Anthony Tommasini offered a paragraph in last Sunday’s New York Times that’s well worth a moment’s pause. Embedded within an article he wrote about the backstory on pianist Leon Fleisher’s recording, Two Hands, the paragraph said: The success of the CD, which quickly hit the top 10 of Billboard’s classical chart, should offer the reeling […]
Archives for September 2004
See what’s inside the latest technology
For those interested in the innards of major social trends, MIT’s Technology Review has a few great links. First up is this nice info-graphic animation about what’s inside an iPod. Basically little hard drives with a few microprocessors, the iPod and its digital brethren are fascinating extensions of the personal computer and the Walkman, with […]
When debt is your greatest asset
The Baltimore Symphony is considering a unique way to escape its debt and build its endowment…by leveraging the nonprofit’s access to even more debt. Under a scenario described in the Baltimore Sun (username: ajreader@artsjournal.com, password: access) they would sell their concert hall to a newly created nonprofit, and use the proceeds to fill their coffers. […]
What’s in a price tag?
The Sunday New York Times has an extended story on the Museum of Modern Art, and their recently announced entry price increase from $12 to $20 when they open their new facility. The price would make MoMA ‘the most expensive major art museum in the United States.’ The article is fairly balanced in its exploration […]
Getty Roundtable Weblogs
In June 2004, I was one of twenty-three participants in a leadership roundtable on a particularly compelling and complex topic. Co-sponsored by the Getty Leadership Institute and National Arts Strategies, and held at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the convening brought together fascinating folks from the nonprofit and for-profit side of cultural enterprise to […]
Some games to prove my point (and scare you)
Early this month, I talked about simulation games, and their potential to support learning for arts managers and other complex activities. Now there are a few more examples — beyond Roller Coaster Tycoon — to show the idea in action. The interesting twist is that games are now supporting an agenda, a point of view, […]
GETTY: The perils of partnership
I’ve got one more post in me about the leadership meeting hosted back in June by the Getty Leadership Institute and National Arts Strategies in Los Angeles. The meeting, as you might recall, focused on the connects and disconnects between the for-profit and nonprofit cultural sectors. The goal was to define the difference, explore the […]
Holding open the experience yet to come
I talk a lot about arts organizations needing to focus on the experience of art rather than just the production or presentation of it…not ‘experience’ in the flashy, theme-store sense, mind you, but in the essential connection between perceiver and perceived that great art moments provide. It’s so easy to get stuck in the production-oriented […]
What’s in a web site?
My weblog neighbor Drew McManus has been doing some heavy surfing lately, reviewing and rating 70 orchestra web sites in his First Annual Adaptistration Web Site Review. At the top of the list was the Chicago Symphony site, followed closely by the National Symphony (see the full rankings here). As an annoying academic, I’m always […]
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy
A rather bold attempt to capture the core canon of cultural knowledge required of an advanced American citizen. With section entries from The Bible to mythology to the fine arts, the reference could be the pocket guide for the culturally informed (although with 6900 entries, you’d have to have a wonking big pocket).