Archives for 2005

There’s a chart and some findings in the report I mentioned earlier this week on executive compensation among Illinois arts organizations that are worth a moment’s reflection. The survey found that the large majority of arts organizations in their sample (and therefore in the state) were small in both money and staff (under $250,000). Says […]

One way to make art more accessible to people’s daily lives is to make art more accessible to people’s daily lives. So often, accessibility initiatives are complex attempts to lure and cajole the public out of their daily activities and into our boxes (with discounts, coupons, bring-a-friend programs, lifelong learning initiatives, young professionals programs, cocktail […]

An article in last week’s Chicago Tribune discussed a study of Illinois arts executive compensation in some gloomy terms: ….the new study finds that only 10 percent of Illinois arts leaders receive any employer contribution whatsoever to their retirement savings. Other fringe benefits are in similarly short supply. And a striking 50 percent of Illinois […]

The contract troubles at the St. Louis Symphony have certainly underscored the complex issues surrounding orchestral management. But even moreso, the story has shown the unique place, power, and potential of weblogs as a new form of information media. As newspapers allocate less and less space to arts stories (especially complex and nuanced stories like […]

As traditional ad placements become lost in the clutter, or fast-forwarded on TiVO boxes and such, consumer companies are always searching for new and unexpected spots to display their brand. In Boston, Target now runs an animated commercial in the subway system…a series of images brought into motion by the train passing by. In another […]

Being at a national conference reminds me again about how odd the traditional panel discussion can be as a format for information sharing. You get four or five smart people and one moderator at a long table at the front of a crowded room. The moderator reads a long introduction to each. Then each talks […]

So I’m back at the annual Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference in New York (I was here last year, as some might recall). It has become a monster of a conference, with over 3900 participants this year. For those that don’t know, Arts Presenters is the national service organization for performing arts professionals that […]

Way back in June, I helped lead a project team at the National Performing Arts Convention in Pittsburgh. The event was the first-ever gathering of multiple national service organizations in the performing arts and their membership (OPERA America, Chorus America, American Symphony Orchestra League, and Dance/USA were the primary partners). And it offered an astounding […]

In the continuing saga of Clear Channel vs. the Boston nonprofit arts, it looks like Clear Channel took round one with a vengeance. As faithful readers will recall, the Boston Ballet’s traditional cash-cow Nutcracker was bumped this season from the Wang Center for the Performing Arts, to make way for Clear Channel’s touring ”Radio City […]

My entry yesterday raised the idea of ‘carrots and sticks,’ or the tools that governments, philanthropists, community organizations, and others can use to reshape their immediate environment. It seems it might be worth a moment to explore that toolset to see what’s inside. Let’s assume for a start that the goal of all such institutions […]