Arts, Culture & Humanities

April 20, 2010, Philanthropy Journal — The curtain may be rising on better times for nonprofit theaters, two reports say.

Two-thirds of theaters that ended their fiscal year in fall and winter expect to have roughly met or exceeded their budget, as do 71 percent of theaters that will end their fiscal year in spring or summer, says the first report by Theatre Communications Group.

And 70 percent of theaters say they are in better shape than they were a year ago, although their progress is the result of retrenchment, says a separate report by the organization, a professional group for nonprofit theaters.

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers was founded in 1994 to administer the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, which have an impressive legacy and a noteworthy roster of past winners including Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Robert Redford, Sylvia Plath and Joyce Carol Oates. The Scholastic Awards began as a small writing contest with a $5 prize and six winning applicants in 1923.

TAMPA, November 17, 2009, The St. Petersburg Times — Thanks to what was billed as the largest individual philanthropic gift made to a cultural institution in the bay area, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center will be renamed the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts.

November 16, 2009, The New York Times — In a reflection of the challenges many arts companies are facing, including a need to develop new audiences and balance the books, New York City Ballet on Monday announced that it was creating an executive director position to oversee all nonartistic matters and named Katherine E. Brown, chief operating officer of the public radio station WNYC, to the job.

Philadelphia, PA, November 18, 2009 — The National Constitution Center Board of Trustees announced today that it has appointed David Eisner, former Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, to serve as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the Center.  Eisner succeeds Linda E. Johnson, a member of the Center’s Board of Trustees, who has served as Acting President and Chief Executive Officer since the Board began its national search in January 2009.

November 10, 2009, The Boston Globe — There’s symbolism in philanthropy. When a couple donates money to an arts group, the biggest question - besides how much, of course - is how to be listed in the program. Mr. and Mrs.? First names for each? Hers first, or his?

PORTLAND, Ore., October 21, 2009 — The Oregon Symphony, Portland’s largest performing-arts organization, announced today that it has been awarded new grants totaling $1.45 million by four foundations in support of its ongoing activities.

New York, NY, October 14, 2009 -- Today the Rockefeller Foundation’s President Dr. Judith Rodin announced the 18 winners of the Foundation’s 2009 New York City Cultural Innovation Fund competition – and with it a $2.7 million grant to support local New York City art and artists. Each of these 18 New York City-based organizations will receive a two-year grant of up to $250,000, underscoring the Foundation’s commitment to creative expression and innovation, and the impact and influence creativity has towards social progress.

October 16, 2009, The Washington Post -- The role of Washington as a hotbed for musical theater advanced solidly Thursday when the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced it had received a $5 million gift for that express purpose.

October 15, 2009, The Washington Post -- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced Thursday that it is giving $10 million to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.