Stories
Mar 10, 2016
The Huddle recaps conversations where our ArtPlace funded projects and organizations came together to talk through topics, get advice, and perhaps even gossip a little. After each one we will use these blogs to recap the insights, questions, and provocations from these conversations.
This round featured a conversation with Lynn Osgood of Drawing Lines, Henry Reese of the City... Read More
Mar 09, 2016
Following quickly on the heels of our Public Safety Working Group in Oakland last month, today ArtPlace is joined by The Kresge Foundation and Enterprise Community Partners to kick off our Housing Working Group in Detroit. And what an exciting group it is! The following thought leaders and practitioners represent many facets of the (notoriously complex) housing sector, as well as... Read More
Mar 03, 2016
We are now almost six months into the Community Development Investments program and our six community planning and development organizations have been hard at work learning, strategizing, and beginning to take small steps into the world of arts-based strategies for their communities. The first nine months of the program have been intentionally designed to give organizations time... Read More
Feb 26, 2016
We’re thoroughly energized from over 6 weeks of travel this year. It’s almost March, and we’re back in the office, which means the deadline (March 2 at 3:59 PM EST) to submit your application for the National Creative Placemaking Fund is nearly upon us! So far, we’ve received over 3,000 new registrations from eager applicants. In part, we were... Read More
Feb 24, 2016
In the search for public sector support, affability and strategy become two sides of the same coin. In this edition of The Huddle, our grantees reveal their approaches to finding (and maintaining) partnerships within the public sector, emphasizing that while it's great to have a plan, flexibility and finesse will often get you further than a one-size-fits-all... Read More
Feb 19, 2016
Joining our ArtPlace library this week is the Knight Soul of the Community (SOTC) study. SOTC was a three-year study conducted by Gallup on the twenty-six Knight Foundation communities across the U.S. Its purpose was to determine what attached residents to their communities, what made them love where they lived, and what role that attachment played in the economic... Read More
Feb 11, 2016
Establishing an organization as a touchstone for positive change in the community is one thing, but sustaining engagement with that community is another entirely. During our second Huddle conversation, we spoke about how trust-building and finding the right allies can make or break community-based work in the wild. Alfredo Cruz, Director of Programs at the Foundation for Louisiana,... Read More
Feb 09, 2016
2016 has started off with a sprint as we move forward in assembling ArtPlace’s first two research working groups. In December our field scan researchers delivered working drafts of their findings, and I began collaborating with a team at the Monitor Institute, Deloitte Consulting’s social impact practice, to think through the goals and design of the working groups. Monitor’s track record... Read More
Feb 04, 2016
This week we’re adding a research paper to our library that is one of our most often-cited sources on the topic of social cohesion. Informal Arts: Finding Cohesion, Capacity and Other Cultural Benefits in Unexpected Places was written by Dr. Alaka Wali, Director of the Center for Cultural Understanding and Change at Chicago’s Field Museum, in collaboration with Rebecca Severson, Mario... Read More
Jan 27, 2016
Whether through philanthropic donations, government funding, tax credits, or earned income, fundraising requires creativity, patience, and persuasion.
Even within their own communities, non-profits seeking funding have to be prepared to demonstrate their value. For example, Robert Gipe, of the Higher Ground Project, used theater to open dialogues about his area's prescription drug addiction epidemic. In order to receive the funding... Read More