Promote your event / Contact MCB

YOU HAVE REACHED MOTORCITYBLOG.
email us anytime motorcityblog@gmail.com



10/22/09

Ignite 09 - Max M. Fisher Music Center Detroit - Nov 10th 2009


ARTSERVE MICHIGAN IGNITES SUPPORT
FOR MICHIGAN’S ARTS AND CULTURE

Advocacy organization to take new approach
to raising funding, awareness

Facing the lowest state-funded budget for arts and culture in the last decade, ArtServe Michigan, a statewide nonprofit advocacy organization for arts, culture and arts education, has dedicated its focus to several new initiatives to maximize support for arts programs across the state, including its Ignite 09 – Uniting Voices for Arts and Culture in Michigan event on November 10, 2009.

Ignite 09, being held at the Max M. Fisher Music Center, takes the place this year of ArtServe’s traditional Governor’s Awards for Arts & Culture. The event theme, Uniting Voices for Arts and Culture in Michigan, showcases the increased need to generate collective support for arts programs; the importance of arts and culture in building vibrant communities and transforming lives; and the pervasiveness of the arts throughout our living experience. The program runs from 6-9 p.m., and admission is $50 per ticket.

With sponsor support from Target, the event’s program includes performances Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensembles: Jazz Combo and Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit’s internationally acclaimed Acting Company as a demonstration of the positive impact arts and culture has on the state’s youth.

ArtServe also plans to dedicate a significant portion of its evening to recognizing and honoring the historical depth of support Michigan’s automotive industry has offered to arts and culture by extending its first-ever Arts Legacy Awards to Chrysler, Ford Motor Company and General Motors. Awards presenters will include leaders of Michigan’s arts and cultural institutions such as Anne Parsons of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, David DiChiera of the Michigan Opera Theatre and Annmarie Erickson of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Rick Sperling of Mosaic Youth Theatre and Kenneth C. Fischer of the University of Michigan’s University Music Society also will take part in the program adding their reflections of this legacy of support for the arts.

Serving as Ignite’s keynote speaker is Neville Vakharia, director of the Cultural Data Project (CDP) at The Pew Charitable Trusts, a leading-edge online database tool for nonprofit arts and cultural organizations ArtServe is striving to bring to Michigan in 2010.


Cultural Data Project to bring new, vital resources to Michigan

ArtServe is working diligently with leadership of Michigan’s foundation community to bring the Cultural Data Project, first initiated in Pennsylvania and operated by The Pew Charitable Trusts, to Michigan as a resource that documents the health and impact of the arts and cultural sector; supports case-making for the arts; and serves to inform funder priorities of the needs and challenges facing nonprofit arts and cultural groups.

Established by Pew in 2004 and now operating in seven states, the CDP is an online resource for nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, which provides, free of charge, a wide range of financial, trend and comparison data and information: creating an accurate snapshot of an organization’s true vitality and needs. CDP also helps user organizations meet reporting requirements for grant programs, while strengthening the financial management and program planning capabilities of participating organizations.

“We know that the arts and cultural economy contributes greatly to Michigan’s vitality. The CDP will provide reliable and comprehensive data to affirm the impact of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, making our abilities to influence policy decisions and build funding support more effective for the sector,” said Jennifer Goulet, president of ArtServe Michigan.

An enhanced virtual presence

In complement to these efforts, ArtServe launched a new Web site this month, at www.ArtServeMichigan.org, to clarify and sharpen its mission and provide greater and more accessible resources to the arts and cultural communities it serves. Dedicated to engaging a statewide network of arts advocates and providing critical leadership and professional development support, the new site details the latest public policy decisions, issues and calls for action while offering information, resources, event information and dialogue serving the arts and cultural community. Developed in partnership with Skidmore, it offers a platform for those who need and offer support, providing easily accessible avenues to donate, advocate and volunteer, as well as find programs and resources.

Along with the Ignite event and Cultural Data Project initiative, ArtServe Michigan is sharpening its priorities and renewing its efforts to unite and strengthen the voices of arts and culture advocates statewide. Amid increasingly dire economic realities, ArtServe is seeking options for long-term funding to maintain the legacy of arts, culture and arts education in Michigan.

“It’s clear we cannot rely on state funding for our industry, and ArtServe Michigan is committed to minimizing our dependence on the general fund by finding opportunities for sustainable funding through public and private partnerships, based on new revenue alternatives,” said Goulet.

ArtServe Michigan is a statewide nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to cultivating the creative potential of Michigan’s arts and cultural sector to enhance the public health and well-being of Michigan, its people and communities. ArtServe advocates for arts, culture and arts education in Michigan; provides leadership and professional development for arts and cultural organizations and artists; and connects arts and cultural leaders and supporters through strategic communications. Contact ArtServe Michigan at 248-912-0760 or visit www.ArtServeMichigan.org .