The Miami Foundation’s Post

It’s official - welcome, Alexander Santiago-Jirau! ✨ Over the summer, I joined a group of dedicated individuals to lead the search for a new Executive Director and begin a new chapter at Opening Act. Read about the journey, our new leader, and our ambitions below. Two asks: 1) Follow our page to track our progress and 2) Contribute a WELCOME GIFT if you’d like to further our mission and local impact (https://lnkd.in/ed8MD65d). YES, and! 👏🏽 #nonprofitleadership

Important petition to consider....

With Juneteenth only 90 days away, it's time to start planning your programming and content. Hosting an event? Don't let it be a last-minute thought. This is a celebration of Black Joy and deserves to be approached with care. I can help ensure your company or brand does just that. Let's make sure Juneteenth is celebrated the way it was meant to be. #socialmarketing

I'm sharing this response from the CBSO to Birmingham City Council's proposed budget cuts to the Arts sector. Please read and share with your network. Being an artistic professional living & practicing in Birmingham has been deeply challenging since the global financial crisis in 2008. The Arts & Cultural sector has had to learn to be incredibly resilient in the face of repeated & sustained cuts in budgets. At each and every stage creative solutions have been found. There is a huge amount of collaboration that goes on behind the scenes to support one another. Larger organisations do their best to support small organisations of talent like mine. In return, we do our best to bring excellent programming & much needed revenue to Arts venues from any funding we can win. This was how I was able to hire Town Hall Birmingham for 5 days each March for my hugely popular BookFest for Schools programme. Children's Laureates & other top children's authors & illustrators came to speak to capacity audiences of economically & socially deprived school children living in Birmingham to inspire them with Literature and the Arts. Tickets were just £3 per child and teachers went free. Most of the children attending had never been inside an Arts venue before. I was shocked to discover some children had never been to Birmingham city centre before, despite their homes and schools being only a mile away. Feedback from teachers was that these events were transformational. We used to hear comments from kids on leaving our BookFest for Schools events saying things like "I never knew being an illustrator was a job. I want to be an illustrator when I grow up!". How was it funded? Through a mixture of ACE funding and generous match funding from a Birmingham based philanthropist who I found, met, pitched the case to and who generously gave match funding for 3 years. Did I approach BCC to fund this vital work in the city? I did and I was told no. I wasn't even allowed by BCC to put up a banner in Victoria Square saying that this wonderful Outreach Programme was happening in Town Hall even though I paid for the banner. Let's all be in no doubt that the Arts & Cultural sector in Birmingham does absolutely vital work which changes lives for the better. It is a sad testament to the state of affairs that we have had to get used to a "death by a thousand cuts" culture from local government and still carry on doing brilliant artistic work. But there comes a point when you simply cannot cut any more. I fear that with this latest round of proposed cuts we have reached that point. Everyone who loves the Arts and values the work we do needs to rally around now & support us please. We simply cannot see the Arts & Cultural sector go to the wall in Birmingham because the Council is bankrupt. Please do whatever you can to support. Donate or buy tickets to events. Smaller Arts organisations always need committed & capable volunteers. Thank you.

Celebrate 314 Day!! It’s time to celebrate our day, our way, St. Louis! 314 Day celebrations, specials and events are underway all week long across the metro and there's something for everyone. For a complete list, visit www.TheSTL.com/314Day and show your local love.    St. Louis' Gateway Arch Saw 2.4 Million Visitors in 2023 The @GatewayArchSTL had 2.4M visitors in 2023 – its highest number since 2012. New data shows that, for every one visitor to the visitors' center, another is on the grounds. More: https://lnkd.in/ge4T93q5 #stlmade   Washington University says it contributed $8.8B to local economy last fiscal year #stlmade @WUSTL recently announced that its direct and indirect contributions to the St. Louis economy totaled $8.8 billion in fiscal 2023 and it supported more than 54K total jobs in the region. More: https://lnkd.in/gQ_gR4iG

Wednesday—Register now for the October 16 webinar “Applying the Social Justice Standards to Your General Music Classroom” presented by Kay Piña and Victor Lozada: https://lnkd.in/eRx8h7tZ Participants will be able to *understand what the social justice standards and anti-bias domains are, *apply the social justice standards to their context through music, and *create advocacy tools for their classroom, especially in states with divisive concepts laws. Discussion will include critical practices in the music classroom, the importance of including and implementing social justice standards in general music, and how culturally responsive and sustaining teaching can be supported in this process.

Celebrate 314 Day!! It’s time to celebrate our day, our way, St. Louis! 314 Day celebrations, specials and events are underway all week long across the metro and there's something for everyone. For a complete list, visit www.TheSTL.com/314Day and show your local love.    St. Louis' Gateway Arch Saw 2.4 Million Visitors in 2023 The @GatewayArchSTL had 2.4M visitors in 2023 – its highest number since 2012. New data shows that, for every one visitor to the visitors' center, another is on the grounds. More: https://lnkd.in/ge4T93q5 #stlmade   Washington University says it contributed $8.8B to local economy last fiscal year #stlmade @WUSTL recently announced that its direct and indirect contributions to the St. Louis economy totaled $8.8 billion in fiscal 2023 and it supported more than 54K total jobs in the region. More: https://lnkd.in/gQ_gR4iG

Today, on World Sight Day, we are proud to share groundbreaking research conducted in partnership with the RSBC (Royal Society for Blind Children)  and The Amber Trust. This collaborative effort has resulted in the release of a new White Paper titled 'Sounds of Progress: Putting Music to Work for Blind, Low Vision, Partially Sighted, and Visually Impaired People'. This research underscores the pivotal role of music in creating more inclusive environments, particularly in play areas for the blind and partially sighted community. Through engaging focus groups at the RSBC’s Life Without Limits Centre, we have gleaned invaluable feedback on the accessibility of musical instruments for blind and partially sighted users. This has been a cornerstone in our journey towards enhancing inclusivity. Sophie Amstell, CEO of The Amber Trust, emphasized the critical importance of early childhood musical play, lauding Percussion Play for their dedication to crafting fully inclusive outdoor instruments. Julie Davis, CEO of the Royal Society for Blind Children, highlighted the synergy between organizations like Amber Trust and businesses like Percussion Play, which are committed to the principles of inclusivity and accessibility, ensuring every child can enjoy the beauty of music. Click on the link below to read more, which includes links to the white paper and a special episode of our podcast, 'Making Music Accessible for the Visually Impaired,' in which we delve into the 'Sounds of Progress' paper and its findings alongside the RSBC. This initiative is more than just research; it's a call to action for all organizations to prioritize inclusivity and accessibility, transforming the lives of blind and partially sighted children through the power of music. 🎶 🎶   https://lnkd.in/ebpVngpw #Inclusivity #Accessibility #MusicForAll #WorldSightDay #SoundsOfProgress #InclusivePlay

New Blog Post!!!! Check it out, leave a comment or thought, let me know what you think . . . #music #education #musiceducation #access #accessibility #inclusion #udl #conference #berklee #biaae #nafme

Looking forward to this discussion below with area leaders on this important and timely subject. How can we continue to make Charlotte an even more attractive city? I believe music is one piece of that answer. #charlottenc #music#leadership.