If volunteerism is indeed a pathway to employment, then arts organizations, venues, and activities could be hotbeds for this crucial transition.
General
Craft Emergency Relief Fund Biennial Report
This report, whose theme is “working together to keep artists working,” takes a look at CERF+’s expanded program offerings and increased numbers of artists served during a period of great economic uncertainty. With natural disasters occurring more frequently and often with greater force, CERF+ has taken a lead role in preparedness, which is key to building resilient arts communities around the country.
This report highlights the information, stories, and testimonials that provide a picture of CERF+’s role as one of the nation’s few full-time “arts responders” – providing emergency assistance programs for craft artists, educational resources and training to help all artists be more disaster-ready, and leadership to improve the disaster safety net for artists and organizations that serve them.
Arts Organizations and Digital Technologies
The internet and social media are integral to the arts in America. A survey of arts organizations that have received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) finds that technology use permeates these organizations, their marketing and education efforts, and even their performance offerings. Moreover, many organizations are using the internet and social media to expand the number of online performances and exhibits, grow their audience, sell tickets, and raise funds online, while allowing patrons to share content, leave comments, and even post their own content on organizations’ sites.
Working with Volunteers Tool Kit
Volunteers are a critical component of any arts organization. From ushers to fundraising, to pro-bono consulting and board service, volunteers expand the capacity of a nonprofit. Volunteers also create an entry point for establishing a relationship with businesses. While this tool-kit focuses on skills-based volunteering, much of the advice is applicable to all types of volunteers.
Culture Connects All: Rethinking Audiences in Times of Demographic Change
Arts and cultural organizations traditionally have two main roles: the production of arts or cultural activities, and the presentation of them to an audience. Both of these fundamentally involve people, as producers or as spectators; it is people who give cultural organizations their means and purpose.
Given this importance, when demographics change, cultural organizations
must pay attention; and demographics are indeed changing. Two of the fastest growing population groups present a timely opportunity for engagement but are at risk for being ignored by many cultural organizations that could benefit from their participation. Which are these two rapidly expanding populations? They are the rising tide of immigrants and older adults.
VISAS: The Journey to the U.S.
From Susan Elliot, editor, Musical America Special Reports — We’ve all heard the countless visa “horror stories” about the cancelled performance, the artist left at the airport, the clueless official who hasn’t heard of the venue called the Metropolitan Opera House. It’s as if the process of securing visas for foreign artists to perform on these shores is overseen by Mr. Murphy himself, carefully insuring his famous law that “everything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Seeking a way to defeat him, we have gathered the experts and devoted an entire issue to stories to inform and enlighten about the subject of U.S. visas for visiting artists.
