Elizabeth Alexander on arts philanthropy and justice

 

Giving Done Right podcast explores social and racial justice in arts funding with Elizabeth Alexander, award-winning poet and president of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and hosts Phil Buchanan and Grace Chiang Nicolette of Center for Effective Philanthropy.

Listen here.

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DISCLAIMER: In addition to my work on InfiniteBody, I serve, at Gibney, as Senior Director of Curation and Editorial Director. The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views, strategies or opinions of Gibney.

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Peggy Cooper Cafritz, 70

Peggy Cooper Cafritz, Patron of Black Artists, Dies at 70
by Penelope Green, The New York Times, February 23, 2018

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Jerry Lewis, 91

Jerry Lewis, Mercurial Comedian and Filmmaker, Dies at 91
by Dave Kehr, The New York Times, August 20, 2017

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Remembering the arts on Giving Tuesday

Photos ©2014-2015, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
Above: Dancing Through the Bronx,
a project of Dancing in the Streets, 2015
Below: Dance artist Nia Love working with students in
the New Directions Choreographic Lab of the
Ailey/Fordham BFA program, 2014

Hey, I know I don't have to tell you it's Giving Tuesday. Your email inbox has got that covered.

We're all getting multiple requests from groups doing good and necessary work in the world. I won't pile on more here.

But, as you sort through these many appeals, I do urge you to consider directing at least some of your support towards the arts. We know we can anticipate further decline in arts funding in the U.S. and the inevitable targeting of artists who challenge complacency and speak truth to power. We need to nurture and back up artists on the front lines.

The arts can play a strong, visionary role in the struggle for equity, human rights, justice and care for our endangered environment. Please give to the arts with all of your own imagination and vision for our shared future.

Thank you!

Eva Yaa Asantewaa
InfiniteBody

New York's Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet to close

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet Plans to Close
by Michael Cooper, The New York Times, March 20, 2015

Buddy Elias, 89

Buddy Elias, Cousin of Anne Frank and Guardian of Her Legacy, Dies at 89
by Margalit Fox, The New York Times, March 19, 2015

Lizabeth Scott, 92

Lizabeth Scott, Film Noir Siren, Dies at 92
by Robert D. McFadden, The New York Times, February 6, 2015

Yoko Nagae Ceschina, 82

Yoko Nagae Ceschina, Countess and Fairy Godmother to the Arts, Dies at 82
by Margalit Fox, The New York Times, January 18, 2015

Rescue coming for Pittsburgh's August Wilson Center?

Consortium of foundations bids to buy August Wilson Center
by Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 8, 2014

Alpert Award winners announced. Congrats to Michelle Dorrance!

Michelle Dorrance
(photo by Christopher Duggan)

Philanthropists Herb Alpert and Lani Hall Alpert
Herb Alpert Foundation
(photo by Louis Oberlander)

Congratulations to New York-based dancer-choreographer Michelle Dorrance, one of five winners of the 2014 Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, for her exemplary, innovative work in tap dance.

To read more about this award and Dorrance's fellow awardees--Deborah Stratman (film), Matana Roberts (music), Annie Dorsen (theater) and Daniel Joseph Martinez (visual arts), click here.

At last: one protest against naming theater for rightwing Koch brother

The Curious Incident Of The New York City Ballet Dancing In The David H. Koch Theater
by Todd Essig, Forbes, February 24, 2014

Joan Finkelstein to head Harkness Foundation for Dance

Harkness Foundation for Dance Names New Director
by Michael Cooper, The New York Times, January 28, 2014

Opera America announces grants for women composers

New Program to Support Operas by Women
by Allan Kozinn, The New York Times, December 26, 2013

Remembering Sage Cowles

Sage Cowles: A Dance Activist’s Life

by Camille LeFevre, Walker Magazine, December 2, 2013

Budget problems threaten Pittsburgh's August Wilson Center

Pittsburgh Center Honoring Playwright Finds Itself Short on Visitors and Donors

by Trip Gabriel, The New York Times, November 23, 2013

Sage Cowles, dancer/philanthropist, 88

Sage Cowles, civic activist and arts patron, dies at 88

by Graydon Royce, StarTribune, November 21, 2013

Sage Cowles, a former dancer who matured as a key Twin Cities philanthropist, died Thursday. Cowles, 88, advocated for the arts and the value of physical development in education. She and her late husband, John Jr., supported the Guthrie Theater, Walker Art Center and the local dance community — which named its annual awards program after her. (read more)

Plans for massive arts center to rise in Hudson Yards

City Allots $50 Million to Arts Project Tied to Bloomberg Allies
by Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times, July 31, 2013

Bill T. Jones and Susan Rethorst in conversation

Bill T. Jones and Susan Rethorst: A Conversation in Five Parts

from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage

Recently, two seminal figures of the New York downtown dance world—Bill T. Jones and Susan Rethorst—sat down with Lois Welk, director of Dance/USA Philadelphia, to talk about their distinct practices and the evolution of the field. Though they share a birth year (both were 61 at the time of the interview), the dancer-choreographers represent two archetypal models or attitudes for how to live as an artist in society. During the interview, Jones refers to the French notion of l’artiste engagé, and talks about developing a thick armor to do battle with not only critics but audiences as well. Rethorst speaks of an openness to the world around her, of staying fluid and letting daily experience find a way into the work.

Joan H. Parker, 80

Joan H. Parker, Inspiration for Heroine of Spenser Mysteries, Dies at 80
by Joyce Wadler, The New York Times, June 13, 2013

Bronx art museum continues free admission program

In the Bronx, Where Art Is Still Free
by Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times, March 6, 2013