The Guild is excited to announce the appointment of Paula Ortega as CYD National Youth Coordinator. In this role supported by the CYD National Partnership, Paula will support the CYD 2020 Peer Learning Networks, National Youth Network, and National Young Artists Summit (NYAS). The NYAS, entirely designed and led by young people across the country, provides opportunities for young artists, ages 13-20, from a range of artistic disciplines, to connect, create, and celebrate.

Paula is alumni from the 2019 National Youth Arts Summit in Austin, TX, works at Rising Youth Theatre as a transforming artistic collaborator and is co-founder and staff member at the RE:FRAME Youth Arts Center in Phoenix, AZ. As CYD National Youth Coordinator, Paula will collaborate with young arts leaders across the country to advance youth leadership nationally.

We understand that many organizations are losing significant revenue as a result of the coronavirus, and we don't want any to lose access to Guild membership as a result. Because of this, we are making a "pay what you can" option available for ALL organizations until further notice. This is something we started at the beginning of 2020 for organizations with budgets under $300,000, but we're extending it to all members now (including new members)—regardless of which annual budget category your organization falls into. 

Especially in this time, we hope that you’re able to renew your membership or join the Guild for the first time, so that everyone at your organization can access member benefits and stay connected with our community of members across the country.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out our membership team at membership@nationalguild.org if you have any questions. We appreciate your courage in navigating very difficult decisions in this uncertain time, and thank you for being part of this community working to ensure that all people have opportunities to maximize their creative potential. 

March 20, 2020

 

Effective in January 2020, the program team was restructured in response to our current scope of work and capacities, and vision for deepening and expanding key initiatives. In collaboration with the Guild’s Chief Program Officer Heather Ikemire, the Guild's programs and services are led by:

• ASHLEY HARE was hired in March as Director of Leadership Development. Ashley will direct the Guild’s Leadership Institutes and Alumni Networks, including CAELI and the CAELI Alumni Network, the National Young Artists Summit and Youth Network, and Catalyzing Creative Aging. They also will direct work to build and strengthen local and regional capacity building networks.
• IVY YOUNG joined the Guild’s team in August 2019 as Assistant Director of Learning and, effective January 1, has been promoted to Director of Conferences and Learning. She will direct the work of the national conference, our member networks, and online learning.
• LISSETTE MARTINEZ, formerly our program coordinator, is now our Network and Learning Coordinator. She will primarily coordinate member network and regional chapter activities, online learning and resource center development, and the conference.

You can read full staff bios here.

March 18, 2020

 

Dear arts education community, 

During this unprecedented and uncertain time, we want you to know that we're here to help.

We see the very real and complex impact that the coronavirus outbreak is having on our communities. We also understand the risks that many of our organizations are now facing. Because of this, the Guild is urgently ramping up our efforts to support arts education providers in their response to the health crisis. We are inspired by the immediate ways we've seen our community help one another, and we're striving to amplify those efforts and create ways for our field to connect.

We're still figuring things out (as is everyone), but here's what we can share right now:

• We urge all community arts education organizations to act in ways that mitigate public health risks: to limit in-person work, and to postpone in-person programming.

• We are working as fast as we can to respond to the urgent requests we're receiving for support. We're responding to the need for virtual peer gathering and learning spaces for arts educators who are courageously solving challenging problems in real time.

• We're building a knowledge base of relevant resources drawn from our members and others, on topics such as crisis management; supporting youth, families, and teaching artists; equitable access to emergency relief funds; distance learning; and more.

• We have closed our offices to work remotely, and we are re-evaluating upcoming Guild programming in light of the situation. We’re still very much available, so don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

 

In this time, we hold our core values of leadership, community, creativity, and equity as more important than ever. We believe in the power of the arts and collective action to help sustain our communities, and we're committed to supporting those who make that possible. Thank you for your important work.

We'll continue to be in touch with more updates. If you're not signed up for our email list and would like to join, you can do so here: https://nationalguild.org/forms/join-our-email-list

Wishing health, safety, and peace of mind to all, 

The National Guild Staff

At the National Guild’s Annual Meeting—held at the Conference for Community Arts Education on November 1st—members elected four new field leaders to the Guild board of trustees. The Guild is proud to welcome the following individuals to our board:

March 13, 2020

For a membership organization supporting arts and cultural education, there is an urgency to address our own internal bias, privilege, and role in perpetuating systemic racism in our daily practices, policies, and language, and to begin the process of replacing them with equitable policies, practices, and programming.

In Spring 2019, the Guild applied and was awarded funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to conduct a racial equity-based strategic planning process focused on internal structures, practices, and policies. Through an 18-month visioning and planning process (July 2019 – December 2020), Guild staff and board seek to build an equitable organizational culture and shift power within the Guild to better serve and be accountable to leaders and communities of color. 

In January 2020, the Guild contracted the Equity Literacy Institute to conduct a racial equity audit of the organization, and to support the visioning and planning through facilitation and training. As a result of this work, the Guild will develop a clear vision and plan for becoming an anti-racist organization.

We will continue to update the field and our members as we move forward with this vital work.

 

 

Registration is now open for teams of two or more to participate in the Guild’s first-ever full online course: “Fostering High Impact K–12 Arts Education Partnerships," facilitated by Nicole Upton of Ingenuity and featuring a diverse range of experienced guest speakers (e.g. teaching artists, school administrators, teachers, and arts education practitioners). This course is designed to provide a framework for community arts education practitioners and school partners: individuals and organizations eager to work together as a cohort of participants dedicated to advancing arts learning in K–12 schools.

Through case examples, dialogue with experienced practitioners, and hands-on practice with partnership planning and evaluation tools, participating teams will gain real-life, actionable strategies for sustaining this important work in schools. By the conclusion of the course, teams will complete a detailed plan of action for solving specific partnership challenges and create a plan for their K–12 arts education partnerships in the 2020–2021 academic year.

This 9-week course runs April 7th–June 2nd, 2020, and is designed for participating teams of 2–3 people (i.e. administrative staff, teaching artists, and school partners). Participation is limited to 20 teams.

 

The deadline to register is March 13th.

 

For more information about the course format and timeline, and to register, visit https://nationalguild.org/programs/national-guild-online-learning-series/k-12-arts-ed-partnerships.

 

This program is made possible with generous support from the Music Man Foundation.

The National Guild is now accepting applications for the 2020 Community Arts Education Leadership Institute (CAELI).

CAELI provides an intensive, transformative experience through which both seasoned and emerging leaders advance their skills by engaging with top leadership trainers, nationally renowned practitioners, and a diverse cohort of peers. The eight-month program includes a five-day seminar at Bryn Mawr College (Philadelphia, PA), from July 21-25, 2020, a 360-degree feedback process, peer-mentoring, and follow-up coaching. To optimize the learning experience, participation is limited to 26 individuals selected through a competitive application process. This year’s institute will be co-directed by John McCann, Partners in Performance, and Ama Codjoe, and will include long-time faculty members and coaches Mary Parish and Craig Coble. The deadline to apply is April 14, 2020.

For program details, application, and financial aid and scholarship information, visit https://nationalguild.org/programs/community-arts-education-leadership-institute.

The National Guild for Community Arts Education is thrilled to announce a new step on our journey to more authentically align our practices with our core values—particularly the values of equity and community.

Recently, the Guild’s board convened a Membership Task Force to examine the membership model for our Full and Education Affiliate members. Based on the Task Force’s recommendations—and in the spirit of making Guild membership more equitable and accessible to a broader range of organizations—as of 1/1/2020, the Guild is implementing a new membership pricing structure for arts education organizations. 

The changes to go into effect are as follows:

1. We are doing away with pricing tiers. For our Full and Education Affiliate members, membership fees are now based on a consistent 0.075% of your annual operating budget. By eliminating the tier system, we are establishing a fairer fee schedule.
2. For organizations with budgets under $300,000, we are instituting a “pay what you can” model. This change is made to better support the growth of smaller and emerging organizations, while encouraging them to take full advantage of what the Guild has to offer.

 

For more information, visit our 2020 Membership Pricing Change page.

“We are excited to continue our partnership with Lifetime Arts and Aroha Philanthropies on this important initiative,” said Jonathan Herman, CEO of the National Guild. “With each new cohort of Catalyzing Creative Aging, our nation gains a group of organizations committed to combatting ageism and promoting the well-being of our older generations.”

The program will provide training and coaching for eight months (Nov. 2019–June 2020) via a series of workshops, webinars, and video consultations. Participating organizations will play an integral role in developing arts education for older adults at the intersection of health, senior services, community arts, and social change. They will also be part of a growing, intentional shift away from the passive entertainment traditionally offered to older adults, and towards programs that inspire vital creative practices. 10 of the participating organizations will be selected through a separate competitive application process to receive seed grants of up to $7,000 to implement new creative aging programs in fall 2020.

“We are thrilled to welcome this new cohort of Creative Aging Guild members who represent a wide variety of disciplines, organizational structures and sizes—as well as diverse regions of the country,” said Maura O’Malley, CEO of Lifetime Arts. “The Lifetime Arts team is looking forward to working with each of these important community organizations to help align their work with best practices in Creative Aging. As always, we’re proud to partner with the Guild and Aroha Philanthropies to advance this work.”

The goals of the Catalyzing Creative Aging Program are to:

• Increase capacity to serve older adults through skill-based, participatory arts programs
• Provide models of high-quality creative aging programs to the field
• Raise public awareness about the benefits of creative aging programs

Catalyzing Creative Aging is made possible with support from Aroha Philanthropies, St. David’s Foundation, and other generous supporters. For more information, visit www.nationalguild.org or call (212) 268-3337 ext. 10.

 

The National Guild for Community Arts Education ensures all people have opportunities to maximize their creative potential by developing leaders, strengthening organizations, and advocating for community arts education. Through these strategies, the Guild aims to address our country’s widening opportunity gap which leaves millions of individuals with little or no access to the creative resources they need to reach their full potential. Together, the Guild’s national network of 400+ members serves 2.5 million students annually, employs 16,000 teaching artists, and reaches 8 million people through performances and exhibits. www.nationalguild.org

Lifetime Arts, Inc. was founded in 2008 as a service organization with a singular goal: to enrich the lives of older adults through arts education. Lifetime Arts works nationally to build the capacity of organizations, agencies, and individuals to initiate, develop, implement, and sustain professionally conducted Creative Aging programs for the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. www.lifetimearts.org

About Aroha Philanthropies – Awakening Creative Expression
Within all of us, creativity lies waiting to be awakened and expressed, bringing new chances for confidence, connection, purpose and joy. Aroha Philanthropies supports the development of artistic and creative opportunities – and the personal discoveries that go with them – for everyone.
Aroha fulfills its mission to awaken creative expression and build communities through its three program branches, each with a different area of focus:
Discovery Arts: Sparking wonder through creativity for children and youth
Vitality Arts®: Inspiring creativity for ages 55 and better
Humanity Arts:  Enhancing homes and empowering creativity for adults with mental illness
 
Aroha Philanthropies is a private foundation based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For more information, visit arohaphilanthropies.org. Vitality Arts® is a registered mark of Aroha Philanthropies.