Content in this section engages with ideas around philanthropy and arts funding around the world. For a look at the United States, start with Grantmakers in the Arts conference or, for a global perspective, check out essays from Romania, Mexico, and Canada.
The Latest
Essay
Creative Labor, Creative Conditions, and the Case for May Day
by Nataki Garrett
11 June 2026
Video
IETM Oulu Plenary Meeting 2026
Can I Bite the Hand that Feeds Me? Power and Responsibility in Arts Funding
Monday 15 June and Wednesday 17 June 2026
Oulu, Finland
Essay
What Makes a Theatre an “Apartheid Free Zone”?
by Theater Workers for a Ceasefire, Maria Aparo, Sulu LeoNimm, Liz Duran Boubion
Jackson Cooper calls on fundraising professionals to reinterrogate their institutions’ relationships with wealth and value to forge more equitable development practices.
As a part of the New Deal, the Federal Theatre Project of the 1930s funded theatre in the United States at an unprecedented level, providing paid work for trained theatremakers and low-cost performances to audiences all around the country. Corinna Schulenberg and Dr. Elizabeth A. Osborne discuss the history of the Federal Theatre Project and its potential to act as a model for a New Federal Theatre Project formed in conjunction with racial justice, climate justice, and Land Back movements.
Glenn Davis, co-artistic director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, sits down with Ken-Matt Martin, artistic director of Victory Gardens Theater, to talk about shifting relationships with donors, the concept of term limits for leadership, the joys of returning to rehearsal rooms, and their shared experiences as Black men at the helm of Chicago theatres.
In these episodes of The Future Is Now, CEC Artslink invites two of their Future Fellows, artist and activist Selma Banich and freelance cultural manager Fatin Farhat, to discuss how they envision the future of arts practice.
Join a national panel of arts philanthropy practitioners to hear them discuss their varied roles in support of the arts
Monday 1 November 2021
United States
The Playwrights Realm presented the panel Arts Philanthropy: What is the Funder’s Role? livestreaming on the commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Monday 1 November 2021 at 1 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 3 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 4 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 21:00 BST (London, UTC +1).
Regina Victor, artistic director of Slideshow Theatre Company, and Kaiser Ahmed, artistic director of Jackalope Theatre Company, discuss the joys and challenges of stepping into their Chicago-based positions as theatres across the United States recalibrate their programming.
Yura Sapi sits down with Iyvon E., artistic director of The Parsnip Ship, a podcast play company that amplifies bold artists for audiences who crave accessible stories and storytellers.
In this entry of Devising Our Future, Aly Perry asks, “How might we position and design theatre as an essential space for healing, pleasure, and connection through an intertwining and interdependent realm of the senses?
Speaking on the American Rescue Plan’s Grants to Organizations program
Monday 19 July 2021
United States
The Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (CAATA) presented an information session with representatives from the National Endowment for the Arts speaking on the American Rescue Plan's Grants to Organizations program livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 19 July 2021 at 9:30 a.m. HST (Honolulu, UTC -10), 11:30 a.m. AKDT (Juneau, UTC -8), 12:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7), 1:30 p.m. MDT (Denver, UTC -6), 2:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5), 3:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).
Alix Rosenfeld offers suggestions for nonprofits seeking to move out of a scarcity mindset, embrace a spirit of abundance, and build pathways to a more ethical and equitable ecosystem.
The Stories Women Carry: Creative Practice of African Women from the Continent
Monday 26 April 2021
Kenya
Tebere Arts Foundation presented the conversation Theatre-making in the Arab World and North Africa with The Stories Women Carry: Creative Practice of African Women from the Continent livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 26 April 2021 at 10 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 1 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 8 p.m. EAT (Nairobi, UTC +3).
Producer Hub presented the conversation Economic Transparency in the Commercial Theatre with their series Producing Ethically in 2021 livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 15 April 2021 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).
National Playwright Residency Program Evaluation 2020
1 March 2021
Alexis Frasz and Holly Sidford of Helicon Collaborative share their findings from the most recent assessment of the National Playwright Residency Program.
Annalisa Dias and Ronee Penoi, on behalf of Groundwater Arts, argue that there cannot be a just arts sector within an unjust world, and that contrary to what people think, arts workers do have the means and the agency to make change. What is needed is a new narrative.
Ralph Peña argues that private foundations play a vital role in sustaining nonprofit theatres in the United States and these funders must better recognize the value of, and make significant investments in, smaller, community-focused BIPOC organizations.
Actions and Reflections to Cope with the “New Normal” / Acciones y Reflexiones para Afrontar la "Nueva Normalidad"
1 December 2020
Michelle Yemayá notes that while Colombian theatre artists have found ways to face the unexpected changes this year, artists are still struggling to stay afloat. She talks about how she has adapted her practice under the circumstances and shares the stories of three other artists living and working as artists in Colombia right now. / Michelle Yemayá ha notado que, si bien los artistas del teatro colombiano han encontrado formas de enfrentar los cambios inesperados de este año, la lucha por mantenerse a flote es constante. Habla sobre cómo ha adaptado su práctica a las circunstancias y comparte las historias de otras tres personas que en este momento viven y trabajan como artistas en Colombia.
Two players compete online for sweet art money in culturecapital, the arts economy trading card game
Tuesday 27 October 2020
Canada
The fourth round of culturecapital:online LUKE REECE vs DANI FECKO livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 27 October 2020 at 6 p.m. PDT (Vancouver, UTC-7) / 8 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 9 p.m. EDT (Toronto, UTC-4) / Thursday 21 May 10:00 KST (Seoul, UTC+9) / 13:00 NZST (Auckland, UTC+12).
Two players compete online for sweet art money in culturecapital, the arts economy trading card game
Wednesday 30 September 2020
Canada
The third round of culturecapital:online JENNA RODGERS vs MADDIE BAUTISTA livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 30 September 2020 at 6 p.m. PDT (Vancouver, UTC-7) / 8 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 9 p.m. EDT (Toronto, UTC-4) / Thursday 21 May 10:00 KST (Seoul, UTC+9) / 13:00 NZST (Auckland, UTC+12).
Two players compete online for sweet art money in culturecapital, the arts economy trading card game
Wednesday 2 September 2020
Canada
The second round of culturecapital:online MARK HOPKINS vs RALPH ESCAMILLAN livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 2 September 2020 at 6 p.m. PDT (Vancouver, UTC-7) / 8 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 9 p.m. EDT (Toronto, UTC-4) / Thursday 21 May 10:00 KST (Seoul, UTC+9) / 13:00 NZST (Auckland, UTC+12).
Milton Lim and Patrick Blenkarn talk about culturecapital, their arts trading card game that offers a window into the complex relationships artists have with public funding, being socially relevant, and navigating a rapidly changing landscape of ethics, politics, and economics within the arts.
Two players compete online for sweet art money in culturecapital, the arts economy trading card game
Wednesday 20 May 2020
Canada
National Theatre School of Canada presented the first ever culturecapital:online livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 20 May 2020 at 6 p.m. PDT (Vancouver, UTC-7) / 8 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 9 p.m. EDT (Toronto, UTC-4) / Thursday 21 May 10:00 KST (Seoul, UTC+9) / 13:00 NZST (Auckland, UTC+12).
Israel Aloni argues that the lack of governmental support for artists has pushed them to pursue activism but contends that art ought to remain independent of the civil-political sphere.
Grantmakers in the Arts presented the webinar Emergency Preparedness and Response: COVID-19 and the Arts Ecosystem livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 19 March 2020 at 4 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 3 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 2 p.m. MDT (Denver, UTC-6) / 1 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles, UTC-7) / 12 p.m. AKDT (Anchorage, UTC-8) / 10 a.m. HST (Honolulu, UTC-10).
with Ignite/Arts Dallas: A Center for People, Purpose + Place
Tuesday 25 February 2020
Dallas, Texas
Ignite/Arts Dallas presented Arts, Culture & Community Investment - CultureBank Dallas livestreamed on the commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network on Tuesday 25 February at 11 a.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC-8) / 1 p.m. CST (Dallas, UTC-6) / 2 p.m. EST (New York, UTC-5).
