State of the Arts

Welcome to State of the Arts, the Arts Alliance's twice monthly newsletter with news you can use about the arts and culture scene both in Albuquerque and beyond - trends, people and what makes this industry tick. It's all State of the Arts.

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Fed Arts Policy Needs Debate, Says Kaiser

What we really need is a debate over federal arts policy. Most people do not know that no fewer than nine government agencies provide support to arts in this nation. In addition to the National Endowment for the Arts, the national Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, arts money is also granted by the Departments of Commerce, Education, State, Agriculture, Defense, and Transportation. To read more, click the headline.
 

Local Treasures Named

Arts School Head Named

New Mexico School for the Arts [NMSA], a public, statewide, residential charter high school dedicated to artistic and academic excellence, has selected a Head of School. Frank Marchese was hired by the School’s Governing Board to lead the school after an extensive national search. To read more, click the headline.

Arts Essential, Under Seige

Times are tough and charities have a lot of demands. But an LA Times blogger argues that the arts are essential -- and they are under threat. Last month, the results of the U.S. Department of Education's National Arts Report Card revealed that only 16% of the eighth-graders visited a museum at least once last year. That's down from 22% in 1997. The percentage of adults who visited a museum decreased too, from 26% in 1997 to 23% last year. The performing arts are experiencing steadily declining audiences. And arts education in schools is being cut drastically. Why should we care? Because experiencing and creating art is a crucial part of developing young people who can understand the world's complexity and tackle its problems with a full range of tools. To read more, click the headline.

USC Seeks New Approach To Arts Writing

With cultural coverage rapidly disappearing from the nation's shrinking newspapers, new forums for arts journalism need to be found. Otherwise, as Miller-McCune.com reported in an in-depth piece in March, the arts risk becoming an evermore marginal facet of American society. So those who cover the creative scene are being forced to think creatively themselves, as they experiment with new, economically viable ways of getting information, criticism and analysis to the public. Now, the University of Southern California is collecting intriguing new approaches to cultural coverage, the best of which will be explored at an on-campus summit this fall. The National Summit on Arts Journalism will be webcast live from Los Angeles beginning at 9 a.m. Pacific Time on Oct. 2. It is sponsored by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and the National Arts Journalism Program.  To read more, click the headline.

Art Graces Seattle's New Transit Line

A spirit of playful giganticism informs much of the public art along Sound Transit's new Link light-rail route between Seattle's Westlake Station and Tukwila. There are beguiling small touches, too, that wll make the strongest impression on riders boarding the train. The idea behind Link's public art, says artist Norie Sato, was to conduct "cultural conversations" with neighborhoods along the line, especially in Rainier Valley. Her official title was "system artist," a role that required her to marshal 40-odd artists' contributions up and down the line. For more, click the headline.
 

White House Wants More Diverse Art

Cricket Appel Leaves Arts Alliance

Arts Groups Using Social Media

Among the arts and community organizations using social media thoughtfully and in big ways (which aren’t necessarily representative of their limited budgets) are independent artists and companies in photography, film, modern art, radio and craft. They’ve capitalized on the audiovisual nature of the Web to showcase the storytelling and community-building aspects of their work, and the results are worth a pass-along. To read more, click the headline.

NM Groups Get NEA Stimulus Funding

The National Endowment for the Arts awarded $100,000 in grants to Albuquerque non-profit arts organizations. The National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation and Working Classroom, Inc. each received a competitive, stimulus bill funded $50,000 grant from the NEA. To read more, click the headline.

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News you can use:

• Fed Arts Policy Debate Needed
  
• Local Treasures Named
  
• Arts School Head Announced
  
• Arts Under Seige
  
• New Approach to Arts Writing
  
• Art Graces Seattle Transit
  
• White House Wants Diverse Art
  
• Cricket Appel Leaves Arts Alliance
  
• Arts Groups Use Social Media
  
• NM Groups Get Stimulus Funds