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The Artful Manager

Andrew Taylor on the business of arts & culture

What are we planning, exactly, when we plan?

January 20, 2023 by Andrew Taylor 1 Comment

Photo of a tray of coffee cups.

If you and I make a plan to meet for coffee, next Tuesday at 1:00 pm, in a cafe on the second floor of a building downtown, what are we doing exactly? It’s easy to say that “we’re planning to meet for coffee,” but you can’t define a term using the term itself. No fair.

Announcing #ArtsManaged

January 11, 2023 by Andrew Taylor 4 Comments

#ArtsManaged logo

I’m thrilled to announce the public launch of a new experiment, the #ArtsManaged initiative – a series of digital resources exploring and advancing the practice of Arts Management.

Calibrating complexity

November 7, 2022 by Andrew Taylor

Paper clip, Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

Managers of all sorts, including arts managers, frequently have to decide about complexity. When we select technology tools, rent/build/buy buildings, make policy, build teams, or develop work processes, we’re calibrating how complex those things need to be against how much time, attention, and money our audiences and organizations actually have to navigate them. If a […]

Imagining the Present

October 27, 2022 by Andrew Taylor

Photo by Braxton Apana on Unsplash

The more I learn about cognitive science, the more I realize that our work in purposeful collective action – such as Arts Management – is built on faulty premises. We think, talk, and act in arts organizations as if we’re dominantly rational beings, making sense of the world and the work through conscious and explicit […]

Beauty and the Balance Sheet

September 12, 2022 by Andrew Taylor

Photo of man drawing on glass

The balance sheet may be a “beast of boredom” for many in the world of the nonprofit arts. But I propose that it’s one of the most essential and evocative lenses on our work. The balance sheet (aka, the Statement of Financial Position) sets the scene that shapes our capacity and constraint. And it describes a foundational difference between for-profit and nonprofit endeavor.

How We Move and Act in Time

August 25, 2022 by Andrew Taylor

Hourglass

This will be far off in the strange-o-sphere for many, but I’ve been working to describe lived human experience in a way that’s useful to practicing, learning, and teaching Arts Management. I’ll explore why this might be useful in a future post. But for now, here are the building blocks. I’d be grateful for specific […]

Which Style of Arts Manager Are You?

August 19, 2022 by Andrew Taylor

Which Style of Arts Manager Are You?

The new episode in the ArtsManaged video series explores the PAEI Framework by Ichak Adizes, which defines four styles of management, or “concern structures,” that might be dominant in you or in members of your team. The styles – Producing, Administrating, Entrepreneuring, and Integrating – each contribute essential impulses and actions to a thriving enterprise. […]

Naming the Useful Delusion

August 18, 2022 by Andrew Taylor

Photo of clock wrapped in fabric

I’m slowly coming around to realize that the bulk of our management thinking, training, and practice is built on a useful delusion – that moving through time is like moving through physical space. This may sound philosophical or existential, but it’s inescapable, and also rather central to Arts Management as “the practice of aggregating and […]

Understanding Backward, Living Forward

August 12, 2022 by Andrew Taylor

Blurred photo of a dancer in motion

Anyone who teaches, trains, or develops managers in the arts – or anyone who strives to improve themselves in the work of Arts Management – faces a trick and a trap.

Three Lenses on Marketing the Arts

July 26, 2022 by Andrew Taylor

The Three Lenses on Marketing the Arts

The latest edition in the #ArtsManaged video series explores marketing in the arts, and the useful framework of “search,” “experience,” and “credence” goods. Understanding the nature of the opportunity you offer your potential audience, and how they might evaluate and decide upon that opportunity, is a core bit of business to attracting and retaining a […]

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The #ArtsManaged Initiative

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Artful Manager: The Book!

The Artful Manager BookFifty provocations, inquiries, and insights on the business of arts and culture, available in
paperback, Kindle, or Apple Books formats.

About Andrew Taylor

Andrew Taylor is a faculty member in American University's Arts Management Program in Washington, DC. [Read More …]

Recent Comments

  • RLewis on What are we planning, exactly, when we plan?: “bit 4: Motivation. How badly do you need to “meet”? Coffee’s not coffee. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-skZx5liyaM” Jan 23, 12:00
  • Andrew Taylor on Announcing #ArtsManaged: “Thanks Amy!” Jan 22, 10:40
  • Amy Kweskin on Announcing #ArtsManaged: “This is a great idea and much needed resource. Thank you, Andrew.” Jan 21, 12:52
  • Andrew Taylor on Announcing #ArtsManaged: “Thanks David! Eager for your feedback.” Jan 20, 10:52
  • David M. Conte on Announcing #ArtsManaged: “Andrew, this sounds like a wonderful idea. Good Luck!” Jan 16, 09:30

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