Two stories in the news reinforce the growing power of earned income, as all other forms of income for arts and culture take a dive. On one hand, Philanthropy News covers this Wall Street Journal story about cutbacks and strategies of arts groups in the face of a down economy — ranging from reduced programming […]

As I continue to juggle orientation for our new students at the Bolz Center, I thought I’d pass along some arts-management-relevant quotes from one of my favorite philosophers/comedians, Steven Wright. You can find more great stuff on his web site. These are all suitable for hanging on the office door: ”If at first you don’t […]

The Boston Phoenix has an interesting story on Somerville, Massachusetts, a formerly downtrodden suburb of Boston that has begun to rebuild its vitality and community in part through efforts in the arts. Much of the credit in the story goes to the city’s local cultural council (LCC): While most other LCCs are small grassroots volunteer […]

Yesterday, I said I was busy with student orientation, but this article about libraries in the Guardian, and the corresponding report it discusses nudged me back into the weblog business. The report looks at the roles of public libraries in Great Britain, and suggests that they are increasingly disconnected from their communities, and operating in […]

It’s orientation time in the graduate business degree program I direct, so I’ll likely be a bit more spotty in my posts this week and next. Take the time you would have spent browsing the weblog and turn it, instead, to assisting an orphan puppy, or forming a philanthropic foundation. See you soon.

The Knight Foundation has published a follow-up briefing to its massive study of classical music audiences. Bridging the Gap is a 16-page treatment of the full study report, but offers a nice segmentation model for orchestras (and any arts organization) to hone their strategies for engaging a wider audience. The brief reinforces the primary disconnect […]

There are so many juicy metaphors to be found in yesterday’s collapse of the Eastern power grid, it’s hard to know where to begin. But, in deference to the millions without air conditioning, public transportation, and Starbucks Frappuccino, I’ll only pick one and let it go: cascade failure. The news today is describing a classic […]

The LA Times has an interesting story on two entrepreneurs in California, making a bet on theater space (not for direct economic return, thank goodness, but for changing the face of their cities). Z. Clark Branson has sunk $5 million into a performance space in Pasadena. Tom Gilmore has a bid in to run the […]

Backstage.com has a nice article called “Green Strings: Should Arts Donors Make Demands?” about the struggle between engaging contributors in the mission of an organization, and handing over the keys. One featured struggle is the pending lawsuit against the Metropolitan Opera by representatives of the late Sybil B. Harrington (covered in the Financial Times, and […]

A technology snafu has kept us bloggers from posting for the last several days, showing that the Internet giveth, and the Internet taketh away. The problem now seems to be resolved, at least for the short term, so I’m back in business. More thoughts later…just wanted to let you know I hadn’t vanished from the […]