What's New

Residents of NE Portland are taking an "eco-district" approach to community rebuilding that centers on creating environmental wealth through social enterprise, outreach and advocacy. The most recent project is Let Us Build Cully Park! Working with 15 community based organizations, Verde, a Surdna grantee supported by all three program areas, established the Let Us Build Cully Park! Coalition. This compelling video shows how this low-income community is building assets of all kinds through a model that we hope can be replicated in communities throughout the country.

Let Us Build Cully Park! Community Garden from PrettyGoodProductions on Vimeo.

Findings Released from 2010 SNAAP Survey of 13,500 Arts Alumni

The Strategic National Arts Alumni Project has released its first national report, based on data from the 2010 survey of over 13,500 alumni from 154 institutions nationwide. The findings show that, contrary to widespread belief, most arts graduates are happily employed and satisfied with their careers.

The SNAAP report contains a treasure-trove of information about the educational experiences of arts alumni as well as their career paths. To access the press release: http://snaap.indiana.edu/pdf/SNAAP_Press_Release_050311.pdf. For the report: http://snaap.indiana.edu/pdf/SNAAP_2011_Report.pdf

To view some of the national press that SNAAP received as a result of the report: http://snaap.iub.edu/about/news.cfm

Applications are now available for the 2012 Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowships (SATF).  The deadline for applying is November 14, 2011.

The Surdna Foundation invites arts teachers from public arts high schools to apply for funding for artistic development through its Arts Teachers Fellowship Program (SATF). Eligible schools include specialized public arts high schools, as well as arts-focused, magnet and charter high schools. The program offers teachers the opportunity to immerse themselves in their own creative work, interact with other professional artists, and stay current with new practices.

Recognizing that such teachers often lack the time and resources to reconnect with the artistic processes they teach, the Arts Teachers Fellowship Program provides grants of $5,500 to enable selected teachers to make art with professionals in their disciplines and stay current with new practices and resources. A complementary grant of $1,500 is awarded to each Fellow's school to support related post-Fellowship activities.

For more information click here.

After 17 years of exceptional leadership, Ellen B. Rudolph has decided to leave her position as Program Director of the Surdna Foundation's Thriving Cultures Program on September 30, 2011. Over the next year, however, Ellen will assist Surdna with a leadership transition and manage three specific assignments related to the future development of the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), the Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowship program (SATF), and an early assessment of the Foundation's initial grantmaking in Community Driven Design.  In addition to that work, Ellen looks forward to working independently in support of the fields and organizations to which she has devoted her career.

Ellen began working for the Surdna Foundation in 1994 as a consultant assigned to develop an arts grantmaking initiative.  In 1997, she was asked to join the staff full-time to direct the new Arts Program. Over her 17 years, Ellen directed $70 million in grants from Surdna, primarily in support of teens' access to intensive opportunities for their artistic development.  During her tenure, Ellen conceived and directed the development of a number of important national initiatives, including the Talented Students in the Arts Initiative (TSAI), SATF, and SNAAP.  Since 2008, Ellen has overseen the transformation of the Arts Program into the Thriving Cultures Program, broadening the portfolio to embrace new cultural work in community driven design, social action, and economic development.

Surdna Foundation President Phillip Henderson said, "We have been lucky to have had Ellen's leadership at the Foundation for such an extended period.  The depth of her career in the arts is truly impressive, and Surdna has benefited enormously from the breadth of her experience in the field.  We will miss her wise contributions to our work."

Prior to joining the Surdna Foundation, Ellen's prior positions included Executive Director of the Cultural Education Collaborative in MA, Executive Director of the Off Off Broadway Alliance -OOBA (now called ART/NY), and high school and college arts teacher.  She has provided strategic advice and directed projects as a consultant to a range of cultural institutions, schools and colleges, foundations, and education and national cultural policy agencies.

The Surdna Foundation will be conducting a national search for Ellen's replacement as Program Director of the Thriving Cultures Program.  This search is being conducted by Isaacson, Miller, Inc. and information about this search will be available in mid-May 2011 at the Surdna Foundation Website.