Back in 1999, the National Arts Journalism Program at Columbia did a study of arts coverage in major metropolitan news sources (including newspapers, network television, online media, the alternative press and the ethnic press). The report intended to be a benchmark for future studies, tracking trends in arts reporting, arts attention, and even arts column […]
The Ten Commandments of Arts Advocacy
A colleague recently reminded me of a wonderful keynote speech given many moons ago about arts advocacy and connecting the arts to their communities. I’m usually not a big fan of lists (the seven habits of highly effective habit-book writers, for example), but this one is useful for describing an essential management skillset. Diane Mataraza […]
Boxing culture
In this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, architect/space maven David Rockwell had an interesting jab against the mother of all multi-venue performance spaces. As an aside in a quick Q & A about his latest design project — the reconceived flagship F.A.O. Schwarz store in Manhattan — he had this to say about Lincoln Center: […]
Problems at the PACs
The news over the holiday break was chock-a-block with tidbits about performing arts centers, especially those in smaller markets. Just as Kansas City was announcing resident companies for a $304-million performing arts center (see architectural renderings here), a PAC in Saratoga Springs, New York, was reeling from a scathing outside assessment of its management practices […]
Thanksgiving break…go eat something
NEWS FLASH: For those tracking the progress of the Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich discussed in an earlier post, the auction closed on eBay this evening with a final winning bid of $28,000. For those that came in with lower bids than that, congratulations! For the winner, bummer. I’m taking this week off from my […]
The forest and the trees
Arts consultant Adrian Ellis has a nice piece about the problem of perspective and scale in arts and cultural management. He suggests, as most would agree, that arts managers are often so buried in the detail and daily demands of their work, they lose perspective on the patterns that might actually help them address causes […]
Evidence of insanity
So, here I am, burning up perfectly good brain cells pondering the public value of culture, how audiences attach value to the creative experience, and how arts organizations can make a better connection…and along comes this little tidbit to throw it all akimbo: A grilled cheese sandwich is now for sale on eBay, with a […]
They’re busy, but happy about it
A new study from Public Agenda, sponsored by the Wallace Foundation, explores the motivations and realities of after-school programming for kids (there’s a news article about it here, and the full report is available here). The study surveyed 609 middle and high-school students and 1,003 parents to discover what they were up to after school, […]
Continuing sagas from Boston
I’ve noticed some recent activity on some weblog entries I posted a while ago. Both related to Boston’s arts market, and both warranted a quick catch-up: The saga of the Boston Ballet and their production of ‘The Nutcracker’ continues as they prepare to open this year’s effort. As faithful readers might recall, the company was […]
Outreach Midori-style
My students and I had the great pleasure of talking with the violinist Midori during her recent visit to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. And it struck me to find a touring performing artist so equally committed and creatively engaged to the work she does on-stage and off. She was in Madison for one of her […]
