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Articles tagged: Visual Arts
Monumental Conversations: What the Andrew Mellon Foundation found when they analyzed America’s monuments
As part of The Mellon Foundation’s unprecedented new Monuments Project, Philadelphia-based nonprofit art and history studio Monument Lab undertook a comprehensive audit of our country’s commemorative landscape, scouring almost half a million records of historic properties to better understand the dynamics and trends that have shaped our nation’s monuments.
Join Dr. Elizabeth Alexander, President of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Dr. Paul Farber, Director and Co-Founder of Monument Lab, for a discussion that will dive into Monument Lab’s findings and explore what they mean for the future of our commemorative landscape.
Date: Wednesday, September 29
Time: 4pm EST
Click here to register for the event!
You Don’t Need to Sacrifice Creativity for Business: An Interview With Jodie King
Artist Jodie King mentors artists who want to monetize their art. She explains how to approach the business and find their most authentic voice. Click here to read the complete article.
Jopwell – Represent and advance careers for Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals
We have added Jopwell as a career resource in handshake.
Click here to go directly to the Resource page under the Career Center in Handshake.
Click below for helpful articles and information for upcoming events!
-5 Ways To Make The Best Out Of Professional Rejection
-3 Stories of Black Success in the Tech Field
-Join Jopwell on September 15th for their virtual event, Comunidad Unida, where they will bring together various voices and diasporas across corporate, entrepreneurship, and academic leadership to discuss identity in the workforce and emerging trends in the emerging Latinx labor force.
–Jopwell Talks – Explores early career development and what students need to be successful in the workplace.
Digital Transformation: An Assessment of Grants Supporting Digital Staff in Museums
Knight Foundation believes that the digital space holds significant opportunities for cultural institutions, and in recent years has intensified its work to help organizations create valuable digital content. Museums that do not invest in digital capabilities and offerings will miss important connections with potential audiences. This deficiency also seems likely to erode the relevance of the arts in society as audiences spend increasing amounts of time online.
In early 2018, Knight Foundation approved $970,000 in grants that aimed to raise the digital profiles of eight museums by supporting the costs of positions dedicated to digital and technology work. These digital positions would conceive, plan, and implement digital strategies that improve the visitor experience and expand audiences. Seven of the initial eight grantees proceeded to hire their digital positions; four of the museums’ hires remain in their positions as of this writing.
The grant period presented a series of unprecedented challenges for museums and for society at large. The Covid-19 pandemic forced many museums to close their physical spaces, pivot to remote work and add more digital programming. The racial justice movement accelerated in 2020, which itself caused a reckoning with museums’ histories of Eurocentrism and lack of staff and board diversity.
All seven grantees showed growth in digital capacity during the grant period. And, though the grantees differed significantly in their budget sizes and in the scope of their digital programs, several themes surfaced repeatedly during the research.
Adaptive Public Space: Places for People in the Pandemic and Beyond
Building on its longtime commitment to public spaces, Knight Foundation commissioned Gehl — a global urban planning, design and strategy firm — to conduct an impact assessment of seven public spaces in its portfolio. The findings illustrate the power of public space as a platform for community development: whether by building resident trust, spurring social activity, supporting economic and workforce development, or catalyzing neighborhood change.
This power makes public spaces a key ingredient in the recovery from COVID-19 — a crisis that has raised the stakes for overcoming deeply rooted, systemic challenges in our cities. For policymakers, funders, and practitioners, these findings are a call to action. By elevating public spaces, leaders nationwide can drive more equitable outcomes in the pandemic and beyond.
THE APPROACH
Located in Akron, Detroit, Philadelphia, and San Jose, the seven projects in this study represent $5 million in direct Knight investments. An additional $50 million in co-funding and follow-on investments from other funders including the Reimagining the Civic Commons network went toward these sites, wider area improvements and ongoing space operations. The spaces range widely: neighborhood parks that give residents a go-to gathering spot; nature spaces that re-engage locals with the outdoors; and citywide destinations that offer art studios, beachscapes, and more.
Given the diversity of spaces, this study did not set out to measure the spaces against one another using a common set of metrics. The goal was to understand impacts related to four core themes, and to life during the COVID-19 pandemic.
KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE:
- Spaces that reflected resident needs, historic character and the arts had more regular visits from residents.
- Community participation and responsive engagement is vital for equitable spaces.
- Prioritizing community engagement throughout the lifecycle of a space led to ripple effects in the wider community.
- Flexible community-led design, inclusive processes, and capacity-building helped sites develop sustainable operating models and adapt to changing conditions — including the pandemic.
The report also offered recommendations for optimizing public space design:
- Create spaces with equity in mind.
- Design spaces with the input of communities that are impacted.
- Become financially sustainable.
Click here to read the full report.
Adapting in Crisis: Case Studies of Resilience in the Arts
Priya Sircar, Director/Arts, Knight Foundation
In the year since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, “pivot” has been the word of the day—every day. The word has become so (over)used that it has begun to lose its meaning. What does it really mean to “pivot” successfully? To what, and how?
For many arts and culture organizations, choosing a new direction felt a bit scattershot, as if they were trying anything and everything just to keep functioning, earning income and keeping artists employed. Certainly, organizations of all types found themselves suddenly changing plans . . . some nimbly, some not. But amid evolving public health protocols and uncertainty about how long such conditions would last, decision making was understandably difficult.
As a supporter of arts organizations, we have been engaging with grantees in our communities throughout the pandemic. We’ve often asked: How are organizations figuring out which direction to go in? And have certain skills or traits helped them to weather the storm?
Organizations in Detroit and Philadelphia entered the pandemic fresh off of a training program in adaptive capacity, provided by EmcArts and supported by Knight Foundation in partnership with the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan (in Detroit). To understand the short- and medium-term impacts of the four-month training program, Knight enlisted WolfBrown to conduct a study with participants in each cohort. While we do not yet know the long-term effects of the training, this initial follow-up gave us some insight into how the training was impacting the organizations. For some, the pandemic accelerated the application of what they had learned. Some were still internalizing the concepts and tools they had gained, while others found ways to use newfound skills to identify a way forward. In some cases, additional guidance beyond the introductory training would have been helpful, especially given the severity of the conditions in which organizations have been trying to apply the new information. Clearly, the ability to adapt is a critical skill for organizations, now more than ever.
For many of us, this last year has been a crucible in which we have been tested, have clarified our purpose and, in some ways, come through stronger. These organizations also tested, honed and applied the lessons of their training, in ways both conscious and unconscious. Here we share a few of their stories that have inspired us and helped us understand how we might not just pivot, but also adapt intentionally and effectively to an ever-changing and unpredictable world. We hope they might do the same for you.
Click here to read the four stories.
Mellon Announces $125 Million “Creatives Rebuild New York” Initiative to Reactivate the State’s Creative Economy and Provide Artists with the Critical Support They Need
(NEW YORK, NY — June 3, 2021) The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation today announced details for Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY), a three-year, $125 million initiative to reactivate New York State’s creative economy and secure the future of its artists. Part of the state-led recovery plan for New York, CRNY is a two-part workforce initiative that will provide artists with either full-time employment opportunities or guaranteed income to remedy the devastating economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here to read the press release!
Student Friends of the Art Museum (SFOAM) Career Panel webinar recording
If you missed the career conversation with 6 Midd alumni working in the Arts, click here to watch the webinar recording. They provided insight on how to get started in the Arts Industry, Career Challenges, Tips on Networking, and the Skills needed to succeed!
Summer 2021 Curatorial Internship – Deadline date: Wednesday, March 31
Inaugurated in 2010, Rockbund Art Museum is a contemporary art museum located on the Bund in Shanghai. The museum is housed in a heritage Art Deco building that originally was one of the first modern museums to be established in China. In 2019, Rockbund Art Museum has become an officially registered non-profit arts organization in Shanghai.
Distinguishing itself from the entrenched conditions of continental or nationality based organizations, Rockbund Art Museum is developing an oceanic vision of contemporary art. We aim to explore the importance of seas and archipelagos across Asia in order to unfold richer perspectives into today’s challenges, practices and networks within the art world. We wish to build constructive paradoxes within multiple localities in Asia and different cultures globally, opening spaces to enable free expression for artists, researchers and curators, and to dive into subtle and dense layers of new experiences with our audience.
With a strong reputation for our innovative curatorial approach, we look to conceive different art projects from research to alternative learning programs, from exhibition-making to unexpected para-performative formats. By supporting bold contemporary art practices, we aim to continually remake local histories, whilst also responding to global art challenges and social mutations.
We regard the role of exchange as an essential process required for a wider transformation to occur by building up a network of multi-regional, international and cross-disciplinary partnerships. Through this process, we aim to cultivate a diverse and deep-rooted connection to our audiences, communities, and also different social and cultural organizations. With powerful support from our board, patrons and Advisory Committee, we strive to observe, learn, and search for breakthroughs and opportunities to develop art projects in pursuit of a unique vision of life.
Curatorial Division: Interns in the Curatorial Division will be introduced to issues relating to researches and organizing upcoming exhibitions, including corresponds with artists, curators, galleries, and museums before the exhibits; exhibition installation; produces exhibition catalogues. Interns are also responsible for the maintenance and management of the archives and library holdings.
This internship is funded with a CCI award of $3,000.00. If you are offered and accept this internship, please be aware that your funding for this position is provided by CCI, and therefore you will be required to complete funded internship paperwork. Typically, seniors are not eligible for funding for CCI sponsored internships, but occasional exceptions are made.
While current thinking includes planning for an in-person internship that follows all local and College Covid-19 protocols, the potential ongoing spread and impact of Covid-19 may result in the internship becoming remote or cancelled.
Click here to learn more and to apply to this opportunity in handshake!