City of Melville’s Post

More of this! Thought-provoking, engaging, community centered, and a key dialogue that needs to happen across the U.S. " Addressing contemporary housing challenges faced by Santa Monica and the region, the exhibition further explores affordable housing, support systems for those experiencing homelessness, equity and inclusion, and the importance of historic preservation in maintaining the city’s cultural identity." https://lnkd.in/eQ4b-mPq

The Roots & Branches summary report is now available to download 🌱

Now available for pre-order: "Interpreting Christmas at Museums and Historic Sites," edited by Max van Balgooy and Ken Turnio, and published by Rowman & Littlefield for AASLH. I wrote a chapter for the book, "Not Everyone Celebrates Christmas: Expanding Your Holiday Horizons," which discusses not only Hanukkah, but other faith traditions as well as Christian faith traditions that do not celebrate Christmas as it has come to be observed in the U.S. and Canada. From the back of the book: "Interpreting Christmas at Museums and Historic Sites offers a wide range of perspectives on Christmas and practical guidance for planning, research, interpretation, and programming by board members, staff, and volunteers involved in the management, research, and interpretation at house museums, historic sites, history museums, and historical societies across the United States. Packed with fresh ideas and approaches by nearly two dozen scholars and leaders in this specialized topic, as well as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, they can easily be adapted for the unique needs of organizations of various budgets and capacities. An extensive bibliography of books and articles published in the last twenty years provides additional resources for research and exploration." https://lnkd.in/e7wHsDQY

Chicago, widely known for its beloved public art installations, will be receiving a new slate of public works timed to the upcoming #DNC. GERTIE's “Next Stop: Chicago” is among the infrastructure-related projects by emerging artists and designers coming to Chicago next week. Gertie has awarded more than $400,000 in grants to seven community-led projects along the Chicago Transit Authority’s Green Line (which connects Chicago’s West and South Side to the convention locations and downtown) examining the nature of infrastructure and its importance for historically marginalized communities, especially post-pandemic. The initiative highlights the under-recognized work of communities along the CTA's Green Line — whose development have been bolstered by essential infrastructure in the form of public transportation, housing, and the creation of density to promote business and economic vitality. Read more in The New York Times.

This week's election, from the top of the ballot all the way down, will impact the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. Not just in who represents the nation at this anniversary, but in what funding is available, what programs are valued, what narratives are decried as "woke" or the wrong kind of patriotism, and whether people want to commemorate or engage in heritage tourism. For those doing the planning, the work will be harder. It's a great time to find out what the 250th planning effort looks like in the places you live in and care about, and what you can do to support the museums, historic sites, libraries, humanities organizations, and other stakeholders who are working to create an inclusive, inspiring, and community-building experience in 2026 and beyond.

Culture. Everywhere and for everyone. Local voices and local decision making. Regional partnerships. More secure, long term and less competitive funding. Local authorities properly funded to deliver their statutory services. Just a few of the policy areas, principles and findings that I heard about when I joined this morning’s webinar. There is a LOT to dig into here and more work and conversations to be had, but what an excellent start!

I’m on a bit of a place roadshow these coming weeks, and what a way to start – being part of the Culture Commons ‘The Future of #CulturalDevolution in the UK.’ My small part on this was to be part of the forthcoming paper (with the brilliant Lucrezia Gigante (AFHEA)) on cultural development and its potential to support local decision-making. The online resource on this is worth a deep read – such a timely and vital resource to support our work and make our cases. The paper will be out soon – so for now, the key findings vis a vis policy implications: 1.       Partnership Support Needs Rethinking Current funding structures support partnership formation but not delivery. Our research shows that culture-led capital projects need dedicated funding for the transition from planning to implementation - this is where partnerships often struggle despite strong foundations. 2.       Ring-fence Engagement Funding Community engagement can't be treated as an add-on to capital costs. We found projects achieve better outcomes when engagement funding is protected and continuous, rather than tied to specific building phases or short-term targets. 3.       Cultural Leadership Is Key Local cultural leadership development must be built into project design. The most successful projects create pathways for community members, especially young people, to move from participation to decision-making roles. 4.       Heritage Buildings Need Flexible Frameworks We're seeing innovative uses of heritage buildings as cultural spaces, but current frameworks can hinder rather than help. Policy needs to better balance preservation with creative adaptation for contemporary community use. 5.       Think Ecosystems, Not Just Buildings These aren't standalone building projects - they're nodes in cultural ecosystems. Policy should support projects to connect with existing cultural infrastructure and enable long-term sustainability through appropriate funding models.

Hey Raleigh & Wake County friends! I need your help with something. Cultural master planning is essential for creating a unified and strategic approach to arts, culture, and heritage in a community. The Wake County Board of Commissioners has asked United Arts to lead this process for the County government. Such a plan acts as a comprehensive roadmap to preserve the County’s cultural assets, promote creativity, and enhance community well-being. By setting clear goals and strategies, it aligns the cultural sector with broader goals like tourism, economic growth, education, and social inclusion. A well-structured plan will ensure equitable access to cultural resources, includes diverse communities, and encourages collaboration between government, artists, and residents. Additionally, it can attract funding and partnerships, ensuring long-term support for cultural initiatives. By identifying gaps and opportunities, the masterplan helps to prioritize projects, ensuring that resources are efficiently allocated and that cultural programs contribute to the overall quality of life for residents. We can’t do this without your input! Your feedback is VITALLY IMPORTANT to the process, so please take 5 mins and complete the community feedback survey today! https://lnkd.in/eDz45j9Y

Among the many lessons reinforced over the past few years is the critical role our cultural institutions – from our museums and parks to science centers and the performing arts – play in American life. But with arts, culture, and humanities giving comprising just 5% of total philanthropy in the U.S., organizations must rethink the way they engage their supporters. Read our latest article by Changing Our World's Senior Managing Director, Nicholas Walsh, and learn about the four key trends and tips for arts and culture nonprofits in 2024: https://lnkd.in/eEHAg9cT

Cultural Land Trust is a timely model in cultural philanthropy, where a non-profit real estate operation is established with the sole purpose of making property ownership attainable for cultural non-profits, while preserving it in cultural use indefinitely. The Cultural Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST, https://cast-sf.org/) in San Francisco offers valuable lessons from its first decade: The extent of an organization's embeddedness in its surrounding community emerges as the primary criterion for selecting partner organizations. This marks a significant departure from common due diligence approaches that prioritize an organization's financials and programs. Community arts organizations cannot thrive without artists. If artists are priced out of the organization's locality, it cannot flourish, even if its financial situation stabilizes. Consequently, supporting artists is inseparable from supporting organizations. #CulturalLandTrust #ArtPhilantropy #ArtAndRealEstate #HybridArts