11 May
Thx, happily aboard! RT @chiwilderness #FF newest members of the Chicago Wilderness alliance: @GDDonnelley, @willconserve, @WaukeganPrkDist
Nurturing Chicago Region Artistic Vitality
The Chicago region is a hotbed, an incubator - a place where young and ambitious artists of all stripes can interact, experiment, sometimes fail, try again, and flourish. Our initiative strives to nurture them by supporting and building the capacity of professional arts organizations with budgets under $1 million.
Small arts organizations are the lifeblood of the region's artistic life. By a wide margin they provide the majority of professional arts offerings, and they reach beyond downtown into many different neighborhoods. They also ensure a wellspring of new and emerging talent. One of the challenges small arts organizations face, however, is attending to the business side of their art. That takes training and learning about the best practices in the field of arts management.
Through this initiative we seek to help small, professional arts organizations in the Chicago region build their capacity.
Partners
We are a founder and active steering committee member of the Arts Work Fund. This fund works directly with small arts organizations to help them build stronger boards, raise funds, and compete at the box office. We worked with the Arts Alliance Illinois and other foundations to establish the Illinois Cultural Data Project, a powerful online tool designed to strengthen individual arts and cultural organizations by managing organizational and financial information. The cumulative data provides the first opportunity to systematically track several statewide trends in the arts, which provides a powerful tool for advocacy.
To learn more about this initiative, please contact Arthur Pearson - Director, Chicago Program at (312) 977-2709.
Activities
We provide general operating grants to hundreds of professional arts organizations in the Chicago region with budgets less than $1 million. Through our grant review process, we provide coaching on organizational development issues, often encouraging applicants to apply to the Arts Work Fund for technical assistance grants. We require applicants to participate in the Illinois Cultural Data Project. We sometimes bring artists together to build a culture of best practice in arts management. In some instances, we've been able to help promote awareness of key developments and needs in the field.