International Deadline: April 10, 2023 – The Art House and the Royal Over-Seas League announces the return of this incredible UK-based fully funded residency opportunity in 2023. Open to artists worldwide…
As cinema has grown over the past century, and especially across the last two decades, we have seen the mainstream attain a more and more avant-garde bend. Quite possibly one of the most “out there” films to grace cinemas at large recently was the absurdist action romp Everything Everywhere All At Once. And, through distributor A24, fans of the truly unique cinematic experience got the chance to own a piece of it as a selection of its props and costumes went up for auction at the start of the month.
For those that may have missed it, Everything Everywhere All At Once is the multiverse-spanning, genre-blending sensation that was on every film fan’s lips in 2022. Beginning in the mundane storytelling confines of a woman, Evelyn Quan Wang (Michelle Yeoh), trying to pull herself together to complete her taxes as her marriage to Waymond Wang (Ke Huy Quan) and her relationship with her daughter Joy Wang (Stephanie Hsu) each begins to fail. Catapulting from this, Evelyn becomes privy to the existence of multiversal travel as she finds her relationship with herself and her loved ones as key components to a potentially world-ending cataclysm.
The film’s irreverent, absurdist, and incredibly heartfelt tone that was expertly balanced by writer-directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert was an instant hit across festivals and widespread release. It’s no surprise then that famed distributor A24 would choose to hold an auction of some of this filmic tour de force.
From perfectly popping pieces of mundane clothing such as Waymond’s fanny pack and Evelyn’s red quilted vest to the absurdist oddities of countless realities such as the unforgettable hot dog finger hands and a sentient rock with googly eyes, to say this auction was eclectic does as much a disservice to this beautifully lurid collection as it would the film. All together the auction raised over half a million dollars—and even more admirably the proceeds go to the charities of the Asian Mental Health Project, the Transgender Law Center and the Laundry Workers Center.
Perhaps most unsurprising of this auction is that the puppet for the now legendary Raccacoonie sold for $90,000 alone.
Everything Everywhere All At Once was a profound and unexpected hit in a mainstream film market that has become accustomed to the inescapable loom of blockbuster franchises. To see the venerated success of a work that sought to give comfort and understanding to identity’s rare to hold centre stage in an action epic (as absurd as it may be) gives a hopeful reminder of the power of the medium.
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on March 7, 2023
Upstart’s people-focused approach to impact assessment recognizes the role that investments in the creative economy can play in advancing social justice, financial inclusion, economic opportunity, and community development. Upstart tracks the impact of creative economy investments across five dimensions:
Access to capital for BIPOC and women entrepreneurs: Funds and companies that are led by diverse managers and founders, respectively; as well as investments in funds that are backing diverse founders.
Quality Jobs: Jobs that provide a living wage, basic benefits, career-building opportunities, wealth-building opportunities, and a fair and engaging workplace.
Vibrant communities: Activities that strengthen economic development, encourage civic engagement, build resiliency, and contribute to quality of life.
Sustainable creative lives: Ownership models, earnings opportunities, and pathways to wealth building that support a “creative middle class.”
An inclusive creative economy: Economic activity anchored in Openness & Experimentation, Diversity & Inclusion, and Tradition & Innovation that benefits artists, designers and all members of the community.
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on March 7, 2023
Public Health Grand Rounds at the Aspen Institute invite you to a lunchtime book talk in D.C. featuring authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross in discussion about their new, ground-breaking work.
Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us shares the new science behind humanity’s evolutionary birthright — to make and behold art and its power to transform our lives. What artists have always known, and researchers are now proving is that arts, in all its forms, amplify physical and mental health, learning and flourishing and build stronger communities.
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on March 6, 2023
From ASC: Last night, Feb. 27, 2023, Charlotte City Council approved a policy framework for its Arts and Culture Advisory Board. The framework makes ASC ineligible to receive operating dollars to support the personnel, technology and other resources necessary to do its work for the broader cultural sector.
ASC is deeply disappointed by the City Council’s vote because:
1. The City’s Arts and Culture Advisory Board was created to distribute funds from the Infusion Fund. Its charge is to help provide stability for the cultural sector for three years (Fiscal Years 2022-2024) while the City’s Cultural Plan is developed. The Cultural Plan is yet to be completed.
2. ASC has received operating support dollars for the first two years of the Infusion Fund. This decision by City Council changes the course in the final year of the Infusion Fund and goes against a key tenet of its Arts and Culture Advisory Board, which is “Do No Harm.”
3. Since the creation of the City’s Arts and Culture Advisory Board, ASC has been a partner to help invest in the sector. It will continue to partner with the Arts and Culture Advisory Board in the final year of the Infusion Fund.
ASC is grateful to those who advocate on its behalf. Thank you.
ASC is Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s Local Arts Agency. Its role is to support the broader cultural sector and provide funding and services to strengthen the sector culturally, socially, educationally and economically. ASC does its work with intention, inclusivity and equity at its core. ASC is proud of the amazing work its team does to support creative individuals and organizations of all sizes across the community.
ASC will continue to show up each day to invest in the people, programs and ideas that make Charlotte-Mecklenburg a more equitable, sustainable and creative ecosystem.
ASC is currently building its budget for next year and knows it will need increased support from the community. If you care about ASC and its work, please make a financial gift today.
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on March 2, 2023
From Ford Foundation: “Mellon, Ford, Getty, and Terra Foundations today announced Advancing Latinx Art in Museums (ALAM) – the new initiative represents the second phase of a multi-year funding collaboration seeking to nurture and prioritize US Latinx art. The funding partners have committed a combined $5 million to the initiative, which will provide ten grants of $500,000 to institutions in support of the creation and formalization of ten permanent early and mid-career curatorial positions with expertise in Latinx art.”
“Latinx artists—creatives of Latin American or Caribbean descent who live and work in the US—have made significant and vital contributions to American culture for generations. ALAM is a collaborative initiative that aims to bolster museums and visual art organizations that have shown a commitment to collecting, studying, exhibiting, and engaging with Latinx art and artists by ensuring they have the capacity to employ specialist curators. Funding will support the hiring of five new curators and the promotion of five curatorial staff into permanent roles at institutions across the United States and Puerto Rico. The grant program will also include opportunities to enhance and grow the existing community of curators with expertise in Latinx art, connecting the individuals supported at each participating institution to each other and to a wider circle of museum professionals working in this space.”
“People who identify as Latinx comprise nearly twenty percent of the U.S. population overall and considerably more in some of the country’s largest cities. Yet, Latinx causes and organizations routinely receive less than two percent of philanthropic funding. While annual funding for Latinx arts and culture has seen a gradual annual increase since 2020, Latinx artists remain the largest majority missing from most museum collections, exhibitions, scholarship, and programming. ALAM, and the greater Latinx Art Visibility Initiative, is part of a long overdue effort to support Latinx artists and to ignite a public conversation about the rightful place of Latinx art within American art.”
“ALAM recipients include large institutions, college and university museums, and leading Latinx museums – spanning scale, modality, and location – all aligned in their commitment to building or expanding a curatorial focus on Latinx art and ultimately creating a more inclusive curatorial field.”
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on March 2, 2023
“How much do we really know about how the ultrarich give their money away?” said Whizy Kim for Vox. “It’s surprisingly hard to say. This week, the Chronicle of Philanthropy published its annual ranking of the top 50 donors from 2022, a list it compiles by asking nonprofits what gifts they received and philanthropists what gifts they gave. It’s a list dominated by Silicon Valley billionaires with sprinklings of Wall Street investors, real estate magnates, media moguls, and heirs and heiresses of industry, who gave hundreds of millions (and in a few cases, billions) to private foundations, universities, and medical centers.”
“Despite its best efforts, however, the publication can’t create a comprehensive list; if a donor declines to disclose what they gave, it’s extremely difficult to find that information. Tax records, where tax-exempt nonprofits disclose how they spent their money, might not become public for a year or longer. Increasingly, too, the nation’s richest folks are adopting forms of mega-giving that aren’t required to be disclosed at all.”
“Chronicle of Philanthropy senior reporter Maria Di Mento, who compiles the annual list, told Vox by email that she wasn’t surprised by Gates’s and Scott’s reticence to reveal how much they had given this year and where it went. It’s not uncommon for donors to not want to share details, and Scott in particular is famously uncommunicative with the press about her giving. But Di Mento added that she hoped that in the future, they’d be willing to disclose more details.”
“Even when billionaires do disclose their gifts, a degree of opaqueness persists around their philanthropic efforts. How much did they give, and what was their motivation? Did the giving do any good? One example: Elon Musk, who was second on last year’s list but nowhere in the top 50 this year, was added to the ranking in a post-publication update on Wednesday after a surprise SEC filing that became public Tuesday night revealed that he had donated almost $2 billion worth of Tesla stock to charity in 2022. Which charity? We simply don’t know. His reps hadn’t said a peep when the Chronicle had reached out for its reporting.”
“The last time Musk made a hefty donation, of $5.7 billion worth of shares in 2021, it aroused a flurry of speculation around where the money went, with theories ranging from a donor-advised fund to the UN World Food Program. Bloomberg reported a year later, using public tax records, that it had gone to his private foundation, which distributed just $160 million of its total $9.4 billion in assets in 2022.”
“Philanthropy is a combination of public and private, in its essence. I think anyone who says it’s entirely public isn’t capturing its full nature. But anyone who says that philanthropy is entirely private is missing something pretty key: That tussle between how much accountability the public can demand, and how much discretion a donor can claim is one of the definitional tensions of the current moment.”
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on February 27, 2023
From American’s for the Arts: “For more than 80 years, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) has been helping shape land-use decisions to improve the built environment of our communities. In a new report—Creative Placemaking: Recommendations from and Impact of Six Advisory Services Panels—ULI uses six case studies to demonstrate how creative placemaking can spark a cultural rebirth in real estate projects, revitalize communities, and boost returns on investment for developers. In addition to making the business case and process for bringing art and culture to the early design process of a real estate development projects, it also provides best practices about how to plan, finance, implement, and manage projects.”
Americans for the Arts is proud to have been a resource in the development of this report. Through our ongoing engagement with report author Juanita Hardy, Americans for the Arts research was used in supporting the role of arts and culture in real estate development practices.
“Hardy, a strong proponent of creative placemaking and community engagement, said about the report: ‘The ULI case studies in our report are models for how creative placemaking can revitalize and transform diverse communities. In urban areas that are changing due to gentrification, it’s an invaluable tool for preserving history and culture. In communities threatened by environmental change, it inspires creative solutions that promote resilience.'”
“Hardy continued in support of artists in real estate development, ‘Artists bring fresh approaches to problem solving. They are creators, innovators, people connectors, and more. Engaging artists early in the design process can be crucial for solving difficult land use challenges.'”
“Americans for the Arts is excited to share the report with the field and encourage engaging the arts as part of land use development. More information and a free copy of the report can be found on the Urban Land Institute website.”
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on February 28, 2023
An open letter to philanthropy
In rare moments in philanthropy, history and opportunity meet, and donors everywhere are presented with a chance to contribute to a dramatic leap forward. These moments bring an opening to make generational progress on the most pressing issues of our time. A space for courage to confront philanthropy’s broken promises and practices of the past. A vehicle to shift resources—quickly and deeply—to our most innovative leaders at the forefront of change. We are writing today because we believe that the Black Feminist Fund is that opportunity. And this is our time. As a growing community of individual donors, institutional leaders, and donor advocates, we urge you to join us while momentum is on our side.
We work on many different issues, but we are united by a common conviction: It’s time to fund Black feminist movements like we want them to win. Because across our most urgent global challenges—from Colombia to Sudan, Brazil and Nigeria, to the US and France—Black feminists are dreaming and delivering the solutions we need. History shows us time and again: When Black feminists win, democracy wins. When Black feminists win, climate justice wins. When Black feminists win, inequality loses, and justice comes closer to our reach.
The Black Feminist Fund is an intervention whose time has come. It emerged from a decade-long conversation among Black feminist organizers across the globe who dared to imagine a vehicle to remove one of their steepest barriers: funding the work. And the stakes are high. For donors, that’s on us. It’s a barrier we can and must remove. Evidence shows us that the work of autonomous feminist movements is the one key factor in creating lasting change not only on issues that directly affect women and girls but in deep structural changes that positively transform societies.
But as the essential role of Black women in movements becomes clearer, so does the reality that Black women are the least likely to receive the financial support and other resources to sustain their work. In 2018, out of nearly $70 billion in foundation giving globally, less than half of one percent went to Black feminist social movements. Most affected are Black women whose lives are at the intersections of multiple oppressions: for example Black rural women, Black trans women and gender nonconforming people, Black women with disabilities and impoversished Black women.
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on March 1, 2023
From the MacArthur Foundation, “Black feminist organizers are addressing the systemic challenges facing democracy, yet Black feminist organizations receive less than half of one percent of foundation giving world-wide. MacArthur, along with several other funders, is supporting an effort to rectify this disparity. ‘We work on many different issues, but we are united by a common conviction: It’s time to fund Black feminist movements like we want them to win.'”
“Funding for Black feminists and prioritizing Black women, trans, and gender nonconforming people is a key factor in lasting, positive change in society. MacArthur-supported Black Feminist Fund is working toward a safer more just society that creates sustained resources and investment to advance Black feminist work, with ripple effects for all people who hold intersecting identities.”