Americans for the Arts | Local, National, and International Arts News

Dance Co. Teaches Creativity to Businesses

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:42:59 EDT

"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.

'Artists live the whole process of inspiration. We decided to refine it as a tool,' says Schert, a former dancer himself. 'We want companies to understand what they are creating, whether it is a marketing strategy or a healthcare policy, and get them to think about where they get hung up, and how to find ways around those stopping points to come up with new ideas.'

...At Aetna, the dance troupe's work is intended to be more hands-on—literally. The health insurance company's philanthropic foundation is in discussions with TMP about training thousands of the company's doctors and nurses on improving their patient interactions. The goal, says Schert, would be to help them learn to ready body language and reduce their patents' stress.

The troupe's creativity about its own business model has certainly helped its bottom line: The group is aiming to have its corporate business account for a third of TMP's $2.25 million annual budget.

Schert is bullish about how the business-and-art synergy can pay off for both sides.

'We're changing the role of the artist,' he says. 'We can help with how ideas are generated and harnessed. It helps companies, and it helps artists state their value.'"

Obama Proposal Slighty Raises NEA Budget

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:34:16 EDT

"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.

Under the federal spending cuts that took effect on March 1, known as the sequester, both endowments took budget reductions of $7-million, though Mr. Obama's proposal does not reflect those cuts.

Nearly 81 percent—about $125-million—of the proposed arts-endowment budget would be allocated to direct grants as well as state and regional partnerships. Of the $75-million set aside for direct endowment grants, $10-million would support the arts endowment's nationwide Our Town program, which aims to strengthen communities through the arts. About $50-million would finance state and regional partnerships.

With the proposed budget for Our Town, the arts endowment estimates that it could extend the program to as many as 115 additional communities throughout the country.

Of the proposed humanities-endowment budget, $106.8-million would be allocated to grant programs, $43.4-million of which would finance the operations, projects, and programs of state and territorial humanities councils. The proposed budget would also set aside $9-million for the endowment's Bridging Cultures program, which seeks to increase awareness of various cultures, and $11.3-million in federal matching funds, including the endowment's Challenge Grants program, which matches private donations in support of humanities organizations."

Is an MFA the New MBA?

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:02:23 EDT

"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.

Statistics as bracing as those have many organizations redoubling their efforts at retaining older workers.

But as a leader, your biggest human capital challenge is this: Where will you find enough next-generation workers with the skills required for success? This challenge is even greater when you factor in the nature of today’s flexible and contingent labor market.

Consider this: Today’s contingent economy has people moving constantly from one job to another, one type of work to another, one industry to a different industry. In fact, on average, a person between the ages of 25 and 45 will hold 11 different jobs in their lifetime. Thirty percent of us will work in more than 15 different jobs over the course of our careers.

Organizations far and wide—perhaps even yours—will compete intensely for workers who are adaptable, resourceful, and can quickly learn and apply new skills to a variety of challenges. Where can you find such workers?

One answer runs counter to much conventional wisdom: Ask an artist.

Artists know the world of adaptability and resourcefulness very well. In fact, according to an annual survey tracking the career trajectories of more than 65,000 artists from hundreds of arts schools, the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), close to 60 percent of arts graduates hold more than two jobs at once, and approximately 20 percent have more than three.

What’s more, regardless of whether they work in the arts or in other businesses, more then three-quarters of arts graduates say that critical thinking, creativity, and the ability to work with others are skills they both learned in school and use on a regular basis in their current work. Arts graduates are plucky and understand how to use their creative skills in a variety of settings."

Art Museums Changing with the Times

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:13:33 EDT

"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.

Museums are relying less on attention-getting art or blockbuster exhibits and re-examining how they relate to the public as they compete with other kinds of entertainment, according to experts. While science museum and aquarium attendance remains strong, art museums are seeing mostly flat growth, with spikes in visitors for extraordinarily popular exhibitions like the recent 'Picasso Black and White' at the Guggenheim.

Museums are also finding that as baby boomers age and their money goes to other purposes or other generations, the institutions need to cultivate new groups as bases of support.

Mr. Anderson says he is upending the museum-world conventions of paid entry and paid basic membership in an attempt to bring in people who might find a museum visit too costly."

WI: Filling the Arts Education Void

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 08:44:33 EDT

"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.

To fill the void, the district and other Milwaukee area schools are partnering with numerous art organizations in the city to broaden their reach and impact. MPS partners with 41 organizations through the district's Partnership for the Arts and Humanities, which has an allocation of $1.5 million.

One of those is Danceworks Inc., which works with traditional MPS schools as well as charter schools and private schools in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. With its artist-in-residence programs and Mad Hot Ballroom and Tap program, Danceworks Inc. has programs in 45 schools across Milwaukee and is helping Milwaukee students branch out.

Amy Brinkman-Sustache, director of education of Danceworks Inc., said the company uses visual arts and dance to couple with the curriculum taught by teachers in the classroom.

'We are not trying to take the place of art teachers in schools,' Brinkman-Sustache said. 'What we try to do is accommodate, if we can, to what they are doing in the classroom and what we can tie into the curriculum.'

The partnership requires outside groups to match dollar for dollar Partnership for Arts and Humanities money, which allows the organizations to enter schools during the day and assist in the number of art related class opportunities, according to Kari Couture, assistant recreation supervisor and community arts specialist for MPS.

Artists Working in Education works in 20 MPS schools. For 15 years AWE has held an artist-in-residence program that places local freelance artists in MPS schools during the day; in 2010 it began dual programming by also offering classes after school.

Mary Osmundsen, program director of AWE, said these programs build on what students are learning in other classes and hopes the relationship between the company and MPS continues even if schools find themselves with a full arts staff."

Mother Memorializes Marine Son in Dance

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:08:16 EST

"A boy with a mess of brown hair leaps over a toy truck and metal bat, and for a moment, Colin Wolfe is alive.

For a moment, he is 7 years old again and spends his days playing baseball, comforting his little sister and sharing Sabbath dinner with his family. For a moment, there is no such thing as the Iraq war, and two Marines never showed up at his parents’ Manassas home early one morning to tell them that their 19-year-old son was gone.

Amy Wolfe knows these moments are fleeting, but they are why, despite the advice of those closest to her and the painful memories it would conjure, she has created an unusual tribute to her son: a ballet that captures the life of a young man who was a dancer before he was a Marine.

She describes working on the ballet, titled simply 'Colin,' as simultaneously 'cathartic' and 'extremely difficult.'

'For me, Colin is alive again,' she says. 'So when it’s all done and put to rest, he will die for me again.'

Across the nation, parents of more than 6,600 service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan have found countless ways to honor their children—with benches, parks, poems, scholarships. But this weekend on a Manassas stage, an audience will see not just a production in Colin’s name, but his life story as choreographed by his mother.

'I don’t frankly know how she’s able to do it,' says Mark Wolfe, Colin’s father.

As executive director of the Manassas Ballet Theatre, the professional dance company where his wife is the artistic director, he has stood by her side through countless productions. But this one is different, he says. Early on, he advised his wife of 32 years against taking on such an emotional project, and he has since told her that he might not be able to watch it when it is performed [March 9 and 10] at the Hylton Performing Arts Center."

U.S. Rep. Lance Named Arts Caucus Co-Chair

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:42:32 EST

"U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-New Jersey) has been named co-chairman of the Congressional Arts Caucus, a bipartisan group promoting the arts on the federal level.

Lance, the group’s Republican co-chair, serves alongside Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-New York). 'I’ve had an interest in these matters in New Jersey and more recently in Washington. It’s important that our country be recognized for the arts and humanities, as well as in other ways,' Lance said. 'I’m honored to be the Republican co-chair.'

Before his election to Congress in 2008, Lance was a key Republican in Trenton and a valued supporter of the arts. In 2003, he cast the lone Republican vote for the Hotel-Motel Occupancy Fee, created to fund the state’s cultural agencies and tourism after then-Gov. Jim McGreevey cut arts funding from the state budget.

Lance has been a member of the Congressional Arts Caucus since 2009. The group has 185 members, including eight members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation.

Arts advocate Ann Marie Miller welcomed Lance’s appointment. 'It’s important for New Jersey and nationally as well,' Miller, executive director of ArtPride New Jersey, said.

'Leonard Lance has always supported arts and culture in New Jersey. It’s part of his fiber, his upbringing. He values how important the arts are to our lives.'"

MO: Arts Focus Turns Around Town

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:30:11 EST

"In more than a decade, the Lee’s Summit Arts Council has helped shape the community’s direction in entertainment and cultural offerings, complimenting fast growth of housing and shopping centers, all the pieces which made Lee’s Summit one of the region’s booming cities.

The city now has a community symphony and theater group, building on longtime support for arts programs in schools.

Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street incorporates some aspect of the arts, either sculpture or music performance, into its events and sponsors a Fourth Friday event centered on arts.

The city has Got Art, also downtown, a gallery to provide space for visual arts, run by a juried, nonprofit arts organization of about 80 artists.

'It’s a turnaround,' said Syrtiller Kabat chairperson of the arts council. 'We were a simple community that’s grown in sophistication.'

The arts council didn’t make all those things happen, but its job has been to help create a climate and awareness to help them flourish, Kabat said.

It began in 2001, a result of the Lee’s Summit 21st Century Strategic Plan. Its charge was to coordinate efforts between agencies to promote the arts and educate the public regarding arts opportunities.

Kabat, one of the first Arts Council members appointed, said that in early years the council hit a rough patch, where its energy was sometimes blunted by members representing different groups vying for city funding. She was one member who resigned, discouraged, but was reappointed to the council two years ago.

The City Council continued to refine the council’s make up, changing member terms, and the council continued its work, finishing a Cultural Arts Plan adopted in 2007. The following year it became an adjunct of the Lee’s Summit Park Board and picked up additional staff support from that department to begin implementing that plan.

Last year it completed a Cultural Facilities Master Plan and visited several cities, including Paducah, Ky.and Ashville N.C. and the Americans for the Arts National Conference to get ideas.

It started holding arts summits to connect local artists with businesses and leaders."

VA: Juvenile Justice Program Exhibits Art

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:53:51 EST

"For the week, a section of the General Assembly Building has been transformed into an art gallery, with paintings, woodwork, quilts and other pieces for sale—all made by children and teens serving sentences in the Department of Juvenile Justice.

The Expressions exhibit has been a part of the annual legislative session for the past 21 years, said Reggie Branch, the department's program manager for career and technical education. The proceeds go into the artists' canteen accounts to pay for snacks and toiletries and to buy more art supplies, Branch said.

A number of the roughly 100 pieces had already sold by [the third] morning. There are cutting boards and baskets hand-crafted by boys from the Hanover and Beaumont Juvenile Correctional Centers. Most of the items cost between $5 and $15.

Ten bucks buys a painting of a quill tucked into an American flag ink jar—titled Live & Change—by a teen from the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in Richmond.

A colorful quilt—named No Place Like Home—sewn by a young man at the Culpeper Juvenile Correctional Center costs $100.

The program provides art and technical training for incarcerated juveniles as well as a therapeutic outlet, Branch said. Some participants have gone on to study art or graphic design after their release, he added.

Juveniles assigned to the Department of Juvenile Justice typically are between the ages of 11 and 21 and serving criminal sentences of at least six months, Branch said. The department has six active residential facilities."

Are City Orchestras a Dying Breed?

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 09:52:57 EST

"The Minnesota Orchestra is far from alone: Symphonies in Detroit, Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Chicago have all experienced strikes and/or lockouts over the past two years, and those in many smaller cities, including Miami, Honolulu, and Albuquerque, have folded altogether. In the spring of 2011, the Philadelphia Orchestra became the nation's first major orchestra to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy—it emerged from restructuring last July with 10 fewer musicians, and a 15 percent pay cut for the remaining players.

A weak economy, compounding the longstanding challenge of a dwindling audience, have brought about a massive identity crisis in the classical music world. Orchestras have high overhead costs, and they simply aren't as popular as they once were. 'We see them going, one after another, either into a wall, or to war,' says classical music writer Norman Lebrecht (one of whose books is titled The Life and Death of Classical Music). Lebrecht blames many of the problems on poor management and the fact that 'both sides are frightened of change.'

Negotiations for a new contract began last April in the Twin Cities, but the two sides can't seem to reach any agreement. The management contends that it has cut costs by laying off administrative staff and reducing their pay, among other measures. 'We've been very transparent with the musicians about these challenges for the last several years,' said Minnesota Orchestra president and CEO Michael Henson. 'To continue operating at these losses would not be sensible.'

Musicians' salaries—which ate up nearly half of the orchestra's $32 million budget last year—are a huge part of the equation. The players make $135,000 on average, not including benefits that include insurance policies for their valuable instruments, plus up to 26 weeks paid sick leave (to protect injured players) and 10 weeks paid vacation leave."

OK: Sponsor Says Arts-Cutting Bill is Dead

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 08:08:17 EST

"A measure that proposed to eventually eliminate all funding to the Oklahoma Arts Council won't advance this year, the bill's author said.

Rep. Josh Cockroft said House Bill 1895 has been assigned to the House of Representatives Rules Committee, where it is unlikely to get a hearing this year.

'They didn't have support for it,' said Cockroft, referring to GOP leaders in the House where Republicans have a 72-29 majority. 'It's dead on arrival, basically...I'm OK with that,' said Cockroft (R-Tecumseh). 'I wasn't presenting it just to get a bill passed. It's to merely point to a bigger conversation which I think we need to be having—which is, can we make sure that every dollar's going where it absolutely needs to go?'

House Majority Floor Leader Pam Peterson (R-Tulsa) said HB 1895 was assigned to the House Rules Committee because Cockroft listed the measure as his ninth priority. House members are limited to filing eight bills in a session.

'All bills over eight go to Rules,' Peterson said.

HB 1895 called for reducing state funding to the Arts Council each fiscal year by 25 percent. The appropriation from lawmakers was to end in 2017.

The Arts Council is seeking a $500,000 increase for the 2014 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Half would be to pay for community arts programs and the other half would be for arts education programs. The council provides grants to communities and schools; grant money not spent is returned to the council and used in the next fiscal year.

Cockroft's measure was widely criticized. Several lawmakers said privately they would not have voted for it.

Sen. James Halligan, chairman of a Senate budget subcommittee on education, said he opposed the measure. He said he would have been surprised if the measure had passed the Legislature.

'If you're interested in economic development, you've got to have cultural development at the same time,' said Halligan (R-Stillwater). 'They're intimately linked.'"

SC: Governor Targets State Arts Agency

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 09:50:37 EST

"Gov. Nikki Haley wants to fold the S.C. Arts Commission into the State Museum, a move that would eliminate the arts group’s board and director but leave intact its grants program.

Asked about Haley’s proposal by state House budget writers, Ken May, the commission’s executive director, said, 'It eliminates the Arts Commission, so you can imagine I’m not the biggest fan of that.'

Haley has proposed severe cuts to the Arts Commission before.

In 2012, the first-term Republican governor recommended eliminating the agency, saying its administrative costs were too high. When lawmakers ignored her, Haley vetoed the agency’s funding. Lawmakers overrode her veto.

According to Haley’s executive budget proposal, merging the Arts Commission and the State Museum would reduce the commission’s personnel costs by 30 percent, including eliminating the executive director’s $91,664-a-year position.

The agency’s grants program, and some associated employees, would be transferred to the State Museum, a move that May says would result in the loss of some services that the commission provides.

In 2012-2013, about $1.8 million of the agency’s $3.46 million budget went directly to arts organizations, including museums, arts councils, orchestras and schools, May said. The agency received about $1.9 million of its budget directly from the state.

The agency grants money to arts organizations statewide and provides professional development and grants to artists. It also develops education programming for public schools.

For 2013-2014, May is asking lawmakers for $1 million more for grants, $30,000 for ongoing professional development programs for artist-entrepreneurs, and $25,000 to create cultural districts that foster partnerships between arts and business communities across the state.

May worries that, under Haley’s proposal, the state may not be eligible for some federal arts grants."

Fundamental Flaw in Nonprofit Fundraising?

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 09:21:51 EST

"A new national survey of nonprofit executives suggests it isn’t just the uncertain economy that’s making it hard for charities—including arts and culture groups—to meet their fundraising goals. The research says there’s something fundamentally amiss with the way many of them go about courting donors.

'This study reveals that many nonprofit organizations are stuck in a vicious cycle that threatens their ability to raise the resources they need to succeed,' begins the 36-page report commissioned by the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund and conducted by CompassPoint, a San Francisco-based organization that provides management advice to nonprofits.

Dubbed Underdeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising, the study says it’s the first systematic attempt to explore how chief fundraisers for nonprofits view their jobs—and how that dovetails or clashes with the expectations of the chief executives they work for.

Arts, culture, and humanities accounted for 11% of the 1,852 head fundraisers and 870 chief executives who responded to the 2012 survey, making it the second-largest sector. Human services was the largest sector, at 22%.

A key finding is that half the chief fundraisers, or 'development directors' as they're known in the nonprofit world, expect to leave their current jobs within two years due to an assortment of pressures, including a frequent feeling that they’re out on a limb because they're expected to produce results without having enough backup from bosses and boards that haven’t managed to put effective, systematic fundraising plans and approaches in place.

Only 58% of the development directors rated their organizations’ fundraising as 'effective' or 'very effective,' compared with 83% of the chief executives, and nearly a third of the fundraisers said they’d been given 'unrealistic' goals. Their average annual pay ranged from $49,141 at organizations with budgets under $1 million to $100,127 when budgets exceeded $10 million."

OK: Proposal Slowly Axes State Arts Agency

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 09:35:57 EST

"A bill filed in the Oklahoma House of Representatives proposes all funding to the Oklahoma Arts Council (OAC) be eliminated.

The legislation, written by state Rep. Josh Cockroft, R-Tecumseh, would reduce state government funding to the OAC each fiscal year by 25 percent, eventually ending the appropriation in 2017.

The first reading takes place Feb. 4. If passed, the bill will become effective July 1. Cockroft said the bill may be assigned to a committee next week.

Cockroft said his intent in writing HB 1895 is to simplify state spending and focus on funneling state tax dollars to core government functions like education.

'My goal with this bill isn’t to destroy the arts in Oklahoma. It’s actually quite contrary. I personally have been involved in the arts over the last couple of years,' Cockroft said. 'I think there is a need and an incredible desire for that here in Oklahoma. The question is: Is that the state government’s responsibility?'

The state appropriates $4 million to the OAC every year, Cockroft said.

According to the OAC website, $4 million is less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the state budget, with 80 percent of funding going directly to communities across the state. Those funds support Oklahoma’s $314.8 million nonprofit arts and cultural industry and more than 10,000 jobs. The industry generates $29 million in state and local tax revenue."

NY: 1 Percent for Culture Campaign Begins

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:37:04 EST

"Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, Chair of the Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations Committee announced his support for the One Percent for Culture Campaign at an event at MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, strengthening the growing coalition to support New York City’s cultural landscape.

The councilman’s support lends political clout to the rapidly growing coalition of cultural, business, civic leaders, and artists throughout all five boroughs who recognize the vital role of the city’s 1,200-plus nonprofit cultural organizations.

'Through a coalition of hundreds of nonprofit cultural organizations and tens of thousands of New Yorkers we will continue to fight for essential funding we so desperately need for the arts,' said Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, 'By increasing funding for culture and the arts in all five boroughs we will sustain our New York City’s dominance as the world’s premiere cultural capital for future years to come.'

One Percent for Culture is an an unprecedented collaboration across New York City’s cultural and business communities aimed at educating New Yorkers about the value of non-profit culture to New York City. The city has made great strides by increasing capital support for cultural organizations over the past decade, and this campaign seeks to ensure that the next administration understands the vital role culture plays in our city. Only with future operating support can these investments in our cultural organizations provide long-term benefit to all New Yorkers.

The coalition, which has grown to 245 members, seeks to garner a commitment from the city to ensure that non-profit cultural organizations across all five boroughs receive one percent of the municipal expense budget annually. More than 25,000 New Yorkers have already signed the One Percent for Culture appeal in support of investment in cultural organizations."

MN: The Economics of Twin Cities Artists

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:29:12 EST

It is commonly said among artists that they chose to work in the Twin Cities for the quality of life and the general health of the cultural community. It certainly isn't for the money.

'The majority of artists are not, quote, making a living from their art,' said Vickie Benson, arts program director at the McKnight Foundation. 'They are cobbling work together not so they can have opulent lives but so they can cover the basics.'

Here is the good news for those who want to make a living in the arts: There are dozens of theater companies and lots of dance troupes; two full-time orchestras (assuming the current troubles work themselves out) and a part-time opera ensemble; art galleries large and small; choral groups like few other regions, and decent state, foundation and private funding for arts groups.

Here's the bad news: If you quit playing your instrument after college, you have little chance of making the orchestras; acting jobs rarely last for an entire year; the average dancer earns about $7,000 annually; visual artists live by what they can sell; full-time choral work is extremely rare, and grant money is highly competitive.

A 2005 survey by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA) found that full-time artists in the state earned an average of $44,204 annually. But only $34,342 came strictly from their art. In addition to the 4,722 full-time artists surveyed, another 11,805 defined as part-timers fared a bit better overall ($45,888)—perhaps because they spent more time in better-paying day jobs."

TX: PTA, Museum Return Arts Ed to Schools

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:40:49 EST

"Longview Museum of Fine Arts (LMFA) is bringing art education back into Pine Tree schools.

Through a partnership between the museum and district, representatives from LMFA go to the intermediate and primary schools on a regular basis to provide arts education.

Pine Tree Intermediate School Assistant Principal Shannon Hennigan said the partnership formed after the Parent Teacher Association wanted to bring back art classes. Fine arts funding was among programs slashed two years ago by the state legislature.

'Art is usually one of the first things to be cut, honestly,' Hennigan said. 'But, it’s so important. We want kids today to have the opportunity to learn the things we learned about when we were kids. They’ve been learning about things like symmetry and primary colors.'

The idea helped the intermediate school find a time to coordinate its 18 third-grade teachers, she said. Pine Tree Intermediate School has about 350 third-graders in 18 self-contained classrooms, which means each teacher is responsible for educating the children in all of the core subjects...

The PTA helped with the partnership so the school didn’t have to budget funds for LMFA staff to come to the campus, she added.

'I know that if we didn’t have Ann here, we wouldn’t have an organized art activity for our students,' Hennigan said.

It also allowed Werline, a former third-grade teacher, to get back into a school. She wants to see the program expand, possibly with retired educators who want to volunteer taking the reins and preparing lessons."

Artist Chuck Close Inspires Students

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 10:03:04 EST

"Stationed in front of one of his large self-portraits, the artist Chuck Close raised his customized wheelchair to balance on two wheels, seeming to defy the laws of gravity.

The chair’s unlikely gymnastics underlined the points that Mr. Close was making to his audience, 40 seventh and eighth graders from Bridgeport, CT.: Break the rules and use limitations to your advantage.

The message had particular resonance for these students, and a few educators and parents, who had come by bus from Roosevelt School to the Pace Gallery in Chelsea for a private tour of Mr. Close’s show. Roosevelt, located in a community with high unemployment and crushing poverty, recently had one of the worst records of any school in the state, with 80 percent of its seventh graders testing below grade level in reading and math.

Saved from closure by a committed band of parents, the school was one of eight around the country chosen last year to participate in Turnaround Arts, a new federally sponsored public-and-private experiment that puts the arts at the center of the curriculum. Arranging for extra funds for supplies and instruments, teacher training, partnerships with cultural organizations and high-profile mentors like Mr. Close, Turnaround is trying to use the arts to raise academic performance across the board. 'Art saved my life,' Mr. Close told the children. And he believes it can save the lives of others, too.

So now he was giving a pizza party and answering a question about why he started to paint.

'I wanted people to notice me, not that I couldn’t remember their faces or add or subtract,' he said, referring to the learning and neurological disabilities that set him apart from his classmates when he was growing up in Monroe, WA.

A terrible writer and test-taker, Mr. Close used art to make it through school. Instead of handing in a paper, he told the children, 'I made a 20-foot-long mural of the Lewis and Clark trail.'

Starting in Pace’s large central gallery, where his giant portraits of other artists like Philip Glass, Paul Simon and Laurie Anderson looked on, Mr. Close told the group that 'everything about my work is driven by my learning disabilities.'

Born with prosopagnosia, a condition that prevents him from recognizing faces, Mr. Close explained that the only way he can remember a face is by breaking it down into small 'bite-sized' pieces, like the tiny squares or circles of color that make up his paintings and prints.

'I figured out what I had left and I tried to make it work for me,' he said. 'Limitations are important.'"

IL: Lt. Gov. Visits School, Plays Banjo

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 09:49:39 EST

"It turns out that strumming a banjo is a quick way to calm a crowd of kindergartners.

Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon found that out, when she warmed up her five strings while students filled the gymnasium at Lee School.

Simon visited Lee to perform for a student assembly at the request of music teacher Mary von Liski, who had seen state’s second-in-command play banjo on television and decided 'on a whim' to contact Simon. That request turned into an schoolwide assembly.

'(Simon) acts as the governor’s point person for education reform,' principal Nathan Kochanowski said to the students before Simon began her performance. 'Which is why she’s here—she loves school.'

Simon first answered a few questions about her job, describing her role to the elementary students as similar to that of a substitute teacher—filling in for Gov. Pat Quinn when he is unavailable.

Two students also asked Simon to confirm their belief that the banjo comes from 'back in the old days,' but she added that it originated specifically in Africa.

Then the music got the students on their feet. They twisted and danced to 'La Bamba' and sang along with Simon to their favorites 'Jingle Bells' and 'Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.'

'It was very cool,' said fifth-grader Marilyn Reid, who said she enjoys singing. 'I think it’s very cool to see someone that’s very important to our state.'"

CT: Arts Inject $653M into State Economy

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 09:28:58 EST

"There's a lot that goes into a trip to the theater—driving, perhaps a dinner, parking, buying tickets that support the actors, directors, costume designers. The economic impact of the arts in Connecticut, according to a recent report, is upwards of $653 million a year.

The report, which was unveiled by state economic development officials and Americans for the Arts, which conducted the study, drew out the impacts of arts organizations and their audiences on the state's economy. It tracked direct expenditures related to the arts, jobs and local and state tax revenues.

Connecticut measured up well against similarly sized states or regions studied by the report—about 83 percent higher in arts-related spending and 47 percent higher for employment.

The total spending on arts includes $455 milllion from arts organizations on artists and facilities and $197 million spent by audiences and visitors on meals sourvenirs, transportation, and lodging.

As arts organizations find their way through the tough economy, some closing along the way like the Hartford Children's Theater, this data is being held up as a strong argument for continued support for the arts.

'It's not a silver bullet,' said Randy Cohen, head of research and policy for the Americans For The Arts. 'But this data gives the arts a place at the table to be a part of sustainable economic revitalization.'

Cohen presented the state figures to the arts community at the Palace Theater on Main Street in Waterbury."

PA: County Officials Question Arts Funding

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 09:21:19 EST

"When Lackawanna County enacted a dedicated education and culture tax in 2005, then-Commissioners Robert C. Cordaro and A.J. Munchak set aside allocations of $250,000 each for the Scranton Cultural Center, the Everhart Museum and the county library system.

Every county budget since, over the course of seven years and two changes in administration, has included a $250,000 line-item allocation from the tax proceeds for each institution to support its arts and cultural endeavors.

Until now.

The 2013 county budget adopted last week zeroes out specific allocations for the cultural center, the Everhart and the library system, rolling the money instead into a $790,000 pot until majority Commissioners Jim Wansacz and Corey O'Brien decide how it will be divvied up.

Mr. Wansacz and Mr. O'Brien, who plan to meet with all three entities in the coming weeks, said each will be asked to demonstrate why it should receive a share of the nearly $1.3 million the education and culture tax will generate next year...

Mr. Wansacz said the administration wants to examine how the three institutions spend their allocations, what the benefit is to the community and whether it is 'the best use of taxpayer money.' 'We haven't made any decisions on anything one way or another,' he said.

At the Everhart, the education and culture funding amounted to 30 percent of the museum's $820,000 budget this year, which Executive Director Cara Sutherland acknowledged is 'significant.'

She said the Everhart uses the county money for programming, which 'for us is everything that happens here in the building but also the programs we take out into the community.'

She said she will be prepared to make the Everhart's case before the commissioners and expects the museum to receive an allocation from the county.

'I'm not in panic mode,' Ms. Sutherland said. 'I think it behooves all of us well to show what it is we do with the money, that we are accountable as well.'"

CT: Governor Cuts Funding, Including Arts

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 11:25:12 EST

"Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's $150 million in immediate cuts to deal with a looming deficit has an effect on many arts, cultural, heritage and tourism organizations.

The governor cut a total of $1,038,742 from the Department of Economic and Communuity Development—where the arts, cultural, historical and tourism budget items are located—including:

Shubert Theater in New Haven, $15,148
Hartford Urban Arts Grants, $15,148
New Britain Arts Council, $3,030
Ivoryton Playhouse, $6,000
Economic Development Grants, $87,146
Garde Center for the Performing Arts in New London, $12,000
Discovery Museum, $15,148
National Theatre of the Deaf, $6,059
Culture, tourism and arts grants, $80,000;
Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, $8,416;
Connecticut Science Center, $25,224; Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, $10,000
Local theater grants, $20,000 (the new line item for six producing and one presenting theater)
Greater Hartford Arts Council, $3,787
Stamford Center for the Arts, $15,148
New Haven's International Festival of Arts & Ideas, $31,891
New Haven Arts Council, $3,787
Waterbury's Palace Theater, $15,148
Beardsley Zoo, $14,174
Mystic Aquarium, $24,804
Twain/Stowe House, $3,827
Stepping Stone Museum for Children, $1,772
Maritime Center Authority, $21,261
Tourism districts, $59,824"

Female Philanthropists Emerging as a Force

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 11:26:07 EST

"Although the field of philanthropy has long been dominated by white men, research published in the last twenty years suggests that women of all races are donating more to charity and are more involved in charitable work than their male counterparts, the New York Times reports.

According to research from the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, women tend to be more generous, regardless of their age, race, or education, 'because they are socialized to be that way.' With a greater number of women earning more than they used to—albeit still just 80 percent of men's earnings—the sector has seen an increase in the number of active female philanthropists in a broad range of fields, especially social services—education, health care, workforce development—and causes focused on addressing the needs and challenges of women and girls.

Not surprisingly, a number of charities are taking measures to boost their engagement with women philanthropists. The United Way, for example, created networks of female donors, dubbed Women's Leadership Councils, to mobilize female donors. The effort has paid off, as, over the past twelve years, the councils have raised some $985 million in support of the organization's mission to help people worldwide achieve their potential.

But as more women get in the habit of making major gifts to nonprofits, experts predict that the differences between male and female philanthropists will narrow. One of the biggest differences between them at the moment, notes the Times, is that men tend to request public recognition for their gifts. Don't be surprised, the Times adds, if in a few years time there are many more buildings with women's names on them.

'Women have to [start giving] out loud,' Melanie Sabelhaus, co-founder of the American Red Cross's Tiffany Circle, told the Times. 'Because it inspires other women.'"

Ann Arbor Voters Reject Public Art Tax

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:45:28 EST

"City officials said they were disappointed in the wake of the rejection by Ann Arbor voters of a tax for a more comprehensive public art program on Election Day.

Public art administrator Aaron Seagraves said he was surprised the millage was rejected, and though he could not speculate on voter sentiment, he supposed the new model of funding could have driven voters away.

'I’m not sure why it wasn’t passed by voters,' Seagraves said. 'The Percent for Art funding could have been preferred to the funding on the millage. Maybe that’s why the voters thought they didn’t need a new millage for it.'

The millage was an alternative to the current public arts funding program Percent for Art, which has encountered difficulty in providing public arts projects under heavy restrictions that limit displays to permanent art installations on specified government properties. Following rejection of the proposal, Ann Arbor will return to the previous model, which utilizes city funding rather than tax money from residents.

The tax would have cost the average homeowner about $11 a month and was expected to bring in about $450,000 annually. The new model for funding included a mill tax model for funding public arts in Ann Arbor. Instead of the current system, which takes the funds from different departments in the city, the funding for projects would come directly from the residents.

Seagraves noted that lack of awareness about the proposal could have added to the dismissal by voters.

'There wasn’t a whole lot of time to go campaign,' Seagraves said. 'Between the idea of it being on the ballot, it was probably two months between Election Day and when it was put on the ballot.'

City Councilmember Chris Taylor (D–Ward 3) sponsored the ballot proposal. He said e-mail questionnaires he sent to his constituents about the millage before Election Day garnered mixed reactions from the community.

'When I asked voters directly on my e-mail list what they thought of the proposal, some were very much in favor of it, and some were very much against it because it would be an additional tax and because they liked the current program as it was constituted,' Taylor said. 'There are a variety of reasons why one might vote against it, and I think it is hard to say specifically.'

Taylor said there have been proposed plans within City Council to alter the Percent for Art program. One proposal, he said, would stop the program completely, and the other would limit the program to a smaller set of projects."

Denver: The City of Art

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:30:38 EST

"The arts have a huge role on the economic impact in Denver. Thousands of volunteers across all fronts extend their service to the industry.

Executive Director of the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts Deborah Jordy explained the impact of the Arts in Denver. 'The results were incredible, with the arts generating $1.76 billion in economic activity in 2011,' Jordy said.

The growth of art in Denver has grown significantly in the last few years and Jordy attributes this to savvy business skills. 'We credit the growth to the organizations being nimble and innovative. They've generated jobs, they're creating culture tourism, and they're building fabulous new buildings,' Jordy said.

Attendance at art events is a big part of the economic growth. 'We've been so impressed with what's happened with attendance over the last few years, with over 14 million people attending our cultural institutions, which is on the rebound from 2009,' Jordy said.

In the last 10 years, over $200 million has been accrued with $100 million for corporate support."

To hear from Jordy directly, check out this video.

CA: Increased Arts Funding for San Diego?

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 10:00:33 EDT

"If approved by the full City Council at a future meeting, the amount given to the city's Commission on Arts and Culture would increase by 129 percent to $17.9 million, according to the city's Independent Budget Analyst.

The commission supported 68 arts and culture organizations in 2011, according to a recent report.

The commission receives a portion of hotel room tax revenues in which the council has discretion. The agency gets about half of what it took in a decade ago because of the city's budget woes.

Arts advocates are pushing for a formula that would give the commission one percent of a special room tax fund. Their campaign is called Penny for the Arts...

The commission reported that the arts attracted two million visitors and $170 million of spending to San Diego in fiscal year 2011, employing around 6,000 people. Its statistics also showed that the out-of-town guests who come for arts events stay an average of two days longer and part with twice as much cash as the average tourist.

The office of Mayor Jerry Sanders is supportive of the proposal, but there would have to be some tradeoffs with other spending priorities, said mayor's representative David Graham."

DE: Economic Impact of Arts Celebrated

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 08:58:17 EDT

"In 2010 during the Great Recession, Delaware arts organizations generated $142.3 million in economic activity, virtually unchanged from six years prior.

That number is telling, considering the state lost 17 percent of its arts audience during that same period, compared to a 3 percent audience decline nationwide, a recent study shows.

The reason: Out-of-towners, with more spending power, made up for fewer locals going out on the town.

Those were among the findings released Tuesday as arts advocates met in Dover to discuss the latest national survey by Americans for the Arts. The Washington, DC-based arts lobbying group conducts a survey of organizations and patrons every six years to gauge the economic impact of nonprofit arts groups. Individual artists and for-profit groups are excluded from the study.

Roughly 300 arts, government, and community leaders attended Tuesday’s summit at the Schwartz Center. Gov. Jack Markell and First Lady Carla Markell explained that a thriving arts community makes sound business sense...

'Talent wants to work where they want to live and the arts are essential to that,' Markell said, noting that the arts are among the top 10 employers in the state. 'It makes our sales job that much easier.'

The Arts & Economic Prosperity IV study covered spending by nonprofit arts groups in 2010 and spending of arts patrons in 2011. Nationwide, arts groups generated $136 billion in economic activity, supporting the equivalent of 4.1 million full-time jobs.

In Delaware, that impact translates into $142.3 million a year. That includes nearly 4,000 full-time arts and non-arts jobs, along with taxes and fees paid to local and state governments. By comparison, Pennsylvania arts organizations had $2.5 billion in economic punch.

'Not only are the arts feeding the souls of the people who live here, but also putting food on the table,' said Nina Ozlu Tunceli, Americans for the Arts’ chief policy strategist."