{"id":1334,"date":"2013-01-04T20:10:09","date_gmt":"2013-01-05T03:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/?p=1334"},"modified":"2013-01-05T12:47:12","modified_gmt":"2013-01-05T19:47:12","slug":"richard-florida-next-nea-chairman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/2013\/01\/richard-florida-next-nea-chairman\/","title":{"rendered":"Richard Florida: Next NEA Chairman!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Entirely wishful thinking on my part.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But consider this: \u00a0Now is an opportune – and incredibly necessary – time to connect the nation’s arts & cultural policy to our country’s most profound challenges.<\/p>\n

With all due respect and appreciation to NEA Chairs of the past, the ideal leader for President Obama’s second term is someone who can substantially inspire, articulate and mobilize the significant opportunity of the arts & cultural sector to contribute to the vitality of our nation.<\/p>\n

I dream of Richard Florida in that position.<\/strong>\u00a0 You know him as the author of the global best-sellers\u00a0The Rise of the Creative Class<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Who\u2019s Your City?<\/em><\/a>. His new book,\u00a0The Great Reset<\/em><\/a>\u00a0explains how new ways of living and working will drive post-crash prosperity. \u00a0His biography reads as a syllabus of intellect and innovation – including a position interestingly titled “European Ambassador for Creativity and Innovation.”<\/p>\n

THAT is the kind of intellectual fuel<\/strong><\/em> that the American arts & cultural sector (and our national community) deserves (and, quite frankly, desperately needs!).<\/p>\n

For additional information:\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/www.creativeclass.com\/richard_florida\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

What excites me about the idea of Richard Florida is the fervent belief that “relevance” isn’t just a buzzword for arts & cultural organizations to discuss at conferences and reference in their strategic plans. \u00a0For the next four years (and beyond) arts & cultural organizations achieve relevance by making a meaningful contribution to – the major local, regional, statewide and national issues of our day, including:<\/p>\n