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    Dance, Charlotte, dance

    Published February 23, 2012 by

    On Friday, Feb. 24 and Saturday, Feb. 25 the CLT Dance Weekend will be taking over Spirit Square in uptown Charlotte. Master classes, a variety of dance performances and even a free panel discussion about the future of dance are all part of this weekend celebration. All of this will...
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    Second State Press printmaking collective

    Published February 23, 2012 by

    In Gallery 102 of the Crane Arts building in Fishtown, Second State Press is currently displaying prints by 16 of its members. Located in the basement of the building, Second State is a communal printmaking studio that offers members an affordable and supportive network of like minds and equipment to...
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    Two art leaders join Knight’s national arts advisory committee

    Published February 23, 2012 by

    Today, Knight Foundation welcomes two new art leaders from Miami and San Jose to its national arts advisory committee. Silvia Karman Cubiñá, executive director and chief curator of the Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach, and Anjee Helstrup-Alvarez, executive director of MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, in San Jose join the committee, which is made up of recognized artists and art advocates. The committee guides Knight on the best ways to promote artistic excellence that engages, inspires and brings communities together. Dennis Scholl, Knight Foundation’s vice president/arts said: “Both Silvia and Anjee are extraordinary arts advocates committed both to culture and their communities. They each bring extensive knowledge of the arts, and have the experience and dedication to help identify the most engaging ways to bring art to communities.”
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    From Miami to off-Broadway

    Published February 23, 2012 by

    By Casey Craig, National Jewish Theater Foundation/Holocaust Theater Archive National Jewish Theater/Holocaust Theater Archive, Producing Artistic Director Arnold Mittelman, is proud to present a limited Off-Broadway run of The Soap Myth, by Jeff Cohen, from March 23 – April 22 at the Black Box Theatre at the Harold and Miriam...
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    Art leaders in Miami and San Jose join Knight Foundation’s National Arts Advisory Committee  

    Published February 23, 2012 by

    Miami’s Silvia Karman Cubiñá and San Jose’s Anjee Helstrup-Alvarez have been named to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s National Arts Advisory Committee. The committee of recognized artists and art advocates guides Knight Foundation on the best ways to promote artistic excellence that engages, inspires and brings communities...
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    A PHILADANCO First

    Published February 23, 2012 by

    By Kate Durnan, The Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO) After a dance company has celebrated its 42nd birthday, there aren’t that many “firsts” left to encounter. But Philadelphia’s legendary The Philadelphia Dance Company (more affectionately known worldwide as PHILADANCO) enjoyed one more milestone last month: the company had two different performances—in...
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    Lessons and insights learned in building community partnerships

    Published February 22, 2012 by

    Joaquin Alvarado, senior vice president, digital innovation, American Public Media The 70 Knight Community Information Challenge projects funded so far have led to collaborations with nearly 450 organizations - from libraries, to tech groups, universities, legacy and new media and more. Partnerships are so prevalent, that community and place-based foundations often ask for tools and tips in making them effective. So Knight and the consulting firm FSG talked with the leaders of successful projects, gathered their insights into a new report - and organized a panel discussion at the Media Learning Seminar offering lessons learned. With less resources available for community news and information projects, collaboration and partnerships are more valuable and necessary than ever before, said Joaquin Alvarado, senior vice president, digital innovation, American Public Media. But what creates some of the most successful partnerships? Alvarado says it’s about getting people from different communities active and engaged, earning their loyalty and providing long-term commitment to the partnership. It’s also about using technology to really engage with residents and making sure they feel their voices are heard in the communities.
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    A Staged Reading and a Community Meeting

    Published February 22, 2012 by

    By Matthew Stiffler, Arab American National Museum On Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012, the Arab American National Museum hosted blogger, playwright, and researcher Wajahat Ali for a staged reading of his Off-Broadway hit, Domestic Crusaders. The play focuses on a day in the life of a modern multi-generational Muslim Pakistani American...
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    Deepening engagement in elections: TurboVote expands in South Florida

    Published February 22, 2012 by

    Knight Foundation is helping TurboVote, which aims to make the voting process as easy as renting from Netflix, expand into new communities and develop its platform. The funding is part of a series of Knight grants that support new ways to deepen Americans’ engagement in elections and foster more informed communities. Co-Founder Seth Flaxman talks about the effort: Our democracy is in trouble. The United States ranks 138th in voter participation – behind every major democracy, according to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. As a grad student, I was on my way to contributing to the problem when I missed three elections in a row. I figured it was easier to build TurboVote, a platform that simplifies the voting process, than to find a printer and stamp to change my registration and then keep track of when local elections were taking place. Looking back two years later, it turned out that TurboVote was sort of hard to build - but I'm still glad we did it.  
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    Missed the conversation on news and info at the Media Learning Seminar? Here’s full coverage

    Published February 22, 2012 by

      If you missed - or are looking for a refresher on -  Knight's 2012 Media Learning Seminar, we've rounded up all the info you need to help you catch up. Check out: Dan Gillmor: Six ways foundations and community groups can help keep communities informed and engaged Ideas you can steal: Community information projects that worked Lessons learned from using the Community Information Toolkit Ethan Zuckerman, on how to use media to amplify community voices Insights learned in building community partnerships A round-up of tweets from Day 1 and Day 2 on Storify Videos are also available from the following speakers and sessions: Alberto Ibarguen, President and CEO, Knight Foundation Dan Gillmor, founding director, Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship Amy Webb and Michael Maness, What's now; what's next and what does it mean?  Jennifer Ford Reedy, Minnesota Philanthropy Partners  Clotilde Dedecker, Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo Tycoma Miller, West Anniston Foundation  Margot Rawlins, Silicon Valley Community Foundation Chris Barge, Community Foundation Serving Boulder County Eli Pariser, author of The Filter Bubble Mayur Patel, Vice President for Strategy and Assessment, Knight Foundation Building Partnerships panel Ethan Zuckerman, Director, MIT Center for Civic Media Enjoy!
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    Zuckerman: How to use media to amplify community voices

    Published February 22, 2012 by

      Ethan Zuckerman believes the Internet is the most powerful tool humans have to understand one another’s differences. But, he says, we’ve yet to tap its potential. “The way we use the Internet keeps us from making those connections,” said the director of the MIT Center for Civic Media and founder of Global Voices. Zuckerman told the hundreds gathered for Knight’s Media Learning Seminar that the sociological phenomenon of homophily — the tendency to gravitate toward people with similar traits — also governs our Web habits and online conversations. "We find the same ways to sort ourselves in whom we associate with online,” Zuckerman said. In a speech Tuesday, Zuckerman told foundation and community leaders that the task for content producers today is to act as guides to the Internet, helping show audiences not only what they want to see, but what they need to see. “As tourists in a city, if we want to see various parts of the city, we find a guide. How do we create guides for the Internet?” Zuckerman asked. His work with the Center for Civic Media centers on how to map, contextualize and amplify global voices with tools that, he says, can be applied to any community. Zuckerman’s four-step approach:
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    FUZE! concert mesmerizes

    Published February 22, 2012 by

      It takes tremendous imagination to conceive a program like the one that the Calder Quartet and singer/violinist Iva Bittová presented in such satisfying style on the FUZE! series at the Akron Art Museum on Feb. 17. The warmth of Hungarian/Czech/Moravian folk-infused writing miraculously...
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    Random Acts of Culture™ arrives at IKEA

    Published February 22, 2012 by

    Hello IKEA! Opera Carolina took the Charlotte IKEA by storm Sunday, Feb 19 as part of Knight Foundation's Random Acts of Culture™ program. Shoppers were surprised by five performances from La Boheme and La Traviata throughout the day - and the Charlotte Observer caught all the action. Video coming soon,...