The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture is seeking a visual artist with elementary-aged youth instruction experience for a Spring 2023 placement at Heatherbrae Elementary School.

Launched in Spring 2022, Creative Curriculum is a teaching artist program that uses the arts, including creative writing, visual arts, and other disciplines, to get students excited and engaged about learning. Working closely with teachers, district specialists, and Office staff, local artists create lesson plans, develop trainings, and provide in-person instruction to help students achieve district standards and goals.​​

Working in close collaboration with staff members at the Office of Arts and Culture and the Heatherbrae Elementary School classroom instructor and school principal, the educational artist-in-residence will help develop, administer, and evaluate a variety of exercises, lesson plans, resources, and tools to help third-grade students get engaged and excited about visual arts in accordance with district standards and goals.

The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture is looking for a dynamic individual to join the public art program team!

The position may also provide support, training, and supervision of interns or other program team members. The deadline to apply is January 31, 2023.

Last month, Phoenix City Council voted to approve​ the proposed $500 million 2023 GO Bond Program as presented by the General Obligation (GO) Bond Executive Committee.

After three months of committee deliberation and extensive public input, the GO Bond Executive Committee recommended several projects and programs for City Council consideration. 

With its approval, Phoenix City Council approved $50,385,000 for arts and culture capital projects. A summary of allocations for all recommended projects/programs to be completed is available on the City's website​.

City staff will begin the next steps to prepare election materials for City Council approval, and then voters will decide the outcome during a November 2023 Special Bond Election.

Mayor Kate Gallego applauded the GO Bond committees for the months of effort that went into creating the final proposals. “This was a complex project, and our committee members – who already lead busy lives – generously gave of their time and expertise to prioritize and craft these proposals that came to the council today. I am deeply grateful for their commitment to making the City of Phoenix a better place."

Arizona Gives a collaboration between the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits and Arizona Grantmakers that began in 2013. This partnership has helped raise more than $30 million for Arizona's nonprofit sector. While giving is available on AZGives.org 365 days a year, Arizona Gives' statewide online giving campaign takes place in early April each year.

Arizona Gives helps people find, learn about and contribute to the local causes they believe in their community. It enables nonprofits to share their stories and engage the community through a unique online giving platform. It also raises awareness about Arizona nonprofits and their critical role in our communities and state. It inspires people to give generously to nonprofits, strengthening our state and creating a thriving community for all.

Whether you've participated before or are new to the program, please be sure you have registered or re-enrolled on the Arizona Gives website.

The Arizona Commission on the Arts announced the appointment of Jacky Alling as Interim Executive Director. Alling comes to the agency from Arizona State University’s Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation, where she served as the first-ever Senior Fellow for Philanthropy.

Before that, she spent two decades with the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF) as a consultant to design and implement a statewide “Arts in the Schools, Arts in the Community” strategic initiative. Following that, she served as the Vice President of Programs and then the Chief Philanthropy Officer collaborating with many to lead, design, orchestrate, and implement some of ACF’s most innovative programs.

Previously Alling worked for various arts organizations, including the Arizona Alliance for Arts Education, ASU Cultural Affairs, and the Phoenix Boys Choir focusing on building cultural participation, education, and outreach programs.

The Arts Commission also announced that Governor Katie Hobbs published her executive budget for Fiscal Year 2024. The Governor’s proposed budget for the State of Arizona includes a historic $20 million one-time allocation to the Arizona Commission on the Arts.

The Governor’s budget proposal is the first step in the budget-development process. Over the coming weeks, Arizona legislators will craft their proposals for the State’s FY2024 budget. Arizona’s residents are encouraged to participate throughout this legislative process by expressing to their elected representatives what is most important to them and their communities.

Learn more about the Arizona Commission on the Arts at www.azarts.gov.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is pleased to announce that grant guidelines and application materials are now available for Challenge America and Grants for Arts Projects. These grants to organizations support specific projects in any part of the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. jurisdictions.

The NEA is proud to support the nation’s arts sector with grant opportunities to help everyone live more artful lives. The arts contribute to our well-being, the well-being of our communities, and our local economies. As we emerge from the pandemic and plan for the future, the arts are also crucial to helping us make sense of our circumstances from different perspectives.

Eligible applicants include nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) U.S. organizations, state or local government units, and federally recognized tribal communities or tribes.

On January 10, 2023, the NEA announced its first round of recommended awards for the fiscal year 2023, with more than $34 million in funding to support the arts nationwide. Five Phoenix-based arts organizations/programs and one Literature Fellowship artist are among the grantees. Congratulations to these grantees!

CALA Alliance, Phoenix, AZ

$18,000 - Grants for Arts Projects

Cultural Coalition, Inc., Phoenix, AZ

$10,000 - Grants for Arts Projects

Detour Company Theatre, Phoenix, AZ

$15,000 - Grants for Arts Projects

Opportunity Tree, Phoenix, AZ

$10,000 - Challenge America

The Phoenix Theatre Company, Phoenix, AZ

$10,000 - Grants for Arts Projects

Luna, Ilana, Phoenix, AZ

$20,000 - Literature Fellowship

The Museum Assessment Program (MAP) is supported through a cooperative agreement between IMLS and the American Alliance of Museums. MAP offers museums an opportunity to strengthen operations and plan for the future through a low-cost, year-long process of self-assessment and consultative peer review.

A MAP assessment engages a team of museum staff and stakeholders in a series of institutional self-assessment activities and information gathering using a MAP Workbook. During this process a site visit is conducted by a Peer Reviewer who visits the museum and consults with staff, governing officials, volunteers, and other stakeholders. The Peer Reviewer works with the museum and MAP staff to produce an assessment report evaluating the museum's operations, making recommendations, and suggesting resources and strategies for implementation.

Five MAP assessment types are available: Organizational, Collections Stewardship, Education & Interpretation, Community & Audience Engagement, and Board Leadership.