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.

Vermont Studio Center Commits $10,000 to Haitian Artist Relief

Through its Fund for Displaced Artists, the Vermont Studio Center will fund two month-long residencies for Haitian artists and writers in 2010. These awards honor Flo McGarrell, son of longtime VSC Visiting Artist and friend James McGarrell, who was killed in Haiti's recent earthquake while in the art center where he worked.

Why Holly ♥s Residencies

I am thick into the world around me. By vocation I listen, I go where my curiosities take me, I embed all over the place. Yet so much of the work and life of a writer is solitary--a beautiful aloneness--and one which at its best breeds both a secret life, and words that serve the needs and desires of readers. Just as important to the process is the occasional company of others who are similarly engaged. It is at the intersection of these values--amidst the quiet and the conviviality--that I am most able to recognize what I have to say and how I will say it. For me, it is not an overstatement to insist that an artist residency is a sort of Shangri-La--one which I can get to from here. more >>

The New Voices of Modern Arab Literature

How far has Arab literature evolved, how far has it travelled? What messages are the new generation of storytellers giving us?

Beirut39 inspires a fresh look at modern Arab literature. A collaboration between the Hay Festival and Beirut World Capital of the Book 2009, the project will bring together 39 of the most interesting writers of Arab heritage under 39 years of age.

Extra! Americans losing sense of place!

One of the things that we hope will characterize Madroño Ranch: A Center for Writing and the Environment is a strong sense of place. It's right there, implicitly and explicitly, in our mission and vision statements.

But how does one develop a sense of place? more >>

Creative Leadership Award

National Service Organizations to Recognize Joan Mitchell Foundation With Creative Leadership Award

The Alliance of Artists Communities and the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) will co-present a Creative Leadership Award to The Joan Mitchell Foundation on Saturday, November 14, 2009, in New Orleans. more >>

What I learned at the Grantmakers in the Arts conference....

I know this has been a time of uncertainty and struggle for so many organizations, and yet as I visit art schools and residency programs, funders and artists around the country, I am struck by the sense of possibility, and the opportunity to transform ourselves.

3Arts Announces Artist Awards - No Strings Attached

3Arts -- a Chicago-based foundation that once operated as a residency program -- annually recognizes six artists producing distinctive work in the disciplines of music, theater, and visual arts to receive awards of $15,000 each to put to use according to their individual priorities. Artists may wish to conduct research, purchase equipment, pay for child care, rent workspace, make health insurance payments, or take the time to focus on the development of new work -- it's up to them to determine their needs. There are no third parties and there are no strings attached.

18th Street Arts Center Creates New Residency Model

For the past eight years, 18th Street Arts Center (Santa Monica, California) has operated an extremely successful gallery program. In an effort to provide more in-depth opportunities and direct support to artists, the gallery program has been undergoing evaluation. The result will be a marked shift in 18th Street's working model from conventional gallery to an "artist laboratory." 18th Street will continue to present artists' work as the galleries become activated spaces, or arts laboratories with artists-in-residence. The awarded residencies are structured to promote ideas through works in progress, stressing processes that stimulates a maximum amount of public engagement and shared critical inquiry. more >>