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The Artful Manager

Andrew Taylor on the business of arts & culture

On-line goodies

October 26, 2004 by Andrew Taylor

Just a few quick pointers today to sites of particular interest: Google has a grant program now for nonprofits who want to use their AdWords service at no cost for three months. AdWords is an exceptionally useful tool that allows you to set up keyword ‘campaigns’ within the Google search engine. When Google visitors type […]

Overbuilt: The Sequel

October 25, 2004 by Andrew Taylor

There was a healthy spike in readership and comment related to my recent post about how the nonprofit arts might be ‘overbuilt’. Interestingly, many comments agreed with the general feeling of an overbuilt and overstretched industry, but quickly focused on the individual organization’s size and scope: I have to agree that we are overbuilt, but […]

Catching a clue from The Cluetrain Manifesto

October 22, 2004 by Andrew Taylor

Cluetrain Manifesto

Back in April 1999 (eons ago by weblog standards, I know), a list of 95 theorems written by three techno-leaders caused quite a stir. The Cluetrain Manifesto was an attempt to define the new model for business-consumer interaction, given the invasive, conversational style of the Internet. In the forward to the inevitable book based on […]

Learning about art and audience from designers

October 21, 2004 by Andrew Taylor

Commercial and industrial design is a fascinating subset of creative endeavor, raising all sorts of relevant issues to the arts and cultural manager. Designers develop complex aesthetic and functional responses to real-world problems, often seeking to engage an audience in their solutions (design is what makes you want a VW Bug over a Honda Civic, […]

Returns on investment

October 19, 2004 by Andrew Taylor

‘Valuing culture’ can be an abstract exercise, full of theory and pontification about instrumental and intrinsic worth. But the topic is getting a real-world workout in Colorado, where Denver’s sales-tax-supported Scientific and Cultural Facilities District is coming up for renewal. Does a public investment in culture return public benefits from the taxpayers’ perspective? In this […]

Corporate myopia

October 18, 2004 by Andrew Taylor

I’ve been blabbing a lot about the ecology of arts and cultural activity in communities — whether it’s overbuilt or imbalanced, how we can juggle established nonprofits and small, often unincorporated, initiatives. There’s good stuff on this perspective from an older report by the Center for and Urban Future. Author Mark Stern celebrates the transformative […]

Some Friday diversions and fluff

October 15, 2004 by Andrew Taylor

Are you jealous of corporate America that seems to have all the good business-speak? Are you longing to take a break from the earnest board and staff meetings focusing on mission, vision, and the new cookbook fundraiser project? Are you looking for new lingo to pad your latest grant application? Then go ye forth to […]

Overbuilt?

October 14, 2004 by Andrew Taylor

There was a strange consensus among the many arts professionals and keynote speakers at my recent alumni/student conference in Madison. The consensus surrounded this point: the nonprofit arts industry is overbuilt. Speakers pointed to the massive growth in the nonprofit arts over the past 30 years…due in part perhaps to the leveraging power of matching […]

Value and the arts

October 13, 2004 by Andrew Taylor

The MBA degree program I direct recently held an alumni/student conference focusing on how we ‘value’ culture in the public realm…or how we attach value to creative expression and experience when confronted with the question: ‘why should you be supported as an industry, as an organization, as an endeavor, when there are so many other […]

Process over product

October 12, 2004 by Andrew Taylor

I’m still recovering from our fabulous alumni/student conference here in Madison. There’s lots to talk about emerging from the event — from the extended discussions of ‘valuing culture’ to the common theme that the nonprofit arts are ‘overbuilt.’ But those will have to settle in my brain a bit before I explain…perhaps tomorrow. In the […]

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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

  • The sneaky surprise of new arts buildings May 27, 2025
    That shiny new arts facility is full of promise and potential, but also unexpected and unrelenting expense.
  • The one and the many of board service May 20, 2025
    How do nonprofit boards balance individual impulse with collective resolve?
  • The relentless rise of pseudo-productivity May 13, 2025
    Visible activity and physical exhaustion are not useful measures of valuable work.
  • The strategy screen May 6, 2025
    A strong strategy demands a clear job description
  • What is Arts Management? April 29, 2025
    The practice of aggregating and animating people, stuff, and money toward expressive ends.

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

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