Artificial Intelligence, entertainment, News & Announcements
Ian Hawthorne
Music, Movies, & More - February News

In the middle of awards season, major announcements in the media and entertainment industry defined February’s news. While Spotify prepares to ramp up its product offerings, new AI-powered tech is winning Grammys and helping make magic happen on the big screen. All this takes place in the shadow of some major policy announcements regarding copyright and AI.

Music, Movies, & More - February News
Policies, Advocacy, Artificial Intelligence
Ian Hawthorne
Models for Guaranteed Income, Resource-Sharing, ...

As technology reshapes employment, artists face particular financial challenges, earning 30% less than their peers while lacking traditional benefits. This article examines how cities and organizations are testing new solutions—from guaranteed income programs to innovative pension schemes—to provide artists with greater economic stability.

Models for Guaranteed Income, Resource-Sharing, and Pension Programs: Saving the Starving Artist & Cultural Sector
Artificial Intelligence, Education
Melida Hernandez
AI Integration and Barriers in Education

Educators are grappling with the challenge of integrating AI into classrooms, fearing that these systems might replace traditional learning methods rather than enhance them.  This brings us to the question: what barriers prevent educators from implementing artificial intelligence into their curriculum, and how can they be addressed? 

AI Integration and Barriers in Education
News & Announcements, Artificial Intelligence
Ian Hawthorne
New Year, New Media - January News

January ushered in a new year with sweeping disruptions in media, journalism, and public humanities. Technology-driven partnerships, staff cuts, and mergers have redefined the online media landscape kicking-off 2025, calling into question journalism’s position in an age of generative AI. Read the highlights below. 

New Year, New Media - January News
Fundraising, Management
Ian Hawthorne
Crafting Grant Narratives - Approaches to ...

The grant narrative has become one of the most high-stakes tools of communication in the nonprofit fundraising space, driving more than $150 billion in global expenditures. As grant writers adapt their appeals in response to changing funder values, this narrative network gives shape to the nonprofit ecosystem in which many arts organizations operate.

Crafting Grant Narratives - Approaches to Justifying Arts Funding

Policies

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You don't have to be a dancer to attend their conference...

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I recently attended the Dance/USA National Round Table in Portland, OR, and thought I'd share a few things from the event... First, I am scared to try and move in any way that might be considered "graceful."

On my second day at the conference, I decided to check out one of the "Get up and Move!" morning warm-up sessions.

"Heck," I thought, "They can't be doing much more than stretching at this ungodly hour."

When I peeked in the session room, it looked like the cast of Cirque du Soleil warming up for a show. This was nothing like my high school P.E. stretch-out activities.

I walked past the session room and got a donut instead.

Speaking of Cirque du Soleil, please check out their Web site for an example of how extreme site design can be a hassle for visitors.

While it's important for arts organizations to offer aesthetically pleasing and stimulating Web experiences, it is equally important to offer alternative sites for users with older computers. If you're going to include fancy Web elements, such as Flash animation, on your site, be sure to offer a non-Flash version as well. Otherwise, you could be shutting out a large portion of your audience.

By the way, the clown that greets you on the Cirque du Soleil front page is absolutely terrifying:

Cirque du Clown

"Mommy, I don't want to go into that Web site. Please don't make me go."

It was also confirmed during my time in Portland that technology is unavoidable. Many of the discussions at the Dance/USA conference revolved around technology. Dance company administrators seem to be very interested in how their organizations can begin using MySpace, YouTube and other popular Internet tools to increase audience and potential audience awareness.

YouTube works especially well for arts groups with visually gripping programming. The site is a free service that allows you to upload and share videos. Click here to visit the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC) Web site and read about some documentary filmmakers that are using YouTube to share their work about the rebuilding of New Orleans.

One hundred years from now...

Will your organization's files, images and records still be around? And if so, will people be able to view them? I highly enjoyed these thoughts by Momus in wired.com about the creation and demise of the formats with which we store our music, photos, film, literature and more. As paper documentation succumbs to the proliferation of digitized formats, cultural and art institutions are joining the race to keep up. A decrease in office paper may be great news for the environment, but what will happen to these gigabytes upon terabytes of historical data 100, 50, even 10 years from now when the technology we used today is a relic?