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 Contents Great Grants 
Upcoming March 13, 2007 April 17, 2007 May 6-28, 2007 May 10, 2007 May 25, 2007 September 7, 2007 Fast Facts In 15 years of grantmaking, the Arts Fund has made grants and Toolbox awards totaling nearly $5 million to over 70 small and midsized arts organizations in the 23-county metropolitan Atlanta area. Join Our List If this newsletter was forwarded to you by a friend, you will need to join our mailing list to get the next one. We will only send you emails like this quarterly newsletter and announcements about special events (like the forums or our luncheon on May 10). Join here. Photo Credits Header (left to right): Crystal Dickinson in the title role of Maria Kizito by Erik Ehn at 7 Stages (2004 grantee) Revival and Bluebirds, 2005 by Cindy Loehr installed at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center (2004 Grantee) Dancers from The Georgia Ballet (2006 grantee) located in Marietta, Georgia Theroun Patterson and Adam Fristoe in The Long Christmas Ride Home co-produced by Actor's Express and Synchronicity Performance Group (both are 2006 grantees) |
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When the Arts Fund was presented with the opportunity to produce an Atlanta forum on the theme of “Arts and Workforce Development" as part of the MetLife Foundation National Arts Forum Series, I knew it would be a great opportunity to bring a national voice to Atlanta to join in the ongoing discussion about the arts and education. Philip Yenawine, former education director of MOMA in New York, is just that voice. He is a thought leader in cognitive growth through interaction with art, and he has a long history of teaching, writing, and speaking about the importance of art in education. I encourage you to come join in a discussion with Philip next Tuesday, March 13. Registration information is below. As the Arts Fund is presenting this forum, our advisory board is also in the middle of reviewing applications for our 2007 grants. Recipients of the grants, totaling $500,000, will be announced at the annual Arts Fund luncheon on May 10. Be sure to come to what Ann Cramer of IBM calls her "must attend event each year.” Mark your calendars; I hope to see you there. Sincerely, Forum: Arts, Education, and Workforce Development 
Joining with 20 cities nationwide, the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund is hosting the MetLife Foundation National Arts Forum Series in Atlanta this spring. Presenting new research and advancing the knowledge of how the arts develop the workforce of tomorrow, the Arts Fund will bring national thinkers together with local leaders in forums with the Atlanta community. This is your chance to join a national discussion and hear from innovative experts in education and the arts. Art and Tomorrow's Empowered Worker – March 13 The Value of the Arts in the Workplace – April 17 Your dance company received a grant from a government agency but won't receive the money for six months. Your theater holds successful classes every summer but needs the registration revenue at the beginning of the program. Your museum holds an annual fundraiser but pledges aren't collected until the end of the year. The Arts Loan Fund can help. By making short-term financial loans to non-profit arts organizations, it addresses a critical need in the community. Coupled with a program of financial literacy training, the Arts Loan Fund is available to provide loans to organizations struggling with cash flow issues, a problem common to even the most artistically vibrant organizations. The Arts Loan Fund is one of only a few in the United States and is unique in using its endowment fund for loan capital. With generous operating support from the ING Foundation, the Loan Fund “provides short-term stabilization that creates the foundation for longer-term operational success,” according to Sam Moss of Gray Matters Capital and chair of the Arts Loan Fund advisory board. Read more about the Arts Loan Fund. Arts Fund Luncheon - Save the Date: May 10, 2007 What A Difference - This year the Arts Fund celebrates 15 years of grantmaking with its annual luncheon on May 10. Join over 700 arts, business, and civic leaders in recognizing the region's extraordinary arts community. Be one of the first to hear what arts groups will be receiving a grant this year. You will also see local actor Rob Cleveland as the host and Kenny Leon, artistic director of True Colors (2006 grantee) along appearance by many other Atlanta artists. Join us this year on May 10 at the Downtown Hyatt. Tickets are on sale now. Arts Leaders Get Executive Education in Atlanta The Arts Fund was instrumental in bringing National Art Strategies to Atlanta to produce a series of executive seminars for arts organizations in 2007. Starting with the first seminar, "Strategy," the Arts Fund provided scholarships for staff and board teams from Aurora Theatre, Ballethnic Dance Company, Dad's Garage, Horizon Theatre Company, and PushPush Theater to attend. Joining with art leaders from around the country, these local leaders received MBA-level training using analysis of case studies, class discussions and extensive team exercises to develop a theoretical and practical understanding of strategy development. National Art Strategies' next forum in Atlanta is "Creating Alliances" on July 19-20, 2007. The final seminar, "Financing the Future," will be scheduled for the end of 2007. For more information and registration, please visit www.ArtStrategies.org. In The Field: Milestones For Our Grantees Kate Warner, artistic director of Dad's Garage, was named to the board of directors of Theatre Communications Group, the national service group for non-profit, professional theatres. (2004 grantee, 2006 Toolbox) In November 2006, the Atlanta Coalition for Performing Arts was awarded Bank of America's prestigious $200,000 Neighborhood Builders Award. (2003 grantee) ART Station was recently among one of five arts organizations in the nation to be awarded a fine arts grant from Tokio Marine Nichido. (2004 grantee) Actor's Express announced the hiring of Bill Fennelly as producing artistic director. (2006 grantee, 2005 Toolbox) Brenda Galina was named the new executive director of the Museum of Design Atlanta. (2003 grantee) The Atlanta Boy Choir was featured on Georgia Public Broadcasting's State of the Arts program in January. The show is viewable on GPB's website. (2005 grantee, 2004 Toolbox) Nena Gilreath and Waverly Lucas, artistic directors of Ballethnic (2003 grantee, 2006 Toolbox) received an inaugural Loridans Arts Award, given to accomplished artists who have made exceptional contributions to the arts life of Atlanta. Jennifer Bauer was named chief operating officer of Horizon Theatre Company, a position created by an Arts Fund grant. (2006 grantee) ARThouse[07] Showcases the Visual Arts in Atlanta The Atlanta Gallery Association (AGA), a sponsor of the Arts Fund’s upcoming annual luncheon, What A Difference, will host ARThouse[07], May 6 -28, featuring works of art from 21 AGA member galleries displayed in the luxury home known as “Castle on Nottingham,” in the Sherwood Forest/Ansley Park area. Funds raised through ARThouse[07] benefit AGA’s ATLart Foundation which supports visual arts programs in the City of Atlanta’s nine public high schools. For more information and to buy tickets, go to www.atlart.com. |
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Atlanta Boy Choir seeks to achieve the highest possible standard of musical excellence, while instilling in its members a life-long appreciation of music; an abiding love of beauty; a keen sense of respect for themselves and others; and the self-discipline necessary to become effective leaders in their families, their communities, and the world. Grant: $75,000 to create a new, full-time executive director position. This position will focus on fundraising, marketing and public relations activities that will help the Choir continue its growth. Photo: Performing in an amphitheatre in Loutrakis, Greece 404-378-0064 |
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Atlanta Boy Choir 
David White, artistic director of the Atlanta Boy Choir, is now able to fully concentrate on the music, better fulfilling the Choir’s mission to “achieve the highest possible standard of musical excellence.” In 2005, he received relief in the form of an executive director, a new position created and funded for two years by a grant from the Arts Fund. The new executive director, Heather Ellison, took over management of the concert logistics, marketing, budget management, fundraising and helping the board in its governance role. The Atlanta Boy Choir can now perform more concerts, collaborate with groups like New Trinity Baroque, and enjoy some “breathing room.” White says that they now have a broader base, noting, “We had the art; the Arts Fund helped us strengthen our planning, governance, and financial footing.” White also sees the strength of his organization as part of a larger picture of Atlanta and the Southeast. “Everybody knows about the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Opera, and they are vital, but so are the smaller organizations. They are equally important, and our strength gives the larger organizations strength. The Arts Fund enables the fabric of the entire arts community to have a thicker texture. Its contributions to the entire Southeast are inestimable.” |
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