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    “The Other and I” film and panel discussion

    Published November 26, 2014 by

      By Caridad Castro, Miami Dade College Liberal Arts & Sciences Department “Funding for this program was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those...
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    A Butterfly trapped between two worlds

    Published November 26, 2014 by

    By Sebastian Spreng, Visual Artist and Classical Music Writer In the Puccini operatic canon, Madama Butterfly occupies no middle ground as to audience views. Those who adore Puccini’s exquisite Oriental painting with passion á la italiana will never make peace with those who can’t stand the story of a geisha...
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    ‘Knight Cities’ podcast: Alice Cabaret on innovating to improve neighborhoods

    Published November 26, 2014 by

    Imagine a globally connected set of urban studios inviting citizens to work on their best ideas for regenerating disinvested neighborhoods. That’s the ambitious vision of South African Alice Cabaret, founder and director of GRIND, the Global Regeneration Initiative for Neighbourhood Development. GRIND is headed to Detroit and other U.S. and European cities after making its debut in Johannesburg. Alice is also urban strategist for Propertuity, developers of Johannesburg’s most exciting new creative district, the Maboneng Precinct. Alice is this week’s guest on “Knight Cities.” Listen to our conversation here. And sign up for the “Knight Cities” newsletter to get alerts as soon as new conversations are posted. Look for new content posted every Wednesday here. You can follow us on Twitter at #KnightCities or @KnightFdn. And if you have ideas for people you’d like to hear more from, please email me. Carol Coletta is vice president of community and national initiatives at Knight Foundation.
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    Miami Jazz Institute immerses students in America’s music

    Published November 26, 2014 by

    Mark Hart is executive and artistic director of the Community Arts Program, a Knight Arts Challenge South Florida winner to create the Miami Jazz Institute. Since its inception in the early 20th century, jazz has been a reflection of American culture and is widely considered the truly original American art form. Yet many graduate from high school with little knowledge of the historical importance and practical applications of jazz. The Community Arts Program (CAP), with its Miami Jazz Institute, stimulates children—of all ages, areas and schools—through the richness of jazz.
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    Arts at Reading Terminal Market: Nov 2014

    Published November 25, 2014 by

    By Ann Mintz, Reading Terminal Market On November 9, world indie songstress Eleanor Dubinsky brought her eclectic repertoire to Reading Terminal Market. Born in St. Louis, Dubinsky’s music is influenced by extensive travels in Europe, Latin and South America. A favorite at Philadelphia arts venues such as the Kimmel Center’s...
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    Videolicious helps add depth to local reports at the San Francisco Chronicle

    Published November 25, 2014 by

    Matt Singer is CEO of Videolicious, a Knight Foundation investment through its venture capital initiative, the Knight Enterprise Fund. This is part one of five in a series exploring ways journalists are using Videolicious to enhance storytelling. Videolicious is available for iOS. At the San Francisco Chronicle, exciting developments are happening in video. Related LinkS 'Four tips to help journalists create more videos' by Matt Singer on Knight Blog @Videolicious on Twitter “A lot of newspapers feel that video is the future, but I think it’s really the present,” says Chronicle news and sports producer Katie Dowd. “Video is so ubiquitous on the Internet; people really expect to see it, and for good reason. It adds so much more to the story.” But not just any video will do, Dowd emphasizes. Local, exclusive video helps the Chronicle stand out. “Our ability to have reporters shoot video—that is, the only video of its kind that exists—has been a huge asset for us.”
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    A changing narrative in Macon, Ga., and cities everywhere

    Published November 25, 2014 by

    Photo by Molly McWilliams Wilkins. Mark Vanderhoek leads the Macon Chapter of the League of Creative Interventionists, which Knight Foundation supports to to promote community engagement. In a world where we are bombarded with messages of scarcity - “while supplies last,” “I just don’t have the time” - we often fail to appreciate the abundance that surrounds us. In many cities, scarcity is the prevailing view. Detractors and many times the residents themselves come to define their cities by what they lack: jobs, shrinking populations, blight, struggling schools. This was once the prevailing view in Macon. But I have witnessed firsthand how this view of a scarce world is a failure of vision, rather than the whole story, or even the biggest part of the story. I cannot blame those who think this way. Our modern world is awash in this message of never enough. Our politics is dominated by messages of fear and division. But these are perspectives; they are not the truth. It is certainly not the truth in Macon.
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    Smart Chicago Collaborative helps launch three civic innovation projects

    Published November 25, 2014 by

    Daniel X. O’Neil is executive director of the Smart Chicago Collaborative, a winner of the Knight Community Information Challenge and recipient of a grant from the Knight Prototype Fund. Below, he writes about the Civic Works Project, which is funded through the challenge and the Chicago Community Trust. Over the past few months, the Smart Chicago Collaborative has launched (or helped others launch) three new projects as part of our CivicWorks Project. The CivicWorks Project is funded by Knight Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust to spur and support civic innovation in Chicago. Our goal is to create 200 pieces of content that explain civic data to regular people, five apps that solve government problems and five apps that solve community problems. We are far surpassing these project goals, in large part because of the hard work and dedication of people who care about these issues already doing great work. Smart Chicago consultant Christopher Whitaker manages this program. One of the reasons we’ve been able to succeed is because of his endless energy in finding and connecting with talented and dedicated people. Here’s an update on our work in Chicago.
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    Voting for ArtPop 2015 now open

    Published November 24, 2014 by

    Allyson Burke, 2015 ArtPop entry. I voted. Have you? No, I am not talking about the midterm elections, but rather the 2015 roster of ArtPop candidates. ArtPop is an exciting partnership between Adams Outdoor Advertising and the Arts and Science Council to promote local artists through...
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    Record-breaking donations on Give to the Max Day in Minnesota

    Published November 24, 2014 by

    This is cross-posted with permission from Beth Kanter's Blog. GiveMN launched its “Give to the Max Day” over 6 years ago.  It was one of the first 24-hour day of giving that rallies and inspires to donate to charities.  On November 13, Minnesotans broke a record Thursday, donating more than $18 million to schools and non-profits.  I have been tracking this giving day since its first Giving Day back in 2009 and every year do a debrief post or interview. This year, I was lucky enough to get Dana Nelson, Executive Director to do an email interview.     GiveMN and Dana have been a key part of the Knight Foundation Giving Day Learning Exchange that I have had the honor of facilitating. This network of community foundations are actively experimenting and learning how to get better results on their Giving Days and adding to the knowledge in the Giving Day Playbook. Here’s what Dana Nelson had to say about their dramatic giving day results, their secret to success, and what is next.