I’m finally back from four days in New York at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference, and still a bit hazy from the experience. With over 4000 registrants wandering around a single hotel, so many old friends and colleagues to chat with, and so many ”virtual” connections finally made ”actual” (I met many readers […]
The smartest nonprofits online
Squidoo, GetActive, and Netsquared give us a list of 59 of the ”smartest ORGs online,” nonprofit web sites selected and praised for their innovative use of social networking and rich media in advancing their causes. Only a few arts/cultural entries on the list, but still worth a visit to see who’s pushing the system.
Audio on Arts Presenters
I’m in New York City now, preparing for the opening of the Arts Presenters conference. For those who want to hear a bit about what it is, and why it matters, give a listen to my short interview on WNYC’s ”Soundcheck” program (it’s the first segment). Let the conferencing begin…
Preserving the ethnosphere
There are lots of compelling thoughts in Wade Davis’ short speech to the TED conference from 2003, exploring the complexity and fragility of the world’s cultural ecosystem. With fabulous photos, and tales of his global travels, he spins out the idea of an ”ethnosphere”: …the sum total of all thoughts and dreams, myths, ideas, inspirations, […]
Getting ready for the road
My weblog entries will be slim this week as I prepare for and travel to the Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference in New York. It’s the 50th annual conference for the association, which began here in Madison those many years ago. If you’re attending the conference, come by the ”burning issues” session on Sunday […]
The prognosis on classical music
Fellow blogger Greg Sandow has emerged from his reading and research on classical music confident enough to make the following prediction: …the era of classical music is going to end. Not this year, not next year, maybe not in 10 years…. But sometime reasonably soon, the era of classical music will be over. What does […]
Sophomore slump
Madison’s $205-million Overture Center for the Arts is bracing itself for a budget pothole in its coming season — a $735,000 gap between projected revenues and expenses, against an $11 million total budget. At the heart of the problem is a projected 29 percent drop in ticket sales — to $4.1 million, about $1.6 million […]
The key to happiness? Low expectations.
The New York Times has a short summary of a rather tongue-in-cheek medical journal article on happiness and life satisfaction in the European Union. It turns out that citizens of Denmark consistently rank as more satisfied with their lives than their counterparts in other EU countries. There’s even a chart. So it must be true. […]
Measuring cultural vitality
Lots of communities and consultants talk about ”cultural vitality,” and the benefits of achieving that status for their local economy, education system, creative workforce, and quality of life. But few have actually detailed what they mean by the term, or by what measures they would know that they had achieved their goal.
A shot across the bow
Artist/director/maven Peter Sellars got right to the point in his conference keynote for the American Symphony Orchestra League, suggesting that the contemporary standard for the American orchestra doesn’t serve the art, doesn’t serve humanity, and disconnects the two in the process: If you want to respect your grandparents, take care of your kids. You can’t […]
