Friday, November 19, 2021

Cover of a conference program book featuring a painting of a wolf's face created with dynamic brushstrokes in reds and yellows.

November is Native American Heritage Month, and this week John W. Haworth (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma) makes the case for arts professionals to learn more about the work of the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums as a crucial connection to Native culture, both nationally and in their own communities. We encourage you to revisit Haworth’s year-long ARTSblog series exploring the work of Indigenous artists and numerous organizations dedicated to supporting and uplifting Native culture and heritage.

Lots of other news this week, including the announcement of more than $20 million in NEA grants funded by the American Rescue Plan, the first ever binational World Design Capital along the U.S.-Mexico border, a new platform of power for African-American arts leaders, the launch of the Arts & Cultural Equity Studio professional development collection, and more national recognition for two of our former Johnson Fellows. Plus, you can now rewatch a recent webinar on a transformative public art project in Camden, New Jersey. Read on to learn more!

ARTSblog

Sustaining and Advancing Indigenous Cultures at the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums by John W. Haworth
Becoming more familiar with the work of ATALM (and likewise with similar organizations serving diverse organizations) gives professionals working in local arts agencies both a better understanding of key issues, as well as connections to colleagues in the Native cultural field, to help them address crucial matters of equity and diversity.

News Room

“At the Table” Group Creates the Means to Amplify Power
At The Table is a new group of African-American arts leaders responsible for organizing dynamic discussions that showcase and leverage our collective cultural and philanthropic power. The group aims to offer opportunities for connection, a platform for financial growth, infrastructure for community building, and encouragement to engage in wellness.

San Diego and Tijuana Named First Binational World Design Capital
The World Design Organization recognized the cities of San Diego in the United States and Tijuana in Mexico as a result of their commitment to human-centered design and legacy of cross-border collaboration to transform the region’s natural and built environments.

Americans for the Arts Launches 2021 Arts & Cultural Equity Studio
Arts & Cultural Equity Studio (ACES) centers the experiences of arts leaders of color navigating the field and offers webinar attendees insights into various professional journeys the paths that have led to leadership roles in the arts sector. The first session on Equity and Arts Marketing with Mark E. Smith and Donna Walker-Kuhne is coming up on Friday, December 3.

NEA Announces American Rescue Plan Grants to Local Arts Agencies
American Rescue Plan grants from the National Endowment for the Arts totaling $20,200,000 will go to to 66 local arts agencies to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic. The funds will be used to provide subgrants to qualifying recipients in local communities in order to save jobs, fund operations and facilities, procure health and safety supplies, and more.

Mark Valdez Awarded 2021 Zelda Fichandler Award
2019 Johnson Fellow Mark Valdez was recognized by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation with the Zelda Fichandler Award, which recognizes directors and choreographers who have demonstrated great accomplishment with singular creativity and deep investment in a particular community or region.

Tanya Aguiñiga Receives the 26th Heinz Award for the Arts
The Heinz Family Foundation announced their 26th Heinz Awards recipients including Tanya Aguiñiga, who also was the inaugural recipient of the Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities. Aguiñiga is a visual artist recognized for blending contemporary craft, sculpture and performance to address issues of migration, gender and identity.

ArtsU

“A New View – Camden”: A Community-centric Public Art Project
The City of Camden, New Jersey received a $1 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge to clean up blighted areas around its transit corridors and recreate them as showcases for public art. “A New View – Camden” transformed six illegal dumping sites in Camden into dynamic art spaces, inspiring residents and visitors to take “a new view” of the city.

Pictured: The program book for the 2019 ATALM conference featuring art by Bill Soza Warsoldier (Soboba Band of Southern California). Image courtesy of the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums.