The Partner Blog

"Make a Resolution for the Arts"
By Nancy Glaze, Executive Director | January 19, 2011

Happy 2012 to all! I love the start of a New Year and making resolutions. I’m all about new beginnings! Here’s my top three…

Resolution #1 is to attend more arts events. It’s the fuel that keeps me excited about the work I do. I’m reminded to keep this resolution every time I see a new LiveSV.com “Discover the Unexpected” ad on a bus or train or on a billboard on my way to work. How exciting for the Arts Council to be part of this campaign!

Resolution #2 is to engage more with social media. My communications team often reminds me of my important role in growing our social media presence. So, I plan on telling ALL my friends about our campaign to Like Us on Facebook and enter our sweepstakes to win two tickets to see Cirque du Soleil’s TOTEM – doesn’t that also tie in to attending more arts events in 2012?!

Resolution #3 now seriously… help the Arts Council forge new paths in arts philanthropy and address the increasing gap in nurturing and supporting our artists and arts organizations. As with all new ventures, forging new paths does not always feel comfortable or easy. Like any good New Year’s resolution, this means we will need to push the boundaries of what is possible and continuously test our resolve and commitment to change.

"LiveSV.com Goes Live!"
By Nancy Glaze, Executive Director | December 1, 2011

 For the last 18 months we have been working diligently with 1stACT Silicon Valley to create LiveSV.com, a dynamic new website platform and online community. LiveSV.com was designed to help the public discover, experience and share what’s new and unique in the Silicon Valley arts, culture and entertainment scene. As of today, LiveSV.com replaces the Arts Council’s local Artsoplis.com website. We believe that LiveSV.com is a perfect example of technology, creativity and community coming together to help power a vibrant arts and culture network in Silicon Valley. LiveSV.com will also serve as the engagement platform for the arts visibility initiative, “Discover the Unexpected,” that expands on what makes arts and culture unique and special in Silicon Valley. Starting December 5, the Discover the Unexpected media campaign will be launched to celebrate and reveal the many exciting and often unexpected arts, culture and entertainment experiences in our community. The launch of LiveSV.com underscores the Arts Council’s commitment to not only promote the amazing range of arts and entertainment opportunities offered in this region, but to provide an innovative community framework for audiences to engage and participate. We’re so excited to share this with all of you!

"When Arts and Technology Collide"
By Nancy Glaze, Executive Director | October 13, 2011

The Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) Conference was held this month in San Francisco. The conference brings together funders from across the nation that represent all sides of philanthropy including private foundations, corporations, art councils and government. I was excited to participate in the planning team for a one day arts and technology pre-conference held in San Jose (the day before the kick-off of the San Francisco activities). The intent of the pre-conference was to provide a snapshot of a variety of projects here and across the nation that use technology in some way to support the arts in new and clever ways. Among the highlights was Silicon Valley-based artist, Chris Eckert, who presented "Gimme", a sculpture that tracks gallery visitors and cajoles donations, as well as Scott Sona Snibbe, an interactive media artist who uses digital technology in his work. 

A number of presentations focused on how to create immediate linkages between artist projects, nonprofits and individual donors. I was very excited by what I learned. The Arts Council is actively exploring ways in which we can incorporate these new tools and technologies in what we’re doing to support the arts and culture in Silicon Valley. To truly build a culture of arts philanthropy we want to take advantage of all tools that will help us achieve this goal.

Pictured: Scuplture by Chris Eckert.  "Gimme"

"The Arts Mean Business"
By Nancy Glaze, Executive Director | September 15, 2011

Our primary focus is to create an environment in Silicon Valley where artists as well as arts and cultural organizations can flourish. We need to highlight and communicate the value of the arts to policy makers and business leaders who often influence how funding is allocated. Creating a culture of arts philanthropy means that we tell the entire story regarding the impact of the arts not only from its intrinsic value, but from the impact the arts have on our communities. Our credibility hinges on providing strong and reliable data that not only underscores the many impacts the arts have on us personally, but the economic benefits the arts have on our society.

Once again the Arts Council is leading Santa Clara County’s participation in the Arts & Economic Prosperity Study, a national research study conducted by Americans for the Arts, a national organization based in New York and Washington D.C. In partnership with the City of San Jose, Office of Cultural Affairs, the study will evaluate the economic impact of spending by the nation's nonprofit arts and culture organizations and the event-related spending of their audiences during fiscal year 2010. It will also document the key role played by the nonprofit arts industry in strengthening local economies.

We are actively collecting data for the study and look forward to sharing the results when they are made available in June 2012.

"New Program, New Processes, New Opportunities"
By Nancy Glaze, Executive Director | August 18, 2011

The most important work that the Arts Council does is providing direct support to arts and culture organizations and individual artists through grants and other resources. For years the Arts Council has been a trusted partner with foundations, corporations and government, to aggregate funding and responsibly distribute these precious resources so vital to our cultural life. We take our role as financial stewards for the arts very seriously. From our unique vantage point we can better spot trends and opportunities that inform our work and each year we examine and retool programs and services accordingly.

As part of our new core focus to better support the arts we are excited to launch our new Artist Laureate Program that was created from the foundation of the Artist Fellowship program. In addition to rewarding mid-career artists, we are delighted to now recognize and support emerging artists who are just beginning to make their marks professionally. And, we owe so much to the artists who have spent their professional lives here that we created the Arts Legacy prize for lifetime achievement that will be awarded to one artist each year.

Our grantees will be glad to know that we have taken to heart your feedback on our granting processes and have significantly streamlined the application process for ALL of our granting programs. We welcome your comments on how we are doing.
 

"All in A Day’s Work…"
By Audrey Wong, Grants Program Manager, ACSV | July 12, 2011

Recently I attended my husband's Baseball & BBQ business mixer at the San Jose Giants ballpark. Even when I'm not able to "talk shop," it's easy to engage in friendly chit-chat with a bunch of strangers, especially when my nametag lists "Arts Council Silicon Valley."

As Grants Program Manager, I read up to 250 applications each year, so I’m pretty familiar with the local art scene. Folks like to talk about art and artists, and they're interested – in many cases surprised – to find out that we award about 125 grants each year through our six granting programs.

Then comes the inevitable comment "What a neat job - it must be fun!"

Well, "fun" is not quite the adjective I'd use to describe my job, which is a tricky mix of public information officer, ombudsman, event coordinator, trainer, data manager, and scutwork queen. It's a year-round juggling act.

The cycle starts in July with program review and guidelines revision, followed by posting of said guidelines and workshop preparation in August, and the presentation of informational workshops in September. With so many grant programs, we have 8 application deadlines from September thru April, with review panel meetings a month or so after each deadline. Every grant program requires intake processing, preparation of review materials, panel session, notification letters, contracts, payments, and reports – with concomitant data entry for every step. Layered on top are capacity-building workshops and site visits.

After ACSV's Board of Trustees approves our core grant awards in May, we have all of June to gather data for our combined end-year report and to clear the decks for the new grant year.

Towards the end of June, I can look over the comprehensive roster of our grantees, applicants, workshop attendees, training consultants, and review panelists. I am impressed, awestruck, and deeply moved by the talent, creativity, energy, dedication, and passion of our arts providers and supporters.

I've been working in non-profit arts administration for over 30 years – and not for the "fun." It is hard work, but work that is gratifying, humbling, inspiring, and rejuvenating. It makes me feel very lucky and very proud to be a part of this community.

"A Vital Arts Community"
By Nancy Glaze, Interim Executive Director | June 15, 2011

Happy Summer! I leave for sunny San Diego this week for the annual Americans for the Arts convention where hundreds of arts leaders from across the country will strive to answer the perpetual question of…what we can do today to make the arts more vital in our communities. Obviously this is not a new question, but one that we must answer in the constantly shifting arts landscape. As I mentioned previously, the Arts Council will begin implementing its new strategic direction next month. Getting to this point has required not only looking at the “landscape” but considerable organizational focus, openness and introspection.

In terms of making the arts more vital in OUR community, what exactly have we been looking at? If I was asked this question by an arts colleague at the convention I would say that we have recognized - as an organization - the need for greater flexibility, nimbleness, and relevance as we serve our arts community. And, we needed to better align our strategic goals with those of funders and patrons. We recognize their desire to deepen and expand our partnership with them and provide a dynamic platform where they can engage more effectively and contribute to the vitality of the arts in Silicon Valley.

To get to this point has been an often challenging 18 month process and it is gratifying for our staff and board - who are so committed to this community - to now be at a point of implementation. I would like to take the opportunity to sincerely thank them ALL for their hard work and heartfelt dedication. For now, I’m off to San Diego and hope to gather more ideas and new knowledge to fuel our work. For more information on the Americans for the Arts annual convention click here.

"Support. Serve. Lead. - A New Direction"
By Nancy Glaze, Interim Executive Director | May 4, 2011

To ensure that the Arts Council is doing all it can to advance the arts in Silicon Valley I want to share with you our new direction… Clearly, this is one of the most creative places in the world and we commit to you that we are actively working to create an environment where the support for the arts reflects that.

We have a new initiative and we are stepping up to Support. Serve. Lead. the entire arts sector in Silicon Valley. We know there is more we can do to solve the challenges facing our arts community. There is not enough money, not enough understanding of the fundamental value of the arts to all, and often not enough appreciation for what we have in our own backyard. You will hear a lot more about this in the coming months. Here are a few of the things to look forward to…

• We will support the arts by significantly expanding our individual artist fellowship program to include emerging artists and significantly increasing our grants to organizations large and small….

• We will serve artists and arts groups by supporting the professional and business side of creative practice…this means training, convening, and help with infrastructure.

• We will take our leadership beyond arts organizations and artists to drive support to the arts. We are committed to staying on top of the issues that matter most to the Silicon Valley arts community.

We want to reveal and celebrate the tremendous creative and artistic assets we have in this community and rally support around them. We’re excited about the possibilities and the work ahead of us.
 

"Honoring the Artistic Stars of Our Community"
By Nancy Glaze, Interim Executive Director | April 12, 2011

“In addition to my immense personal gratitude to Arts Council Silicon Valley, I would also like to offer my praise and congratulations to everyone who has worked to make possible twenty years of Artist Fellowships. The impact of these annual awards is enormous. Not only does the Arts Council provide significant practical aid to the fellowship recipients, but the focusing of attention on the creative work being done in our community enhances not only our local cultural climate, but also the wider perception of the state of the arts in Silicon Valley.”  --KATHRYN DUNLEVIE, Artist Fellowship Recipient, 2005 & 2001 - Photography

On the 20th anniversary of the Arts Council’s Artist Fellowship Program, it’s certainly gratifying to receive this testimonial – and many others – and learn from former Artist Fellows what this award has meant to them over the years. Since the inception of this program we have honored close to 100 individual artists for their amazing contributions to the arts in Silicon Valley. Artists receive $4,000 in unrestricted support in recognition of their work. As I read this feedback from former Artist Fellows, it’s humbling to learn the impact this award has had on many of these artists – and it goes way beyond the award grant. Many of those we honor are mid-career artists and this recognition brings not only personal credibility and affirmation for their excellence… it’s an acknowledgement for their artistic service in the community they reside and/or work in.

I would like to personally congratulate the 2011 Artist Fellowship recipients for their significant artistic contributions to our collective lives: Shannon Amidon, San Jose, (Photography); Terry Berlier, La Honda, (Sculpture); David Perez, Campbell, (Spoken Word); PJ Hirabayashi, San Jose, (Music Performance); and, Karen Gabay, San Jose, (Choreography). Artists are the heart of our cultural life – they stimulate our emotions, intellect, and spirit and keep us engaged with one another and with community life. Silicon Valley is rich in many ways – and the richness provided by the artists living and working here is often taken for granted. I hope you will join the Arts Council in thanking all of our Artist Fellows for not only the artistic richness they have brought to our community to date, but the many contributions they will surely bring tomorrow as well!

And as the Arts Council puts the final touches on our strategic planning over the next few weeks, we are looking forward to enhancing and evolving our support and programs for individual artists to best serve the needs of our artistic community. These will be launched in the very near future so stay tuned!
 

Image Courtesy of Shannon Amidon 2011 Artist Fellowship Recipient, Photography

"Have You Heard the News?"
by Bruce W. Davis, Executive Director
January 20, 2011

Unnoticed by recent media reports about the proposed massive state budget cuts announced by Governor Jerry Brown, is the fact that he has spared the California Arts Council (CAC), the State’s arts agency that he created more than 30 years ago. Thankfully, the budget of the CAC, as well as staff size, has been left intact by the new Governor. Governor Brown has a strong history of supporting the arts. As Mayor of Oakland, he created the Oakland School for the Arts and along with his wife, invested more than a million dollars of their own money into the project. The school was the site of his televised election night victory speech. I remain hopeful that the new governor will continue to bolster the creative sector of California, despite the terrible shape of the state’s economy. As we know, the arts make a positive contribution to our local and state economies, as well as to our quality of life.

In other arts-related state news, we can now check off a box on our state income tax returns to donate money to the California Arts Council, along with purchasing an arts license plate to support the arts as well. I have good news for those of you who have disliked the “Southern California beach “look” of the current arts plate… I’ve been told that an additional arts plate is being designed!

In local arts news, the arts community will miss two influential arts boosters. Pat Dando, President/CEO of the San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce is stepping down from her position, but promises to remain active in the community. At the Chamber, Pat was an active advocate about the economic value of the arts to San Jose and the Valley and twice presented awards at the Arts Council’s Silicon Valley Arts & Business Awards (ABBYs) luncheon. The other “arts champion” leaving his post is Dan Fenton, President/CEO of Team San Jose and the San Jose Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. Dan has been an active supporter for the arts and served on the volunteer Board of Artsopolis. Thanks to both Pat and Dan for their steadfast support for the arts!

And last but not least, as we as a nation mourn and deal with the terrible events in Tucson two weeks ago and celebrate the unifying and uplifting message of the late Martin Luther King, Jr., let’s also acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. It was President Kennedy who cited the arts as one of the highest aspirations of the nation when he said, “I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we too, will be remembered not for our victories or defeats in battle or politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.” He was talking about the arts.