UNESCO Fellowships Available to Artists

The UNESCO-Aschberg Bursaries for Artists Programme is proud to announce the 2011 call for applications. The Programme promotes the mobility of young artists through artist residencies abroad.

This call is open to visual artists, creative writers, and musicians between 25 and 35 years old. Artists apply directly to the residency program(s) of their choice, and UNESCO funding is made available to selected artists.

A century of artists' communities

It isn't often that one has the opportunity to reflect on a century of progress, but that's just what Ox-Bow asked me to do to kick off their centennial celebration at a lecture on July 9 at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. Several other residency programs have celebrated milestone anniversaries in recent years, and while we are always looking ahead to how we can continue to evolve as a field to meet the needs of artists, it's worth taking a moment to reflect on how we got here... The complete speech is below. more >>

New Fellowship for Documentary Filmmakers

The Fledgling Fund has established a new Fellowship at The MacDowell Colony to provide a residency for filmmakers engaged in documentary work that explores critical social issues. Supported by a $10,000 grant from the foundation, The Fledgling Fund Fellowship is the first designated specifically to support the work of documentary filmmakers at MacDowell. The Fellowship will cover all costs of a residency for a filmmaker to live and work in an artist studio on MacDowell's 450 woodland acres in Peterborough, New Hampshire, for up to two months.

Improvements to Artist Visa Process

International exchange is at the heart of many artist residencies, though visa issues have plagued the field, particularly since 9/11 and the transfer of visa processing to the Department of Homeland Security. For years the Alliance of Artist Communities has stressed the importance of a more transparent and streamlined visa process, one that allows organizations to be notified in a timely manner of visa decisions and that is consistent in the documentation required of artists and sponsoring artists.

Pilchuck Names New Executive Director

The Pilchuck Glass School Board of Trustees has chosen James Baker to serve as the school's executive director and chief executive officer, effective July 15, 2010. Baker is an accomplished arts leader who brings 30 years of experience to the job. He succeeds Arthur Jacobus who resigned from the position in December 2009, and interim executive director Patricia Wallace who has been in the role since January.

California Artists Campbell and Motevalli to Exhibit Provocative Work in Iran

Many of the Alliance's members are deeply committed to positive, courageous and proactive change by promoting cultural exchange between diverse international communities. At the Alliance we often see how artist residencies and exchange projects can reform people's cultural assumptions and stereotypes about each other, and help keep the peace through intelligent dialogue and discourse. At the Alliance, we are proud to support artists who seek engagement and action through their art making in a tumultuous world arena. more >>

NEA Announces $97 Million in Support of the Arts

Washington, D.C. -- National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman today announced the NEA's latest round of funding for fiscal year 2010 in the categories of Access to Artistic Excellence, Learning in the Arts, Arts on Radio and Television, and Partnership Agreements (State and Regional). The Arts Endowment will distribute $97,632,100 through 1,323 grants to nonprofit national, regional, state, and local organizations nationwide. 

Ford Foundation Launches $100 Million Initiative to Develop Arts Spaces

With funding for arts and cultural institutions under intense downward pressure nationally, the Ford Foundation today announced a 10-year, $100 million initiative to support a new generation of arts spaces. The Ford initiative is an investment in the creative energy of America, to help artists and arts organizations develop vibrant cultural spaces even in times of economic hardship. The Ford grants will be awarded to projects that incubate and produce creative work across all disciplines. 

White House Announces 2009 National Medal of Arts Recipients

President Barack Obama today presented the National Medal of Arts to ten recipients for their outstanding achievements and support of the arts. The medals were presented by the president and Mrs. Michelle Obama in an East Room ceremony at the White House. The National Medal of Arts is a White House initiative managed by the National Endowment for the Arts. Each year, the NEA organizes and oversees the National Medal of Arts nomination process and notifies the artists of their selection to receive a medal, the nation's highest honor for artistic excellence.

Madison Smartt Bell, TSKW Writer in Residence, Reflects on Islands, Trembling Trees, Rebirth, and Works in Progress...

On January 24, 2010, a few weeks after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Key West's artists and creative community came together for Souls Not Lost: A Fundraiser for Haiti's Survivors. The event was held at The Studios of Key West, and after less than a week of organizing, raised over $25,000 for relief and recovery organization, Partners in Health.