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- When Ice Cream Beats the Vermeers
Good Morning,
The Museum of Ice Cream and its cousin the Museum of Balloons are printing money while traditional museums count their deficits (The New York Times). The lesson isn’t that audiences got dumber, it’s that they’ll pay handsomely for an experience they can photograph, and a Rothko isn’t sexy enough for TikTok. Ah, the Selfie Generation.
Traditional institutions are suffering for it. DePaul shut down its art museum’s daily operations but kept the collection on campus, removing art from the public discourse (WBEZ). In Australia, art prizes have lately become pay-to-play, charging artists to enter the very contests meant to discover them (ArtsHub) and the expenses add up fast.
Elsewhere, the Trump administration erased mentions of slavery from two more historic sites in Philadelphia (MSN). So is our culture’s problem fake news or incorrect facts? A smart essay argues our crisis isn’t a facts problem but an interpretation-of-facts problem (Persuasion). Control which facts survive and interpretation takes care of itself.
Also: David Sedaris confesses to a Duolingo habit serious enough to alarm his fans (The Guardian).
All of our stories below.
Doug
- Executive Director – Kansas City Ballet working with Management Consultants for the Arts
Kansas City Ballet (KCB) seeks a strategic and visionary leader to co-lead one of America’s longest-established professional ballet companies. As the organization’s chief administrative leader, the next Executive Director will develop institutional resilience and drive team momentum for long-term success. Partnering with Artistic Director Devon Carney and the Board of Directors, the next Executive Director will champion bold entrepreneurial strategies to build resources, expand connections, and ensure KCB’s continued artistic and operational growth. Kansas City Ballet has engaged Management Consultants for the Arts to lead the search, and interested candidates may apply for this position by visiting this link: https://www.mcaonline.com/searches/executive-director-kc-ballet
The salary range for the Executive Director role starts at $200,000 and benefits will be highly competitive with other ballet companies of comparable size and stature. KCB has engaged Management Consultants for the Arts to facilitate this search, with the project led by Jonathan West and Shruti Adhar. The search committee, consisting of 8 KCB Board members, is led by Barbara Storm, immediate past president of the Board. Kansas City Ballet plans to make its decision by Fall 2026.
Founded in 1957 by Tatiana Dokoudovska, KCB has been led artistically by a series of creative and dedicated professionals. These include Todd Bolender, William Whitener, and since 2013, Devon Carney. More information on Kansas City Ballet can be found at https://kcballet.org/.
- Executive Director – The Town Hall
The Town Hall (Town Hall), the storied performance hall in the heart of New York City’s theater district, invites applications for its Executive Director position. Combining a deep passion for a broad range of cultural creativity and the desire to shape the next chapter for one of New York City’s most celebrated venues, the role will be charged with expanding Town Hall’s reach, impact, and importance in the intersection of performing arts, education outreach, and civic engagement. The new Executive Director will serve as the chief executive of this legendary 1,500-seat venue, overseeing a dynamic portfolio of programming that has long brought diverse communities together through music, discourse, and one-of-a-kind performances. At a pivotal moment in the organization’s history, the incoming Executive Director will have the opportunity to deeply influence the next chapter of a venue that has served New York City and the world for more than a century, ensuring it remains a vital, vibrant, and accessible gathering place for generations to come. The Town Hall has engaged Management Consultants for the Arts to lead the search, and interested candidates may apply for this position by visiting this link: https://www.mcaonline.com/searches/town-hall-executive-director
Town Hall endeavors to make a hiring decision by the fourth quarter of 2026, with the selected candidate transitioning into the position by the start of the new year. The salary range starts at $225,000 annually and includes a full benefit package. The Town Hall is an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Any offer of employment will be conditional upon satisfactory completion of a background check and reference conversations.
The Town Hall is one of America’s great civic and cultural institutions. Founded in 1921 by suffragists and located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, the venue was built as a space for public discourse and democratic engagement. Its 1,500-seat National Historic Landmark auditorium is renowned for landmark concerts, lectures, political debates, and artistic milestones that have shaped American cultural life. Today, Town Hall presents a wide-ranging calendar of programming — including music of virtually every genre, comedy, spoken word, literary events, education outreach, and civic programming — while maintaining a commitment to the accessibility and community spirit that has defined the institution from its earliest days. More information on The Town Hall can be found at https://www.thetownhall.org/.
- ‘The Wild Heart’ Dylan Mattingly Makes Debut on Nonesuch Records<a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/07/the-wild-heart-dylan-mattingly-makes-debut-on-nonesuch-records.html" title="‘The Wild Heart’
Dylan Mattingly Makes Debut on - David Sedaris Confesses His Duolingo Addiction
“My problem arose when I discovered Duolingo’s competitive aspect, when I learned that it is essentially a game. … This means forgoing any real learning, and earning easy points by simply reading sentences out loud.” An excerpt from his latest book, The Land and Its People. – The Guardian
- What Makes A Rhythm Propulsive
What makes a rhythm distinctive or catchy? The answer lies in the pattern that underlies the structure. Much of human creativity beyond rhythm and music is also shaped by the math underneath the patterns. – The Conversation
- Ballet Costumes Are Shockingly Labor-Intensive
“Beading and sequins, silk bodices and boning, plus 10 layers of pleated net, all painstakingly cut and dyed by hand before being sewn together. … ‘If you break it down to five days a week, 40 hours, it’s usually about two weeks. To make one tutu.’” – The i Paper
- It’s Expensive To Enter Australia’s Art Prize Competitions. But Hard To Give Them Up
In today’s landscape, prizes are no longer a nice little extra, or a back pat that arrives at the end of a long and successful career. They’re a serious part of the machinery. – ArtsHub
- Do We Have A Facts Problem Or An Interpretation-Of-Facts Problem?
Citizens can agree on verifiable facts and still inhabit different worlds, because facts do not interpret themselves. To see why, we need to look beyond narrow factual disagreements to the competing systems of interpretation through which people select, categorize, frame, connect, explain, and narrate facts. – Persuasion
- DePaul Museum Just Closed. But Its Collection Will Stay On Campus
The DePaul Art Museum announcement came two months after the university laid off 114 full-time and part-time staff. Administrators referenced financial troubles due to a significant drop in international graduate student enrollment, increased demand for financial aid and the rising costs of benefits. – WBEZ
- Zelenskyy Suggests A Replacement For The Long-Toppled Lenin Monument In Kyiv
The statue of the father of the USSR was pulled down by demonstrators during the Euromaidan demonstrations in 2013; the pedestal has stood empty ever since. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has officially proposed that a bust of Ivan Mazepa, who led the Cossack state from 1687 to 1709, should go in that spot. – ARTnews
- Stratford Festival Artistic Director Retires After 40 Years
Antoni Cimolino, whose gentle stewardship of this juggernaut of a theater, especially during that existential COVID crisis, was as sure as it was self-effacing, leaves a great deal more. – Chicago Tribune (Yahoo)
- Arena-Sized Aida Canceled
Said a spokesperson for TEG (Ticketek Entertainment Group): “Unfortunately, the ongoing conflict and instability in the Middle East has resulted in massive increases in international freight and airfares, making it impossible to bring the large scale production to Adelaide.” – Limelight
- The Think Tank Leading Trump’s War On Education
The think tank has crafted model legislation to remake colleges and universities as race-blind institutions, fueled the campaign to oust Claudine Gay as president of Harvard, and turned City Journal, its quarterly magazine, into a platform for attacking diversity programs, grade inflation, and university presidents’ capitulation to the demands of left-leaning students and faculty. – Chronicle of Higher Education
- As Many Traditional Museums Struggle, The Museum Of Ice Cream And Museum Of Balloons Are Raking The Visitor Dollars In
“When audience levels have plateaued at many traditional museums, the ability of entertainment companies styled as arts institutions to siphon away visitors poses a new challenge to the industry.” As one think-tank director said, “The culture has diverged, and museums could have done more to seem relevant to people.” – The New York Times
- LA’s Dance Scene Is Contracting. Now It’s Just Survival
“A lot of the challenges that are happening right now are of the times. They’re reflecting what’s going on in our country, and I think it’s important that we all try to stick together through it and keep dancing.” – Los Angeles Times (MSN)
- A Hacker Used Claude To Score Free Tickets To Every Free Music Festival
Security researcher Ian Carroll used the AI tool Claude Opus 4.7 in April to discover a technique that allowed him full access to the systems of Front Gate Tickets, which handles ticketing for practically every major US music festival, from Lollapalooza and South by Southwest to Austin City Limits. – Wired
- New Seizures Of Looted Met Museum Art: Total Now $95M
Investigators since 2017 have seized more than 120 artifacts from the Met ranging in value from $20,000 to $26 million, plus hundreds of smaller items, such as rare pottery fragments, belt clasps, ax heads, safety pins and goddess figurines, according to an inventory by the office of Manhattan district attorney Alvin L. Bragg. – The New York Times
- Tween Girls Read A Variety Of Books While Tween Boys Stick With Grade-School-Age Fiction: Study
“Among the boys aged 11 to 14 who were surveyed, eight of the 10 most read books were from Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Girls’ reading was spread across a wider range of authors and genres including Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper … and Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games.” – The Guardian
- It’s Official: Canada Will Take Part In The Eurovision Song Contest
Now the next Céline Dion won’t have to pretend to be Swiss. – BBC
- Ten Definitive Movies About America (As Per The New York Times)
“I asked 10 writers what films they would pick to define America and why. Their choices ranged from blockbusters to indies, homegrown comedies to enigmatic Italian drama, a recent best-picture Oscar nominee to a little-known debut — in short, movies as varied as the country itself.” (Dazed and Confused, eh?) – The New York Times
- Royal Shakespeare Co. Staging Will Make Othello A Black Lesbian
The production, set in a dystopian future plagued by climate change, will star noted Black lesbian and three-time Olivier-winner Sharon D Clarke and will open in Stratford-upon-Avon next February. – Variety
- Amazon Dropped The OpenAI/Sam Altman Movie. Now Another Distributor Has Picked It Up.
“Neon said Tuesday that it bought the film following a bidding process. Amazon dropped the nearly complete $40 million film, starring Andrew Garfield as Altman, earlier this month, a surprise move that came just months after Amazon announced a $50 billion investment in OpenAI.” – AP
- Trump Administration Wiped All Mention Of Slavery From Two More Historic Sites In Philadelphia
In addition to the much-litigated case of the George Washington house site, all references to enslaved people were quietly removed from Independence Hall and from the wall panel text for the Thomas Jefferson portrait at the nearby Second Bank of the United States. – The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- EU Is Finally Clarifying Rules For Carrying Musical Instruments On Planes
“Following nearly 15 years of lobbying by the International Federation of Musicians and Pearle* Live Performance Europe, the European Parliament and the Council have published a provisional agreement with revised rules, particularly concerning the rights for musical instruments onboard.” – The Strad
- Flynn Center for the Performing Arts seeks Chief Growth & Impact Officer
Organization
The Flynn is where the unexpected meets the familiar—where strangers become neighbors through shared wonder. We light up stages and communities alike with performances that inspire and moments that transform. Here, bold art feels personal—and belonging takes center stage.
The Flynn welcomes international, national, and regional artists to its stages, presenting a diverse range of performances designed to create transformative experiences for audiences. Its programming includes world-class music, Broadway, theater, dance, family performances, intimate events in Flynn Space, the annual Burlington Discover Jazz Festival around the city, and statewide art in public space presentations throughout the year.
The Flynn’s facilities include a 1,439-seat Main Stage theater, Flynn Space (a smaller black-box performance venue), education and dance studios, and a visual art gallery. These spaces support a wide range of performances, educational activities, and community events. In addition to presenting its own season and programs, the Flynn provides a performance venue for organizations such as the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Vermont Youth Orchestra, Lyric Theatre, UVM Lane Series, and other local and touring groups.
Education and community engagement are central to the Flynn’s work. The Flynn serves participants through programs such as the Student Matinee Series, which connects schools with live performances, as well as classes, camps, and workshops for children, teens, and adults. Outreach efforts extend beyond the building, bringing performances into schools, public spaces, and communities across Vermont. Initiatives such as artist residencies, public-space performances, and student ticket programs help remove barriers to access and ensure broad participation, including partnerships with social service agencies and opportunities for emerging and local artists. Welcoming more than 165,000 attendees each year through more than 100 performances and programs, the Flynn continues to be a cultural anchor for Vermont, presenting bold, diverse, and high-quality artistic experiences that celebrate global perspectives, elevate local voices, and invite the entire community to take part in the transformative power of live performance.
The Flynn has a 22 member board of directors led by Board Chair Chiuho Sampson. The CGIO has four direct reports, including the Director of Advancement, Director of Marketing, Director of Strategic Communications, and the Director of Corporate Relations & Major Gifts, and reports to the Executive Director. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, the Flynn reported $10.3 million in total revenue, including 53% from program services, 29% from contributions and grants, and 18% from investment income.
Sources: edited from flynnvt.org; propublica.org
Community
Burlington, Vermont, is a welcoming, highly livable lakeside city, combining neighborhood character, civic engagement, cultural activity, and abundant outdoor amenities on the shores of Lake Champlain. With a 2024 estimated population of 44,432, Burlington is a highly educated community, where 60.5% of residents age 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. The City’s comprehensive planning work, known as planBTV, serves as Burlington’s principal guide for land use policy, long-range decision-making, and future public and private investment. Through planBTV 2050, Burlington is advancing a unified citywide vision that brings together planning, transportation, parks and recreation, and community and economic development to reflect how Burlingtonians live, work, and move through the city.
Burlington’s community life is shaped by its waterfront, parks, downtown, and arts infrastructure. The City’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront oversees more than 35 parks, more than 550 acres of open space, four public beaches, street trees and greenways, community gardens, Miller Recreation Center, Leddy Ice Arena, North Beach Campground, the Community Boathouse Marina, and a wide range of recreation programs. Residents enjoy year round access to biking and walking paths, sailing and paddling on the lake, and easy proximity to Vermont’s renowned skiing and outdoor recreation areas.
Local food culture, farmers’ markets, independent shops, and a strong sense of neighborhood identity contribute to Burlington’s appeal as a place where residents can enjoy both small city accessibility and a rich, creative community life. In this setting, Burlington offers the scale and accessibility of a close-knit Vermont city with the quality of life, natural beauty, and cultural energy of a community actively shaping an inclusive and sustainable future.
Sources: edited from burlingtonvt.gov; census.gov
Position Summary
The Chief Growth & Impact Officer (CGIO) will be a visionary senior executive charged with elevating the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts’ (the Flynn) reach, relevance, and long-term sustainability. As the Flynn’s senior leader for organizational growth, the CGIO will shape and drive an integrated strategy to expand audiences, strengthen revenue, heighten visibility, and amplify the Flynn’s public impact. They will align Marketing, Development, and Strategic Communications around shared goals, disciplined execution, and measurable results. With a bold, community-centered approach to growth, the CGIO will ensure that every strategy advances the Flynn’s commitments to representation, dialogue, and belonging while deepening engagement, broadening participation, and inspiring greater support from the full diversity of the communities the Flynn serves.
Roles and Responsibilities
Organizational Growth Strategy
• Develop and manage an integrated strategy to grow revenues and audiences by maximizing existing communication channels, technologies, and relationships, while identifying and activating new opportunities for expansion and engagement.
• Partner with the Executive Director to set and steward growth priorities aligned with the strategic plan.
• Translate long-term goals into integrated, multi-year growth strategies across income, audience reach, visibility, and impact.
• Establish shared growth frameworks, planning rhythms, and performance benchmarks across departments, including alignment across systems, revenue channels, and related operational processes.
• Ensure growth strategies support the full patron journey from awareness through conversion, engagement, and long-term support.
• Connect the Executive Director’s vision for the Flynn’s artistic mission and organizational aspirations to practical, operational plans that can be implemented across teams.
• Embrace other organizational growth strategy responsibilities as needed.Revenue Leadership & Accountability
• Own and be accountable for combined earned and contributed revenue performance.
• Oversee development on philanthropic strategy, pipeline health, and campaign execution.
• Supervise the Director of Marketing on audience growth, ticket revenue, membership acquisition, and the performance of marketing campaigns that drive conversion and attendance.
• Guide the Director of Corporate Relations & Major Gifts in expanding corporate sponsorship and partnership strategy and ensuring the development and stewardship of major gifts are aligned with organizational priorities and growth goals.
• Ensure forecasting, goal-setting, and reporting are aligned, realistic, and data-informed.
• Align earned, contributed, and other revenue channels to support coordinated planning, accountability, and growth.
• Embrace other revenue leadership and accountability responsibilities as needed.Strategic Communications & Visibility
• Oversee organizational visibility and reputation strategy in collaboration with the Director of Strategic Communications.
• Ensure consistent narrative alignment across fundraising, marketing, public relations, and institutional storytelling.
• Confirm alignment between organic and paid channel strategies, supporting coordinated planning, messaging, and performance across Marketing and Strategic Communications.
• Support the Executive Director and senior leaders as visible, credible external voices.
• Embrace other strategic communications and visibility responsibilities as needed.Leadership & Cross-Functional Alignment
• Lead and support Directors within the Growth & Impact system, with clear boundaries between strategy ownership and execution.
• Foster collaboration, shared planning, and integrated campaigns, eliminating siloing.
• Build a culture of accountability, learning, and continuous improvement.
• Support leadership transition by providing clarity, continuity, and coordination across affected teams.
• Acknowledge and attend to the staff experience during periods of change, particularly for employees whose work or reporting relationships are directly impacted.
• Embrace other leadership and cross-functional alignment responsibilities as needed.Measurement & Impact
• Define and track KPIs that connect growth activity to organizational outcomes.
• Use data and insight to adapt strategy, test new approaches, and inform decision-making.
• Ensure systems, tools, and platforms evolve to support changing audience behaviors, technologies, and growth opportunities.
• Communicate progress clearly to the Executive Director, senior team, and Board as appropriate.
• Use performance data and shared reporting to support alignment across revenue channels, audience development, communications, and organizational priorities.
• Embrace other measurement and impact responsibilities as needed.Traits and Characteristics
The Chief Growth & Impact Officer will be an engaging and people oriented leader who values communication, collaboration, and relationship building across the organization. This individual will bring versatility and adaptability, navigating shifting priorities, structural change, and cross departmental needs with confidence and ease. Grounded in intuition, practical judgment, and a clear sense of purpose, the CGIO will demonstrate a balanced and motivating leadership style that fosters trust, alignment, and stability during a period of organizational evolution. They will be resourceful and receptive, combining data informed thinking with openness to new ideas, methods, and opportunities that strengthen the Flynn’s revenue systems, audience growth, and community impact. The CGIO will also be innovative and strategic, drawing on broad experience across marketing and development to advance integrated communications, support team cohesion, and champion approaches that enhance the Flynn’s long term success.
Other key competencies include:
• Time and Priority Management and Teamwork – The aptitude to ascertain competing priorities, resolve difficulties, overcome obstacles, and maximize the use of time and resources to attain the desired outcomes, while cooperating with others to meet those objectives
• Conceptual Thinking and Problem Solving – The ability to define, analyze, and diagnose key components of a problem to formulate a solution, while analyzing hypothetical courses of action to ensure that work is completed effectively.
• Flexibility and Personal Accountability – The acumen to be answerable for personal actions, readily modifying, responding, and adapting to change with minimal resistance.
• Futuristic Thinking – The foresight to envision expanded possibilities, championing cutting-edge ideas and concepts, and crafting an environment where creative thinking is the norm, not the exception.
• Diplomacy – The aptitude to handle situations gracefully and with sensitivity, and communicate effectively by listening, observing, and appreciating cultural and personal perspectives.Qualifications
A minimum of 10 years of senior-level leadership experience in growth, revenue, advancement, marketing, and/or communications is desired, along with demonstrated success leading integrated revenue strategies that include both earned and contributed income. Senior leadership experience as an Executive Director, Development Director, or comparable advancement, marketing, or revenue leader is strongly preferred, with demonstrated ability to translate strategy into effective tactics and execution. Experience leading or partnering closely across development, marketing, and communications functions is essential. Capital campaign experience is strongly preferred. Proven ability to align multiple functional teams around shared goals, metrics, and performance outcomes is essential. Strong strategic thinking, comfort with data, forecasting, digital tools, audience engagement, and performance management, and exceptional communication, judgment, and relationship-building skills are required. Experience helping an organization strengthen or transform its revenue, advancement, marketing, or growth strategy is highly desirable. Experience in arts, culture, nonprofit, or other mission-driven organizations is preferred as is experience in New England and/or Vermont or comparable regional fundraising markets. A bachelor’s degree is highly desirable, and an advanced degree is preferred.
Compensation and Benefits
The Flynn offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits package, including an annual salary range of $140,000 to $150,000, and a benefits package that includes health, dental, and vision insurance coverage, Safe Harbor 401(k) contributions, and paid time off.
Applications and Inquiries
To submit a cover letter and resume with a summary of demonstrable accomplishments (electronic submissions preferred), please visit https://artsconsulting.com/opensearches/flynn-center-for-the-performing-arts-seeks-chief-growth-impact-officer/
The Flynn is committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We strive to be diverse in age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, and perspective. Our goal is to build and maintain an organization where everyone can do their best work. We believe that people of color, people from working class backgrounds, women, and LGBTQ people must be centered in the work we do, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities.
- At 250, Has America Delivered on its Classical Music Promise?
The conductor Ettore Panizza. Credit:.The New York TimesThe New York Times invited me to attempt a succinct assessment
- Despite “Billy Elliot,” Boys Studying Ballet In Britain Mostly Still Keep It Secret
The movie certainly helped over the 26 years since it was released: there are noticeably more boys in ballet classes than there used to be — especially where there are boys-only classes. But they still face trouble from peers at school. – The Sunday Times (UK)
- Did Malta’s National Orchestra Receive Millions In Laundered Money?
The European Foundation for Support of Culture, set up in 2015 and based for several years at the Russian Cultural Centre in Valletta, gave more than €8 million to the Malta Philharmonic between 2018 and 2022, triggering a money-laundering investigation which was stonewalled by the orchestra and eventually faded away. – Times of Malta
- General Custer And The Changing Cultural Record
Artists and writers have interpreted and reinterpreted George Armstrong Custer, who died in a storied battle that just had a major anniversary. – The New York Times
- What I Learned About Myself Through Translating
“Translators like to say, we discover our authors,” writes translator and novelist Anton Hur. “But maybe we’re wrong. Maybe the books choose us.” – American Scholar
- What American Classical Music Needs
Classical music in the United States is borrowed from Europe, and that borrowing was initially ambitious and impressive. An apex was attained around 1900. – The New York Times
- Why It’s So Difficult To Calculate Benefits And Costs Of Technology Innovation
When a tool reliably performs a cognitive operation, the internal capacity for that operation tends to weaken with disuse. People who know they can look up something on Google develop weaker memory for the information itself, and habitual GPS users show measurable decline in hippocampal-dependent spatial navigation. – Aeon
- For The First Time, The Complete Text Of A Vesuvius Scroll Has Been Deciphered
These 1,800 papyrus scrolls from Herculaneum, the only such library collection from ancient Rome to survive, were carbonized by the Vesuvius eruption; the scrolls would crumble if physically unrolled, so scientists are using X-ray and AI technology to decipher them. The first scroll to be completely readable is a text about Stoicism. – Smithsonian Magazine
- Alex Ross Is Leaving The New Yorker
My latest column, about the Ojai Music Festival, is my last. Although the musical scene exhilarates me more than ever — contemporary composition is eternally vital — I wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome. – The Rest is Noise
