When I need to take an airline flight, or even resolve an issue with an airline ticket I already bought, there are any number of organizations or individuals I can contact for help. I can call the airline, of course, but I can also browse available fares on the web, I can call a travel […]
Writing a collective story of place
There’s a delicate tension in most creative work, between the personal and the universal. An author or artist or performer can explore the most personal of their perspectives, and the result resonates because it speaks for many. In the traditional arts, the audience is often witness to the personal expression…sitting in the dark and watching […]
Happy anniversary
It was two years ago today that I posted my very first entry to The Artful Manager, with the wonderful support, vision, and advice of ArtsJournal editor Doug McLennan. Here’s what I said I would be talking about: This blog is intended to be an on-line extension of the conversations I’ve been having throughout my […]
Selling the schools
More evidence that our public/private balancing act is a little out of whack comes from surburban Detroit, where a school district has decided to sell naming rights to its buildings — including a new elementary school — to plug its faltering budget. The Plymouth-Canton school board voted in June to consider naming rights, faced with […]
Old growth vs. new sprouts in South Florida
The demise of a symphony is usually cause for gnashing of civic teeth over lost community status, lost performance experience, and lost infrastructure for working musicians. That was certainly the case with the collapse of the Florida Philharmonic in South Florida back in 2003. But Lawrence Johnson in the Sun-Sentinal suggests that the death may […]
Trends that shape(d) 2005
I know we’re already more than halfway through the year, but I just stumbled onto some useful predictions of the 10 trends that will shape 2005. There’s still time to jump on the trendwagon, if we all hurry. Says the study’s author: ”Manufacturers and retailers must face up to the fact that the days of […]
Off for the week
I’m off of blogging this week, in partial recognition of my nation’s independence (or is it co-dependence?), and in full recognition that I could use the week off. See you next week.
Is ”audience” an antiquated word?
Wired magazine this month focuses on the emerging ”cut and paste” culture of sampling, homegrown branding, remixes, and other media mash-ups. Particularly interesting is a short essay by cyberpunk novelist William Gibson where he explores the creative power of combining and reconceiving other people’s work. It’s a practice he traces to William S. Burroughs, Picasso, […]
A crushing debt
The Philadelphia Inquirer covers the current financial woes of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (login required, try BugMeNot to get one). The multi-venue cultural complex in Philadelphia opened in December 2001 to much fanfare (and much financial squabbling). On top of lower ticket sales, sluggish fundraising, and under-budget operating fees (such as the […]
Of science and art (again)
Princeton University explored the intersection of discovery and beauty this semester with its ”Art of Science Competition.” According to the project’s web site: This spring we asked the Princeton University community to submit imagery produced in the course of research or incorporating tools and concepts from science. The response was overwhelming: more than 200 entries […]
