• Home
  • About
    • About this Blog
    • About Andrew Taylor
    • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Other AJBlogs
  • ArtsJournal

The Artful Manager

Andrew Taylor on the business of arts & culture

Still digging out…

April 30, 2008 by Andrew Taylor

www.flickr.com


I’m still working to dig out all the deferred detritus on my desk following the ramp-up and hosting of the recent Association of Arts Administration Educators conference here in Madison last week. It was an extraordinary event, with rooms full of smart, funny, and insightful people, all eager to learn and share about developing new generations of cultural leaders.

We heard about the brain science of happiness and compassion from Dr. Richard Davidson; about the structure and strategies of cultural policy from Jonathan Katz; and about the shaping and shifting of vibrant, creative cities from Carol Coletta. And in between, the various panels and work sessions explored cultural research, consulting, standards, international issues, university politics, arts in small communities, and other compelling topics now challenging arts administration degree programs.

There’s more to come. But for now, the groaning stacks of ignored paperwork on my desk beckon me back. Thanks to ALL who made this past weekend such a glorious conversation. It was an honor to have you all with us in Madison, Wisconsin.

Filed Under: main

About Andrew Taylor

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

ArtsManaged Field Notes

#ArtsManaged logoAndrew Taylor also publishes a weekly email newsletter, ArtsManaged Field Notes, on Arts Management practice. The most recent notes are listed below.

RSS ArtsManaged Field Notes

  • Sorting artists by social type January 20, 2026
    Clustering artists (and arts organizations) by their relationship to an "art world" can be both useful and terrible
  • Strategic outsourcing: when and why to DIY January 13, 2026
    Outsourcing can improve focus, amplify expertise, and reduce costs. But don't give away the farm.
  • Invitation to recalibration January 6, 2026
    In this new year, consider a next chapter in your Arts Management story
  • Top 10 Posts of 2025 December 30, 2025
    The most-read ArtsManaged Field Notes in a bumpy, grumpy year.
  • Pillars of a creative community December 23, 2025
    Six ways to make a place hospitable to artists

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.

Recent Comments

  • Barry Hessenius on Business in service of beauty: “An enormous loss. Diane changed the discourse on culture – its aspirations, its modus operandi, its assumptions. A brilliant thought…” Jan 19, 18:58
  • Sunil Iyengar on Business in service of beauty: “Thank you, Andrew. The loss is immense. Back when Diane was teaching a course called “Approaching Beauty,” to business majors…” Jan 16, 18:36
  • Michael J Rushton on Business in service of beauty: “A wonderful person and a creative thinker, this is a terrible loss. – thank you for posting this.” Jan 16, 13:18
  • Andrew Taylor on Two goals to rule them all: “Absolutely, borrow and build to your heart’s content! The idea that cultural practice BOTH reduces and samples surprise is really…” Jun 2, 18:01
  • Heather Good on Two goals to rule them all: “To “actively sample novel experiences (in safe ways) to build more resilient perception and prediction” is about as useful a…” Jun 2, 15:05

Archives

Creative Commons License
The written content of this blog is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images are not covered under this license, but are linked (whenever possible) to their original author.

an ArtsJournal blog

Copyright © 2026 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in