In the latest episode of Art Restart with the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, they are joined by Trey McIntyre, “a graduate of the UNCSA School of Dance, [who] went on to the Houston Ballet Academy whereupon finishing his training, he was given the position of Choreographic Apprentice at the Ballet…”

“In this interview with Pier Carlo Talenti, Trey discusses why and how he has always pushed himself past comfort zones in order to feed his voracious curiosity and wonders what it will take for dance companies to remain equally curious and nimble in the digital age.”

“As his freelance career started to take off, [Trey] did something completely unexpected. Rather than tether himself to a large coastal metropolis or a European capital, he decided to settle down in Boise, ID, where he created Trey McIntyre Project, a vibrant dance company that quickly garnered the world’s attention, spending up to 22 weeks a year on national and international touring. Then 10 years later in 2014, at the height of the company’s success, Trey decided to fold the company and return to freelancing.”

“He continues to be an in-demand choreographer around the world — just before the pandemic he created works for Queensland Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and The Washington Ballet — but lately he has also been diving into a new artistic passion. He has a photographic practice, creating kinetic and often erotic tableaux of the human body, that he supports through a network of fans via a Patreon account. In 2018 he also directed ‘Gravity Hero,’ a documentary about his journey with his Boise-based dance company.”

Listen to the episode here.

From AgitArte: “¡Saludos! For the first time AgitArte is hosting a funders briefing to share our most recent work and celebrate the last 25 years of cultural solidarity work, popular education, agitation and arts for our collective liberation. We are inviting all of our foundation and philanthropic supporters and partners to join us in imagining the next 25 years of AgitArte’s critical work. Details and RSVP information below. We hope you can make it and we can’t wait to see you!”

“This is a reminder that AgitArte’s Funder Briefing is this Wednesday, December 7th at 1pm EST. There’s still time to RSVP (if you haven’t already!) and join us on Zoom! If you cannot make it to the live gathering but would like to watch the briefing, please RSVP anyway and we’ll get you the recording.”

“For the first time AgitArte is hosting a Funder Briefing to share our most recent work and celebrate the last 25 years of cultural solidarity work, popular education, agitation and arts for our collective liberation. We are inviting all of our foundation and philanthropic supporters and partners to join us in imagining the next 25 years of AgitArte’s critical work. We hope you can make it and can’t wait to see you!”

Learn more and RSVP here.

From Philadelphia’s Cultural Treasures: “The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage in collaboration with The Barra Foundation, Neubauer Family Foundation, William Penn Foundation, and Wyncote Foundation announced today $1,170,000 in fellowships to 12 Philadelphia-area artists and cultural practitioners of color through the Philadelphia’s Cultural Treasures (PCT) funding initiative.  These fellowships are awarded as part of the regional component of America’s Cultural Treasures, an initiative created by the Ford Foundation. The PCT efforts specifically support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) cultural groups, artists, and organizations with exceptional significance to Greater Philadelphia.”

“The PCT artist fellowships recognize and reward the efforts of remarkably talented, Philadelphia-based BIPOC artists and cultural workers who make a material difference in their communities over and above the already challenging work of sustaining their own careers. The awards range from $75,000 to $120,000 in unrestricted funds, with the higher amounts awarded to artists whose contributions have made an impact on the region for 20 years or more. Additionally, $15,000 in retirement savings will be awarded to each fellow along with professional development opportunities to promote their well-being and assist with advancing their work.”

“The 2022 Philadelphia’s Cultural Treasures fellows represent extraordinary artistic practices and exemplary community-driven work by artists of color that are critical to the city’s cultural landscape,” said Paula Marincola, executive director of The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. “We are honored and delighted to be a part of the collaborative effort with our regional partners to support these artists’ creative activities and to steward this aspect of the Cultural Treasures funding initiative in Philadelphia.”

Read the full announcement here.

From Ruth Foundation for the Arts: “The formation of Ruth Arts’ multi-year Thought Leaders program is inspired by the breadth of Ruth DeYoung Koher II’s life and giving—non-hierarchical and committed to structural change with an unwavering generosity and a dedication to the unexpected. Through a substantial, sustained level of support, our multi-year program uplifts organizations undertaking ambitious, transformative initiatives with long-term impact. Organizations that are dedicated to the complex work of forming new possibilities through experimentation, capacity building, and deeper understandings and investigations of our histories, environments, or the full arc of an artist’s life.”

“Each organization enters the program with their own expressed goals and receives $300,000 over three years. Their proposed projects ask the most urgent questions of our time: How do you transfer leadership with generosity and care? How do you evolve while resisting mission drift? How do you remain rooted in your community in meaningful ways while being connected to critical conversations at large? How do you make work in a time of fundamental social, economic, and ecological uncertainty? How do we form generative rather than extractive relationships to the land? How do you express abundance and joy in your operations? How do you imagine growth while confronting colonial legacies? What is inheritance in relation to collective care? How do you honor those that came before while creating space for new formations? How do we retell and reconceive history?”

“An integral aspect of the multi-year program is its emphasis on generosity and thought leadership—that the participating organizations commit to public knowledge sharing throughout their term. Whether through convenings and conversations, the creation of guides and resources, or a unique programmatic execution that could be modeled for their peers, the field will have the opportunity to work alongside and learn from their processes, to restructure and re-envision the future of art together.”

Read the full announcement here.

From Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors: “How might philanthropy better support efforts to build and preserve democracy given the deep-seated and persistent problems of racial injustice and inequity, especially in light of recent elections and societal trends? Democracy-Focused Philanthropy: Choosing Operating Models for Deeper Impact, a new publication released today by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), seeks to address this question, and to highlight the central role of equity and racial justice in democracy-focused philanthropy. Based on research commissioned by the  Democracy Fund  for its own strategic planning process, the report is the result of extensive research on more than a dozen democracy funders as well as interviews with leaders of ten additional foundations deeply engaged in democracy-related issues, and six experts on racial justice and DEI.”

“In 2021, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) completed research on philanthropy that was focused on protecting democracy in the United States that was commissioned by Democracy Fund for its own strategic planning process. In this research, RPA gave special attention to equity and racial justice dimensions of democracy philanthropy. Through interviews with funders and practitioners, and review of selected secondary sources1, RPA collected a wide range of information on the various ways in which philanthropy can and should support efforts to build and preserve democracy by addressing deep-seated and persistent problems of racial injustice and inequity in both the field, and in our own institutions. This report presents RPA’s insights on this important and timely topic, with the objective of helping funders understand the menu of options at their disposal for democracy philanthropy.”

“Research for this report was conducted between 2020 and 2021, during which time racial justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) came to the forefront of philanthropic interests and conversations. Arguably, and regrettably, some of the momentum to spur real action in addressing racial injustice has been lost in recent months. We believe that the findings presented in this report, in particular the compelling insights of our interviewees, can reinvigorate discussions and commitments to racial justice, DEI, and the broader agenda of advancing democracy in the United States and around the world.”

Read the full report here.

From Native Americans in Philanthropy: “There is a growing recognition that many public policy issues are more complex than one sector can address alone. One path towards lasting, systemic change? Public-private partnerships. Public-private partnerships are not new – the government and the private sector often work together on a shared mission. However, there’s a long way to go in leveraging these types of collaborations to support Tribal Nations and Native-led work. This week, Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP) joined the White House and the Department of the Interior to announce a new, historic Office of Strategic Partnerships (OSP).”

“Through OSP, there will be long-term opportunities to develop public-private partnerships to support Tribally-led projects with a focus on the critical areas of conservation, education, and economic development initiatives in Native communities. Native Americans in Philanthropy will continue to work to support philanthropic investment and philanthropic support in the U.S. for Tribal governments, their conservation work, and support co-management efforts through its conservation pledge and funding collaborative.”

“Many global philanthropic investments in Indigenous movements and Native-led initiatives neglect U.S. based Tribes. Despite underfunding, Tribes consistently demonstrate that they are the best stewards of their lands, waterways, and cultural ways of life using Indigenous ecological knowledge and their unique legal and political relationship with the U.S. government.”

“Native Americans in Philanthropy would like to share our gratitude for the community of partners who have been in solidarity with our work to increase the visibility of Native people and communities, educate funders, establish meaningful relationships and increase funding to Indigenous-led organizations, movements, and Tribal Nations.”

Read the full announcement here.

“Recovering from the worst days of the pandemic has been daunting for America’s 1,800 regional theaters. But some, thanks to philanthropic help, are using this moment as an opportunity for reinvention,” said Neda Ulaby for NPR. “Take, for example, Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul, Minn., which is grounded in a historically African-American neighborhood with aesthetic roots in the Black Arts Movement. Since Penumbra started staging plays in the early 1970s, it’s developed a national reputation for growing Black talent that’s changed theater worldwide.”

“Surviving as a theater isn’t just about money. One of the things that helped keep Penumbra alive during its lean years was the Twin Cities’ vibrant and diverse arts ecosystem, Sarah Bellamy said. ‘There’s a lot of sense of scarcity in regional theater,’ she said. ‘And that competitive mentality will kill everything.'”

“But theaters in the Twin Cities share talent and resources, which allows everyone to grow, Bellamy said. She credits the famous Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis for nourishing a robust audience that benefits the entire community.”

“When Penumbra first started, it offered free childcare — a still-radical idea that more theaters are beginning to experiment with today. Now it’s using new resources to develop programming for kids that will complement what their grownups see on stage. Back in the day, Penumbra also allowed anyone in the community to walk into rehearsals. Theater artist Daniel Alexander Jones loved that aspect when he developed new plays with Penumbra in the 1990s.”

Read the full article here.