Announcement from Michael Spring

New Task Force on the Performing and Visual Arts in Miami-Dade County
The Board of County Commissioners created a new Task Force on the Performing and Visual Arts in Miami-Dade County to provide suggestions to help sustain the cultural community.

The Task Force’s first meeting for public input will focus on our community’s Major Cultural Institutions and Large Cultural Organizations and is scheduled for Wednesday, August 26 from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm at the Miami Science Museum Auditorium, 3280 South Miami Avenue.

The Task Force is being chaired by Adolfo Henriques (who also serves as the chair of the Cultural Affairs Council). It will collect ideas and recommendations to accomplish this work by November 2009. We also will send you the notice of a future meeting to invite participation from medium-sized, small and grassroots cultural organizations. Members of the public are welcome to attend all meetings.

Organizations and individuals are encouraged to submit written testimony that addresses the key issues being looked at by the Task Force. Please click on Task Force Survey to provide this information.

Participants in the Task Force’s work should focus ideas and suggestions on these central issues facing Miami-Dade’s cultural community, including

Factors affecting the sustainability of cultural organizations;
Trends regarding public and private funders of the arts;
Consolidation and collaboration strategies; and
Availability and usage of facilities for the arts.

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Grant Resources:
Fifty Funders
Simply Grant Writing

Arts Grants in Crisis in Miami

Many articles and emails have recently documented the crisis in the arts for Miami-Dade County, with the Commission considering elimination of all grants to 400 organizations.

We have long appreciated the tremendous support given by the Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs, undoubtedly one of the best such departments in the country. Without this funding, many organizations that we all know and love will not be able to continue providing their important programs, affecting artists, administrators, patrons, and perhaps most importantly children served by education, outreach, afterschool and summer programs.

If you can, write your Commissioner to ask for continued funding for the Arts in Miami-Dade. I will continue to update as news is released.

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Now is an important time to seek additional sources of funding. Please consider these valuable resources:
Fifty Funders
Simply Grant Writing
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