Mid-summer public arts funding update

Normally, this would be the time of year when things start to wind down on the arts advocacy front, but the peculiar dynamics of this year’s Congress promise to keep things interesting well into the fall. Consideration of the FY13 budget has only just begun, and once again, a state arts agency faces a vetoRead More

Around the horn: John Roberts edition

Astute readers will note that this edition is mostly comprised of links from the first half of June; I am a little behind in my curation and hope to catch up over the rest of this month. In the meantime, enjoy! MUSICAL CHAIRS Congratulations to Arts Marketing blogger Chad Bauman, who returns to Arena Stage asRead More

In Defense of Logic Models

They’re flexible, they’re transparent, and chances are, they’re already in your head.

Around the horn: I’m on a plane edition

ART AND THE GOVERNMENT Narric Rome tells us about where the arts fall in the federal government’s new tourism strategy. After threatening to cap the tax deduction available to donors as a means of raising revenue, the British government has abandoned the plan. ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS Barely two years after changing things up last time, theRead More

Public arts funding update: May

FEDERAL The IRS and Treasury Department are finally starting to bring some clarity to program related investments, releasing a rule that represents the first update in 40 years to the language describing how these financial instruments can be used. Unfortunately, the one arts example in the mix describes a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization, rather than the more standard 501(c)(3) nonprofit. ThisRead More

Brownback Caves: Kansas Gets Its Arts Funding Back

Well, ain’t this a nice turn of events: Today, a great victory has been won by everyone in the state of Kansas who loves the arts. The Governor this morning signed the budget, which includes $700,000 for the newly-created Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission. Advocates from all corners of the state spoke – and spoke loudly.Read More

San Antonio, Twin Cities, & New York

As conference season heats up, I have a few panels and such coming up to share with you all: June 8-10 Americans for the Arts Convention Grand Hyatt San Antonio 600 E. Market Street San Antonio, TX Info and registration (I’ll be speaking as part of the session entitled “From Nice to Necessary: Local ArtsRead More

Around the horn: It Gets Better edition

ART AND THE GOVERNMENT Weird, the very day that the Huffington Post published my “debate” with Carla Escoda about arts funding, the New York Times published a “Room for Debate” feature on a very similar topic. Something in the water? Anyway, Sean Bowie has a nice summary if you don’t have time to read all eight entries. TheRead More

Cool jobs of the month

Director, Bolz Center for Arts Administration, University of Wisconsin [From outgoing director Andrew Taylor:] If you’re passionate about arts and cultural management and leadership. If you’re able not only to do the work, but teach the work to brilliant business-focused professionals. If you bring a vital network of cultural professionals and can plug into anRead More

Creative Placemaking Has an Outcomes Problem

Federal policymakers and private philanthropists are spending millions of dollars on creative placemaking without having developed a clear and detailed theory of how it works.