEBISODE ONE: How do you define “the arts”?
Featuring: Bob Lynch

WEBISODE TWO: What We Get From Art/Arts Education
Featuring: Agnes Gund

WEBISODE THREE: The Arts in the Current Administration
Featuring: Bill Ivey

WEBISODE FOUR: Paying for the Arts - available Monday, July 13, 2009
Featuring: Gaynor Strachan-Chun, President of Marketing at Ovation TV, and Bob Lynch

DC-based arts blogger Rob Bettmann has also conducted Q&As with webisode guests for Ovation TV. Read an exclusive interview with Bob Lynch here.

Referencing the new 20Under40 book, which calls for chapters from those under 40 years old to discuss the future of arts education, a heated discussion has begun as to “Why under 40?”

Fortunately, the talented and patient Eric Clapp, who is the purveyor of the book, is using Facebook to host a discussion. Members of the 20Under40 Facebook group can offer their take on the value of or mistake that is limiting authors to those under 40 years old. The online discussion is a hoot.

What do you think? Is it a mistake to limit authorship to those of a certain age? What would happen if it was limited to only those over 50 years old? Is there a next version of the book that should mix ages?

One dyanmo out of Harvard’s grad school in arts education (where so many arts ed dynamo’s first appear) has put together an honest-to-goodness book on the future of arts education–but he’s just now looking for writers.

This is a fantastic place to envision a better arts education, a better education system through the arts, and–ultimately–a better education for America’s students. Here’s a short list of what I might write about in my chapter proposal:

1. New media and arts education; teaching students already empowered as creators and cultural arbitors.
2. The new, local Arts Education Politician; advancing arts education at the local level happens when someone steps up to interface with the adults who make the education decisions–and plays the role of a politician or leader for the issue of arts education.
3. Other stuff I wrote about in another post.

What would you write about?

The call for chapters is listed below Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Download (Duration: 4:35 — 4.2MB)

Bob Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts, discusses “United We Serve,” this summer’s national volunteer campaign organized by the Obama Administration. He proposes that the arts community can demonstrate the huge impact it makes in communities across the country through its myriad of arts and volunteer programs.

Find more information at http://serve.artsusa.org.

We all know that joint-venture partnerships can yield many benefits. In hopes to spark more creative partnerships, here are some interesting partnership examples formed with arts organizations around the country. Some are likely partnerships between arts organizations; others are “unlikely” partnerships, which sometime can often bring in new audiences.

Success, of course, depends on each partner’s willingness and ability to live up to its part of the bargain.

Public Art In Detroit Benefits Community and High School Students
A dozen or so west side high school students created a mural on a three-story-high exterior wall of a vacant building in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood. The project, Detroit Neighborhood Arts Corps, provides high school-aged artists with the opportunity to give back to their communities through the creation of public art. The College of Creative Studies (CCS) project was funded by the Skillman Foundation. This project probably solves two problems, it brings arts education to public schools which may have cut art programs and it brings public art to an under-served community. Read the rest of this entry »

I have a cat that is not quite one-year old. This seemingly has absolutely nothing at all to do with the subject of the state of public and cultural diplomacy in 2009, except that his habit of waking me pre sun-up when the birds start to sing by delivering a scratchy tongue to the nostrils, meant that on the morning when President Obama delivered his groundbreaking speech on Islam, I was in the kitchen making coffee, trying to remember why I like cats at all, and watching our President live, from Cairo, make history yet again.

Fortunately for my cat, I quickly became captivated by the seriousness of the message, and the profoundness of the moment. It seemed important to forget that it was five o’clock in the morning and the coffee hadn’t kicked in yet, to listen to a speech that was premised on seeking a “…new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect…” No small task. Read the rest of this entry »

Mississippi’s Meridian Star reports

In Lauderdale County, the Community Foundation of East Mississippi is trying to help fill the arts education gap by providing refurbished instruments to schools.

It loosely follows the VH1 Save the Music model, donating instruments to schools and districts.VH1′s instruments are new, often purchased locally, and only offered to schools without music programs.

The clever hook that VH1 uses, however, is that schools must employ certified music teachers in order to retain their instruments. This measure is in place, of course, to incentivize long-term commitments to a robust music education program in schools.

Even without this particular strategy, the Foundation’s work is a comendable moment of true leadership benefitting the community’s children.

NB: VH1 has a beautiful and useful new website, replete with info to help any visitor make a difference for arts education in his or her community.

Just like in many communities around the country, a school in Wisconsin was facing budget cuts for its art department.  So what did students do?  They made their art work for them by creating an iPhone application that allowed them to sell their art as wallpaper on iTunes for the popular Apple device.   Read more about their story here.

What are some ways you’ve used technology to save or make money for the arts during the economic downturn?

This summer, from June 22 to September 11, 2009,  President and Mrs. Obama are calling on citizens to volunteer and give back to their community.  With this kind of national leadership and excitement about community service, artists and arts organizations have the opportunity to showcase the power of the arts by reaching out and offering their skills and services to their communities.  Post opportunities for people to get involved or volunteer some time at your community-based arts organizations by visiting www.Serve.gov and the All for Good database to search for “arts” opportunities in your city. 

Stay tuned for updates from Americans for the Arts at serve.artsusa.org, but in the meantime, what are some ways you think you could volunteer for the arts in your community?

Americans for the Arts is pleased to announce that Chicago-based Joyce Foundation has renewed its support for Americans for the Arts’ Professional Development Fund for Emerging Arts Leaders of Color. A total of five Joyce Fellows from the Great Lakes region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) will be selected to participate in this program.

Fellows will receive stipends of $3,000 to support their attendance at the 2009 National Arts Marketing Project Conference, Arts Advocacy Day 2010, and the 2010 Americans for the Arts Convention. In addition, fellows will have special opportunities to meet field leaders, work alongside mentors, and receive individualized career coaching. An additional 5 fellows will be selected in 2010.

Download application materials and eligibility information here, or for more information contact Stephanie Evans at leadership@artsusa.org or by phone at 202-371-2830

It was fun to see a public art project at the library in St. Cloud Minnesota featured at today’s big plenary session. Now I’ll need to drive up and get a look at it. It was also nice to get out of our breakout sessions on arts advocacy and politics and enjoy seeing some great public art from around the country. Thanks AFTA for a productive conference.

I am enjoying the very vital arts community in Seattle. Today we went across the Sound to Bainbridge Island. The ferry lands in a beautiful small town full of shops and restaurants. We explore the landscape, art galleries, and talk to artists that make their living on the island. I’m thinking I would very much like to live here.

Greetings from Seattle.  Here we are in downtown Seattle, Americans for the Arts and a vast contingency of 1,200 artists, arts administrators and advocates has taken over the convention center and four hotels.  Seattle has rolled out the welcome wagon (or should I say monorail). 

The arts scene here continued to thrive despite the moist environment. In fact, it is growing more everyday. Creativity is all around with public art is seemingly visible around every corner.  The fashion is as eclectic and fabulous as the people. Even in our short walk from the hotel to the convention center, we stumbled across street performers of all variety. One claimed to be the out of work actor named, none other than, Denzel Washington.  Spoiler alert: He says he is making the transition from film to stand up comedy…so look out for that coming soon.  We also saw a troubadour (a la Gilmore Girls) playing his bright blue acoustic guitar.  All of that before you even get to the convention!  

Once the convention began, I met an attendee who has launched an endeavor that could be used as a model for others. Dane Johnson is one of the founders of The Burien/  Interim Art Space. The project involves the use of land owned by a developer who could was forced to put the construction of a new high-rise facility on hold due to economic conditions. Johnson and co-founder Kathy Justin recognized that they could utilize the temporarily empty space as the foundation for a new art and community collaboration that hosts newly-installed sculptures for one-year. Should construction continue to be delayed, there is even the possibility that it could be extended even further. For more information, you can visit their website.

With still one more day to go, I can’t wait to see what else the Emerald City has in store for all of us.

Here is a look at what convention attendees are writing on Twitter about their experiences in Seattle. You can follow the full conversation by searching #afta09 and #aftaconvention09 here.

• davidseals Identity through heritage + autonomy through creativity = sustainable community. Bill Ivey #afta09
• ArtAgenda Philanthropy’s driving groups to bottom-line mentality of sustainability. Should fund to mission. (John Killacky) #afta09
• redgen Bill Cleveland: Practice of Democracy. Keep practice/theory/policy together. To insinuate creativity into government? Examples? #afta09
• kat4eleven In the wing luke museum session. The only pan Asian museum/community space in the nation. #afta09
• lisamaysimpson Dr. Peter Seng: being a good leader means continually living in the question “what are we trying to create?” #afta09