No matter how much we would like the value of the arts to be readily acknowledged and supported by the public, the reality is that art is not universally embraced as an intrinsic human value.  Art needs champions.  We need these champions at every level...

The auditorium was dark, half-filled and almost silent. The only light came from colorful images flashed in three-second bursts across the large screen on stage. The only sound was that of thoughtful comments from the seven judges and one facilitator, also on...

Several weeks ago I wrote about my concerns that the community’s nonprofits, particularly arts nonprofits, were likely either to wither out of existence or be winnowed down by the dramatic effects of the economic recession. I quoted the legendary Paul Light...

Saturday, April 18, 2009 How do you say goodbye to people from two continents away, whom you've met only twice in 13 months, whom you may never see again, and who have become more dear to you than many people you have known all your life? It isn’t just the...

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Today, the members of the EMY team met with professors at Bosphorus University, one of Istanbul’s premier universities, to share research, learning and our experiences using the arts to work with youth, and engaging in violence...

Monday, April 13, 2009 A delicate third-grade girl wanted to know if we knew anything about NASA. She wanted to become an astronaut. Her classmate, a vocal young man wearing the blue and white sweater of the school uniform, asked if we knew anything about...

Saturday, April 11, 2009 I’m on my second visit with a group of Cleveland artists to Istanbul, Turkey. Our job is to complete a year-long exchange program that shares how we use the arts to work with at-risk youth. "Engaging Marginalized Youth" (EMY) is the...

Well, the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) is over for another year, it’s 33rd. And despite the economy – or just maybe because of it – it broke every record from previous years. More than 60,000 people attended over the 11 days of the...

I am privileged to be a judge for the Independent Shorts Awards for the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) this year. This is the 33rd festival and, as anyone who has gone knows, it is a fabulous event for the city, as it grows each year. Two...

In a recent article in The Nonprofit Quarterly headlined "Four Futures," Paul Light, professor of public service at New York University, projects four future scenarios for the nonprofit sector in responding to the economic crisis: A "Rescue Fantasy," in...