PRWeb reported August 3rd, 2010 on creation of a new pilot program to support creation of innovative theater projects. An excerpt: “Rebecca Blunk, executive director of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), announced that NEFA has received a two-year, $2.2 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to pilot a grantmaking program in theater. The new initiative, informed by a 2009 study funded by Mellon and conducted by NEFA, identified unrealized potential for innovative theater projects to expand the boundaries of contemporary theater in the United States. As multidisciplinary presenters, theaters, and audiences nationwide demonstrate an appetite for artist led, collaborative, ensemble, and devised theater work, NEFAs two-year pilot will help test questions and assumptions about theater development and touring toward the shaping of a fully-realized program of grants and services. NEFA will fund approximately six theater projects in each of two pilot years, and will support both the production and touring of the work, with awards ranging from $80,000 — $130,000.” Click here to read the complete piece.

Writing for the City Paper June 14, 2010 Maura Judkis highlighted the DC Advocates for the Arts efforts to protect the work of artists in the District of Columbia. An excerpt: “If a gallery goes bankrupt — as businesses are wont to do in these recessionary times — creditors can seize it and all of its assets within under current D.C. law. That includes the work the artists have entrusted the gallery to sell. And while that scenario has not yet occurred in the District, one group is working to ensure it never will. [DCAA Chair] Bettmann is circulating a petition that addresses the issue of consignment — which is the type of contract artists and collectors sign when they give their work to galleries to be sold — that will give the lending party recourse if the work is seized by creditors. ‘This petition is progressive — it doesnt just address ownership, and how an artist would deal with [bankruptcy] after the fact,’ says Bettmann. ‘Artists should be able to recoup their court costs if a gallery goes bankrupt and they need to sue the creditors. Unless we have in there that lawyers can recoup court costs, artists will have an impossible time getting lawyers to bring suit. For collectors, it is important that their investments are protected, as well.’” Click here to read the whole piece.

Ann Hicks writing in The Greenville News reported on June 12, 2010 that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has vetoed half of the state’s arts funding. An excerpt: “Gov. Mark Sanford has vetoed more than half of the South Carolina Arts Commission 2010 / 2011 budget, commission Executive Director Ken May told The Greenville News. Arts groups all over the state will be affected because the parts that were vetoed include money for statewide programming, services, and grants, he said. The arts are important not only to the quality of life of citizens but also are integral to its economic well being, May said. He cited a recent study by the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina which said the arts produce more than $2.4 billion in economic activity annually, support more than 30,000 jobs, and return more than $40 million in sales and income taxes to the state each year. State Sen. Mike Fair of Greenville, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, told The Greenville News he is a strong proponent of arts education. He is on the Education Oversight Committee and said he would support overriding the governors veto because there is a correlation between education in the arts and academic progress across grades K to 12. Core academic scores on tests by children who are involved with the arts tend to be higher,’ Fair said.” To see the whole piece click here.

Received the following email from Clark Ray, candidate for DC City Council – at large. Excerpt: “Knowing of your activism in our city, I wanted to alert you to an important (and fun) gathering. This Saturday, June 12th, hundreds of registered DC Democrats like you will gather for the 2010 DC Democratic State Convention… I know you understand the importance of bringing together residents to discuss the pressing issues that face the District. I want to ensure that your issues and particularly the issues of your community are included in the DC Democratic State Convention. Please join me this Saturday, June 12th, 12:00noon to 4:00pm, on Howard University’s School of Law, 2900 Van Ness Street, NW… DC Democratic State Conventions are fun for people like you and me, people who care about our neighborhoods and our city. Won’t you please join us?”

Jonathan O’Connell in the Washington Post reported June 7th, 2010 on the ongoing planning for a film shoot on the mall this summer. An excerpt: “As the story goes, the Transformers — enmeshed in intergalactic battle — traveled from the far-off planet of Cybertron all the way to earth in pursuit of an all-powerful talisman. They are having trouble handling the National Park Service, however. Plans are underway for portions of the third segment in the blockbuster series to be filmed in D.C. this September, a chance for the city and its businesses to reap spending on hotel rooms, meals, equipment rentals, taxi rides, and temporary jobs from a production budget some have estimated to total more than $200 million. A dispute with the Park Service, however, over where and what the film crew will be allowed to shoot has producers from Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks scaling back their plans for the city. The companies had planned a colossal number of filming days — about 14 — in addition to an expected month or more of time in D.C. for other production needs. Bill Line, Park Service spokesman, said ‘A lot of this could be more appropriately shot in a Hollywood studio. The National Mall is not an area in which Americans come to see high-tech action movies being shot.’” Click here to see the complete article.