From the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies: “The arts and creativity are increasingly recognized as necessary infrastructure for healthy, prosperous and equitable communities, regardless of community size or geography. The evidence backing the value of the arts continues to grow as more states and cities invest in arts based policies as a means to improve community health and well-being.”

“As we presented in a previous From the Research Team, NASAA and the National League of Cities (NLC) collaborated to create a series of blog posts highlighting the strength of infusing the arts into communities in Colorado, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Building on this blog series, NASAA and NLC convened a webinar, Leveraging Partnerships in the Arts to Strengthen Public Health, to further highlight arts and health work in Rhode Island and illustrate how arts and health programming is accomplished.”

The panel conversation was facilitated by Dr. Tasha Golden, director of research at the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University, who also presented on the research supporting the use of arts in health care and well-being. Valeria Tutson, artist and executive director of Rhode Island Black Storytellers, gave a creative storytelling presentation to frame Rhode Island’s Health and Human Services Artist in Residence program and the City of Providence’s Creative Community Health Worker program.

The panelists, who consisted of representatives from both programs, spoke about the on-the-ground details and opportunities in arts and heath programming, including:
tools and resources for new programs,
funding details for starting and continuing programming, and
strategies for pursuing cross-sector partnerships and engaging local communities and community assets.

“NASAA produced a new Arts, Health and Community Well-being web page and an arts and public health infographic to provide resources for arts, health and community well-being practitioners. For more information, contact NASAA Senior Director of Research Ryan Stubbs.”

Learn more about the initiative here.

“Order this year’s CSA from Springboard for the Arts, and you won’t get squash or cucumbers. You’ll get monthly deliveries of unique local art.” said Jared Kaufman for TwinCities Pioneer Press. “At the St. Paul artist resource organization, CSA stands for community-supported art. It’s an intentional nod to a better-known version of CSA — community-supported agriculture — through which people can support local farms for a whole growing season by pre-purchasing a subscription to receive regular fresh produce.”

“Each item is created specifically for the CSA boxes, and only 50 editions of each artwork are produced. So the CSA could soon sell out, Vang said, since more than half the 50 shares had already been claimed as of Dec. 14.”

“Shares run $350 apiece, which Vang said is actually a good deal given the prices you might otherwise pay for each individual artwork on its own. The CSA can be purchased online.”

“Springboard for the Arts has been organizing versions of the CSA program for many years, though for the past couple seasons, the organization nixed the in-person elements. Now, boxes are mailed to recipients, which also means folks out-of-state can participate, Vang said. Springboard also created a toolkit to help other arts resource organizations start their own community-support art programs. So far, more than 60 organizations nationwide are using Springboard’s model.”

Read the full article here.

“A lucky group of artists in New York will get guaranteed income as part of an ambitious pilot program,” said Jo Lawson-Tancred for artnet news. “The Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY) initiative has announced that it is spending $43.2 million to distribute monthly payments of $1,000 to 2,400 to artists and other creatives living across the state. Lasting for 18 months, these cash payments come with no strings attached. “

“The model is intended to provide an alternative to the system of fellowships and grants that artists typically rely on, which tends to be competitive and unevenly distributed.”

“We’re thrilled that this program helps artists meet their basic needs, and we are hopeful that Guaranteed Income for Artists serves as a model for larger scale, policy-based solutions in the future,” said Emil Kang, CRNY’s leadership council chair and the Mellon Foundation’s program director for arts and culture.

“CRNY is a three-year $125 million initiative of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support artists with guaranteed income and employment opportunities.”

Read the full article here.

From The White House: “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. The arts, the humanities, and museum and library services are essential to the well-being, health, vitality, and democracy of our Nation. They are the soul of America, reflecting our multicultural and democratic experience. They further help us strive to be the more perfect Union to which generation after generation of Americans have aspired. They inspire us; provide livelihoods; sustain, anchor, and bring cohesion within diverse communities across our Nation; stimulate creativity and innovation; help us understand and communicate our values as a people; compel us to wrestle with our history and enable us to imagine our future; invigorate and strengthen our democracy; and point the way toward progress.”

“It is the policy of my Administration to advance the cultural vitality of the United States by promoting the arts, the humanities, and museum and library services. To that end, my Administration will advance equity, accessibility, and opportunities for all Americans, particularly in underserved communities as defined in Executive Order 13985 of January 20, 2021 (Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government), so that they may realize their full potential through the arts, the humanities, and access to museum and library services. Additionally, we will strengthen America’s creative and cultural economy, including by enhancing and expanding opportunities for artists, humanities scholars, students, educators, and cultural heritage practitioners, as well as the museums, libraries, archives, historic sites, colleges and universities, and other institutions that support their work.”

“Under my Administration, the arts, the humanities, and museum and library services will be integrated into strategies, policies, and programs that advance the economic development, well-being, and resilience of all communities, especially those that have historically been underserved. The arts, the humanities, and museum and library services will be promoted and expanded to strengthen public, physical, and mental health; wellness; and healing, including within military and veteran communities. We will enhance access to high-quality arts and humanities education and programming with the aim of enabling every child in America to obtain the broad creative skills and enrichment vital to succeed. My Administration’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis will be bolstered through Federal and societal support for and advancement of the arts, the humanities, and museum and library services. We will also safeguard and promote the artistic and cultural heritage of the United States and its people domestically and internationally. Finally, my Administration will strengthen our Nation’s democracy, increase civic engagement and public service, bolster social cohesion, and advance the cause of equity and accessibility by lifting up more — and more diverse — voices and experiences through Federal support for the arts, the humanities, and museum and library services.”

Read the full announcement here.

From the National Endowment for the Arts: “On Wednesday, January 11, 2023, from 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET, Arts Endowment staff will conduct a webinar on the Grants for Arts Projects guidelines. The webinar will include an overview of the funding category and tips for applicants, as well as a Q&A session.”

“Grants for Arts Projects is the principal grants program of the National Endowment for the Arts for organizations based in the United States. Through project-based funding, the program supports public engagement with, and access to, various forms of art across the nation, the creation of art, learning in the arts at all stages of life, and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life.”

“Applicants may request cost share/matching grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. Designated local arts agencies eligible to subgrant may request from $10,000 to $150,000 for subgranting programs in the Local Arts Agencies discipline. A minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount is required.”

Learn more and register here.

From the Alliance for California Traditional Arts: “Every cultural community in the United States is rooted in a sense of belonging, shared by members, and anchored by collective wisdom and aesthetics. These roots of cultural heritage are maintained, strengthened, and expanded through the practice of folk and traditional arts. The realities of slavery, displacement, structural racism, systemic poverty, and cultural appropriation have tested the strength of these cultural roots. The stresses are even more apparent, viewed against our present-day national reckoning with these harms amidst a global pandemic. In this context, traditional arts practices are potent political acts of social belonging, power, and justice. From this field have emerged works and artists of beauty, technical prowess, and meaning.”

“This report, Tending the Taproot: Opportunities to Support Folk & Traditional Arts in the United States, presents the findings of the Alliance of California Traditional Arts’ (ACTA) Taproot Initiative. This national planning effort, aimed to re-center traditional and folk artists and their art forms as catalysts for transformation and restoration in our larger society, is aligned with other important movements in the arts and culture sector to spur critical thinking and action during this hallmark moment of radical change. The report describes the resource landscape of folk and traditional arts. It offers operational recommendations as a call to action to support taproot artist-leaders and organizations with focused investment in funding and development to do more and do better, resources for infrastructure, elevated national recognition, and new standards for robust data and research infrastructure. Our recommendations are evidenced by qualitative and quantitative research findings, grounded in ACTA’s quarter century of experience as a funder and advocate in this field.”

Read the full report here.

“At the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, we know that strong leadership is necessary to create a more equitable and vibrant New York City.”

“We also know that many of the practices, systems, and structures, which sustain inequality in our communities, also show up in our organizations and our sector, limiting our view of who a leader is and what impactful leadership looks like. As such, while many organizations are eager to transition from white leaders to leaders of color, they often do not have the experience, expertise, commitment, or supports in place to fully embrace new leadership and make these transitions successful or joyful. Too often, it is the new leaders of color who pay the price for under-prepared organizations.”

“As we continue to understand and move resources to directly support leaders of color during these transitions, we wanted to take a closer look at ourselves and our grantee community. Making (or Taking) Space seeks to inform our question: What, specifically, is the responsibility of organizations with white leaders transitioning out of these roles to support incoming leaders of color?”

“As nonprofit organizations start to examine issues of race and racial equity, more groups are seeking to replace exiting white leaders with leaders of color. To better support these transitions, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation (RSCF) asked the Building Movement Project (BMP) to explore the organizational dynamics when Black, Indigenous, or other people of color (BIPOC) are hired into executive leadership roles following the departure of white leaders.”

“To conduct this inquiry, RSCF identified nine organizations in its grantmaking portfolio that had transitioned—or were in the process of transitioning—from white to BIPOC leadership. Six of the new leaders were women of color, and three were BIPOC men. RSCF invited the exiting or former white executive directors, the board member(s) who oversaw the hiring process, and the incoming leaders of color to each participate in an hour-long interview on their experience and perspective of the transition process. BMP analyzed the interviews—a total of 30 across the nine organizations—to identify some of the common experiences.”

Read the full report here.

From the Toronto Arts Council: “As the newest wave of protests by Black bodies sets the world ablaze in 2020 once again, loudly demanding the right to live, work, play and in the case of this report, make art, organizations both public and private seem to be taking yet another step towards equity for Black bodies. Toronto Arts Council (TAC) is no exception and is showing leadership as it steps up to acknowledge its own shortcomings in support of Black Artists by designing a new grant program stream specifically for Black artists/arts organizations, which according to 90% of participants in the consultations that inform this report, is very much needed.”

“Current granting statistics within TAC show that 10% of individual artist grant applicants identified as Black in 2019 vs 8.9% in the 2016 census; 16% of organization/collective project grants and 3% of operating grant applicants identifying as Black. The success rates for individual and
organization/collective grants is reported as the same overall success rate for other applicants, and Black individual artist grants represented 9% of grant dollars awarded to individuals, Black organization/collective project grants represented 14% of granting dollars and Black organizations/collective operating grants represented only 2% of granting dollars.”

“Of the 162 respondents who participated in this consultation, 60.49% of respondents have never received funding from TAC. The community consultations that informed this report provided a valuable opportunity to reveal the specific barriers and unexplored issues that contribute to these lower numbers of support, as well as the possibilities for change.”

“While the overwhelming consensus by participants that the $300,000 represented a token gesture, it sparked the exploration of potential new ideas and revealing deeper insight into current obstructions. Great skepticism was balanced by a cautious optimism that perhaps this initiative could be an important first step by TAC to address long standing systemic issues that have shackled the artistic potential of the Black arts community.”

Read the full report here.

“The movement for reparations in the United States—a Black-led movement that began even before slavery’s end—is making unprecedented strides forward, and governments across the country are beginning to act. In October 2020, California became the first state to initiate an official task force to study and develop a reparations plan for Black Americans harmed by slavery and its legacies,” said Aria Florant and Venneikia Williams for Nonprofit Quarterly. “In March 2021, the city council in Evanston, Illinois, approved the Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program to address racial discrimination in housing. In April 2021, HR 40 was voted out of committee for the first time in its 32-year history. If passed, the bill would establish a commission to study the negative effects of slavery.”

“These initiatives represent just a few of the many forms that advocacy for reparations can take. Other activities include grassroots power-building, research, narrative change, and stakeholder mobilization. There is an enormous amount of work to be done, and it needs real investment to be successful.”

“A new philanthropic model, in the form of asset transfers coupled with a comprehensive racial repair framework, would deepen investment in Black communities while reflecting the reparations movement’s goals. In addition, it would move the philanthropic sector into a liminal space (ie, a transitional opening for social change) that could decrease the need for philanthropy in the first place.”

“This is only one step toward a world where philanthropy is unnecessary because our economic and democratic systems create just outcomes for all. In this world, wealth isn’t hoarded; it’s invested in ways that meet all people’s needs. A reparative model of philanthropy creates the liminal space needed to move closer to this new world.”

Read the full article here.