Introduction: Layered Landscapes

This Special Issue of Arts investigates a series of creative projects focused upon and sited within certain peripheral landscapes of northern Britain ..

Practices of Remembrance: The Experiences of Artists and Curators in the Centenary Commemoration of World War I

The centenary of World War One was marked in the UK by an unprecedented national investment in the creative arts as a vehicle for remembrance. This scale of funding for commemorative arts, not least under a government whose mantra had been economic “austerity”, demonstrates the importance that the nation-state placed on remembrance and on engaging the public in acts of memory through the arts. In the aftermath of the centenary, funding bodies have commissioned evaluations of this programming. These evaluations have focused on audiences reached, organisations benefitted, and social transformation. What remain occluded by the reports are the experiences of the artists themselves and the curators with whom they worked. In this article I explore the personal and affective experiences of several artists and curators whose work contributed to this national programme of remembrance. I ask: to what extent did artists and curators consciously engage with prior artistic responses to World War One? How did the context of collective commemoration and memory-making inform their practice and the works produced? What did their involvement in this programme of national remembrance make them feel? What were the narratives of the war they wanted to tell? To begin to answer these questions, I draw on a series of one-to-one interviews conducted with a number of artists and curators who were involved in commemorative projects in the UK and overseas

We Are in This Together: A Survey of Community Arts Partners in LA County Public Schools

The Los Angeles County Arts Commission surveyed teaching artists and arts organizations to find out who provided arts education services to LA County's 2,198 public schools in 2012. This survey found 139 arts organizations and 46 teaching artists providing arts education during the school day in 98 percent of all school districts and 53 percent of all schools in the County. While this is certainly an undercount of the total number of such arts organizations and teaching artists serving local public schools, it is a first step toward establishing a comprehensive list, and is the best data we have to date about this group of providers. Among the high level findings: 57 percent of all arts education provided by community arts partners was in visual art (32 percent) and music/opera (25 percent).More than 77 percent of arts education provided by community arts partners occured in elementary (K-8) grades. Arts education from community arts partners peaked in grades 3 through 5, and peak years varied by arts discipline.The four community arts pertners providing the greatest amount of arts educatio in LA County were the Autry Museum, Broad Stage, Music Center and Skirball Cultural Center.Nearly half of all community arts partners charge schools for their services at least some of the time

A contribution to the moss flora of Ecuador

An annotated list of new records or otherwise interesting species from Ecuador is presented. The occurrence of rhizoidal tubers is reported for the first time in Anoectangium aestivum, Brachymenium chilense and Bryoerythrophyllum campylocarpum

2008 Arts Education Performance Indicators Report

The 2008 Arts Education Performance Indicators Report shows an increase in the number of school districts that are building infrastructure in this area, demonstrating a long-term commitment to improving arts education. The report is issued periodically by the Arts Commission as part of the county's regional Arts for All initiative to return quality, sequential arts education to the county's 81 school districts. Overall progress includes: 64 percent of districts report having an arts education policy, compared to 37 percent in 2005. 61 percent of districts report a board-adopted arts education plan or indicated they are developing one, compared to 35 percent in 2005. 39 percent of districts report having an arts coordinator, compared to 12 percent in 2005. 16 percent report having a 400 to 1 ratio of students to credentialed arts teachers, compared to 10 percent reporting that ratio in 2005. 98 percent of districts report using general fund budgets to support arts education programs (sources of arts ed budgets were not included in previous surveys). The 2008 AEPI Report is based on self-reported data from superintendents, assistant superintendents, directors of curriculum and/or district arts coordinators. Of the 81 school districts, 72 responded

Arts for All School Arts Survey: Measuring Quality, Access and Equity in Arts Education

As part of its goal to make quality, sequential arts education a reality in all public K-12 classrooms in Los Angeles County, Arts for All connects school districts with effective tools and resources to improve arts learning. The Arts for All School Arts Survey: Measuring Quality, Access and Equity in Arts Education is the most recent of these tools to be introduced. It was developed to measure access to and quality of arts instruction at the school site level as well as to develop a system for collecting and reporting the data. The results are useful to schools and school districts to find out what is working, what's not working, and to point the way toward improvement. But the results can also provide a picture of what's happening across a region. The following summary describes how the survey was built and its first test in five school districts encompassing 100 schools. As a result of this test, some refinements will be made in the survey, but the survey's strength and utility have been proven. Los Angeles County now has a means of objectively measuring quality and access to arts education and making the results easily accessible

Arts for All: 6 Year Review

In September 2002, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted Arts for All: Los Angeles County Regional Blueprint for Arts Education, a strategic plan to restore arts education -- in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts -- to the 1.7 million students in Los Angeles County's 81 school districts. The Arts for All Executive Committee, with more than 100 partners and managed by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, leads this effort. The initiative, having completed its sixth year, has made great strides

Foundation Funding for Arts Education: An Update on Foundation Trends

To document the size and scope of arts education grantmaking by US foundations, Foundation Center and Grantmakers in the Arts collaborated on a 2005 report. The report examined foundation grantmaking for arts education between 1999 and 2003 and represented the most comprehensive analysis of foundation arts education support available. This new report updates the analysis of foundation arts education funding through 2012 and illustrates how support for arts education has evolved during a period of pronounced economic volatility and dramatic political and technological change

KAPTUR: exploring the nature of visual arts research data and its effective management.

KAPTUR (2011-2013), funded by JISC and led by the Visual Arts Data Service (VADS), is a highly collaborative project involving four institutional partners: the Glasgow School of Arts; Goldsmiths, University of London; University for the Creative Arts; and the University of the Arts London. The preservation and publication of research data is seen as positive and all UK Research Councils now require it as a condition of funding (RCUK 2012). As a result a network of data repositories are emerging (DataCite 2012a), some funded by Research Councils, others by institutions themselves. However, research data management practice within the visual arts appears ad hoc. None of the specialist arts institutions within the UK has implemented research data management policies (DCC 2011a), nor established research data management systems. KAPTUR seeks to investigate the nature of visual arts research data, making recommendations for its effective management; develop a model of best practice applicable to both specialist arts institutions and arts departments in multidisciplinary institutions; and apply, test and refine the model with the four institutional partners. This paper will explore the nature of visual arts research data and how effective data management can ensure its long term usage, curation and preservation

Arts and Economic Prosperity 5: The Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts & Cultural Organizations & their Audiences in Western New York

[Excerpt] Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 provides evidence that the nonprofit arts and culture sector is a significant industry in Western New York—one that generates $352.1 million in total economic activity. This spending—$156 million by nonprofit arts and cultural organizations and an additional $196.1 million in event-related spending by their audiences—supports 10,160 full-time equivalent jobs, generates$208.2 million in household income to local residents, and delivers $40.3 million in local and state government revenue. This economic impact study sends a strong signal that when we support the arts, we not only enhance our quality of life, but we also invest in Western New York’s economic well-being