Last year, I posted a report on my Arts and Culture Connection blog about the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative (DAMLI), a program established as the result of a joint venture between the Ford Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation, to diversify curatorial and management staff at art museums across the United States. Twenty institutions are participating in the program—18 at urban-area museums across the … Continue reading Black Curators Taking the Helm in the United States and Europe

This past Friday (January 11, 2019), the Performing Arts Alliance sent out an urgent letter via email to its membership informing them of the dire impact the government shutdown is having on the national arts community. The Alliance is the national policy advocate, leadership forum, and learning network for America’s nonprofit performing arts organizations, artists, and its allies. The email was shared with me and … Continue reading Government Shutdown Imperils the Arts!

Kersten Stevens is an accomplished jazz and gospel violinist, as well as a creative and talented social media executive. Not only did she bring down the house as a six-time winner of The Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night and win a People’s Choice Award for Best Contemporary Gospel Album, Kersten is CEO and Chief Thinker at her own firm—Think Suite Media, LLC. In the nearly eight … Continue reading An Interview with Kersten Stevens: How Social Media can be used to Engage Diverse Audiences

As we approach the beginning of another extraordinary year, I have been thinking about how old habits and fear of change keep us stuck and prevent us from achieving our goals. This also applies to creating equitable access to the arts. Just like making changes in our own lives, there is no such thing as a short-term fix. Even incremental change begins with a long-term … Continue reading What Changes Will You Make to Achieve Your 2019 Goals?

Arts and Culture Connections wishes you a very happy holiday season.  Thank you for your support and interest in advancing access to the arts.  A wonderful gift to give is to share an arts experience in your community and contribute to an arts organization. With much appreciation, Donna Continue reading Happy Holidays!

I am always thrilled to share information about significant funding allocated to the arts, especially resources for building infrastructure and advancing the mission of arts organizations or cultural institutions. That’s why I’m delighted to share the news with my Arts and Culture Connection readers that the International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD), in partnership with the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) and with support from … Continue reading Grants Bolster the Sustainability of Five Black Dance Companies

I recently had the honor of interviewing Skawennati for Arts and Culture Connections.We met at the biennial Conference for International Exchange for the Performing Arts (CINARS), which was held last month in Montreal. We were both on a panel that explored how cultural spaces can become real citizen spaces. Skawennati makes art that addresses history, the future, and change. Her groundbreaking new media projects are … Continue reading An Interview with Skawennati: A New Frontier to Create Access to Arts and Culture

The fervor of the U.S. midterm election has finally died down. However, the one thing that has not changed as the result of the millions of ballots cast is our nation’s deep class, racial, social and cultural divisions. As a matter of fact, according to a report compiled by the FBI, hate crime in America has had its biggest spike since September 11, 2001. As … Continue reading What Will It Take to Foster Change?

I am pleased to provide an update on Staten Island Arts’ Expanding Audiences and Cultural Participation Initiative, which I first blogged about in June 2017. The two-year initiative, which was the dream of SIA’s Executive Director Elizabeth Bennett, is working with 10 local arts organizations. The goal of the initiative is to develop new strategies for audience development that incorporate the needs and interests of Staten … Continue reading Highlights from the Staten Island Arts’ Expanding Audiences Initiative

I recently wrote a blog about the value of sponsoring an Open House as a way to activate arts and performance spaces and invite audiences to taste—sample your programs. This week I am paying homage to the value of pre-performance experiences that benefit the venue, the artists and the community. New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) launched its PRELUDES program nearly 20 years ago. In … Continue reading A PRELUDE to Something Greater