Arts and Education Weekend

Santa Fe, New Mexico  
Friday, October 19 – Saturday, October 20
Planned jointly with Grantmakers in the Arts

See the full Arts & Education Weekend schedule here

 
Taking advantage of Grantmakers in the Arts' conference in Taos the week after ours, we planned a one-of-a-kind weekend together to explore arts grantmakers' and education grantmakers' often-differing approaches to arts and education funding.

The program began with a reception the evening of Friday, October 19, and concluded with an evening gathering on Saturday, October 20.  

The weekend explored arts grantmakers' and education grantmakers' often-differing approaches to arts and education funding. Participants discussed the role that the arts can and should play in a 21st century public education that must respond to many forces—economic globalization and the demand for creative, flexible workers; the emergence of new technologies in re-shaping who controls learning and generating knowledge; and the need for a way to adequately represent and express a variety of perspectives in an increasingly diverse democracy. We also looked at the realities of student education in New Mexico and how the arts are being used in both rural and urban settings to reach at-risk youth.

Speakers included:

• Alison Bernstein, vice president, knowledge, creativity and freedom, Ford Foundation
• Sarah Cunningham, director of arts education, National Endowment for the Arts
• Moy Eng, program director, performing arts, Hewlett Foundation
• Rafe Esquith, teacher at Hobart Boulevard Elementary School (Los Angeles, CA) and National Medal of the Arts recipient 
• Irene Oliver-Lewis, executive artistic producer and co-founder, Court Youth Center and Alma d'arte Charter School (Los Alamos, NM) 
• Susan Sclafani, Ph.D., managing director, Chartwell Education Group LLC, and former assistant secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Dept of Education
• Mike Smith, director of education, Hewlett Foundation
• Teri Vaisa, associate superintendent, Santa Fe Public Schools
• Daniel Windham, director of arts, Wallace Foundation, and former president/CEO, Cleveland Music School Settlement 

Planning Committee

Janet Rodriguez, JPMorgan Chase | Moy Eng, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation | Cyrus Driver, Ford Foundation | Ross Danis, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation |Anne Focke & Julie Sponsler, GIA staff | Bill Porter & Kristine Stanik, GFE staff