essay looking back on Lincoln Center<\/a> on its 50th birthday, Joe Horowitz suggests that the cultural citadel built optimistically\u00a0to be a launching pad for the American performing arts, might have turned out instead to be a box canyon.<\/p>\nPerhaps the buildings are to blame: the Met theatre is too big and unwieldy, and Philharmonic Hall and the State Theatre, despite renovations, haven’t worked all that well acoustically. But forget for a moment the physical issues.<\/p>\n
While there is an argument to be made for clustering together arts organizations and cultural buildings, the idea has to be animated in some way. Why should these organizations physically be together? Is it about art or about buildings? If it’s about buildings – creating a kind of critical mass of cultural activity that benefits by proximity – then the art comes to be defined by the buildings and how they’re used. The institutions themselves also come to be defined at least in part by their buildings. Build institutions and buildings that are impressive and\u00a0can be visited and admired and pointed to with pride. \u00a0That’s how you build the arts, goes the conventional wisdom – build institutions and the physical infrastructure to support them.<\/p>\n
Except what if it isn’t?<\/p>\n
We live in a time of gathering distrust of institutions. Where institutions were once essential for\u00a0marshaling resources to accomplish things, we all know that institutions are inherently inefficient. They can be\u00a0clumsy and broad-stroked. Generic and slow to react. Cautious. Institutions now seem to be at a disadvantage compared to dynamic constantly-reconfiguring networks that can move quickly and nimbly adapt. Increasingly more of the\u00a0creative energy in our culture is found outside of traditional institutions.<\/p>\n
This while much of the\u00a0arts world is built on an institutional model and many of our biggest arts institutions are locked into facilities that might not serve changing audience tastes or be adaptive to artistic evolution.<\/p>\n
There seems to be a consensus that the arts are struggling for relevance and constituency in a crowded contemporary world full of distraction. Many of the efforts to make\u00a0arts organizations more relevant in recent years have focused on\u00a0trying to adapt to the digital age and adjusting business models. Data suggest that the arts audience has been shrinking over the past few decades, despite ever-intensifying efforts to expand the arts base.\u00a0Though most frequently framed as strategic or tactical issues focused on finding more audience, this is at least as much an\u00a0<\/span>artistic<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>challenge as anything else.<\/p>\nWhat is artistic leadership and where is it today?\u00a0After decades of preaching inclusiveness and diversity, many in America’s arts community were caught by surprise by November\u2019s election. America’s artists might not, it turns out, reflect the communities in which they work, and a question worth asking is what should the role of artists be in their communities.<\/p>\n
Building performing arts centers such as Lincoln Center was a vote for a particular European notion of culture, and set us firmly on the road to the institutionalization of American arts. Perhaps it is that institutionalization that is really the box canyon rather than the cultural campuses themselves. In this new age of collaboration that seems to be animating many fields, maybe performing arts centers reconceived as collaborative artistic spaces rather than joint-tenancies might reinvigorate the idea and produce bolder artistic leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In his essay looking back on Lincoln Center on its 50th birthday, Joe Horowitz suggests that the cultural citadel built optimistically\u00a0to be a launching pad for the American performing arts, might have turned out instead to be a box canyon. Perhaps the buildings are to blame: the Met theatre is too big and unwieldy, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[21,1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1305","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture-business-models","8":"category-uncategorized","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/steelwool-458840_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C853&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4ePZm-l3","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2532,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2021\/11\/five-observations-3-the-future-is-hybrid-or-not.html","url_meta":{"origin":1305,"position":0},"title":"Post-COVID Arts Observations: #3. The Future is Hybrid (or Not)","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"November 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"There are plenty of strategic reasons to use hybrid content to further artistic goals that don't have to be around making money. But ultimately the model, whatever it is, has to make sense.","rel":"","context":"In "arts & tech"","block_context":{"text":"arts & tech","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/arts-tech"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/iphone-gc54c9e550_1280-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C555&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/iphone-gc54c9e550_1280-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C555&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/iphone-gc54c9e550_1280-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C555&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/iphone-gc54c9e550_1280-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C555&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2511,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2021\/10\/2-five-observations-about-covid-and-the-arts-the-great-resignation-and-beyond.html","url_meta":{"origin":1305,"position":1},"title":"#2. 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And we recognize that in hiring so many positions at once, we have a huge responsibility \u2014 and opportunity.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "arts and business"","block_context":{"text":"arts and business","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/arts-and-business"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/image-g7801c9fae_1280-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C565&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/image-g7801c9fae_1280-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C565&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/image-g7801c9fae_1280-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C565&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/image-g7801c9fae_1280-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C565&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":825,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/03\/the-existential-arts-this-weeks-best-reads-on-artsjournal-03-27-16.html","url_meta":{"origin":1305,"position":2},"title":"The Existential Arts – This Week’s Best Reads On ArtsJournal (03.27.16)","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"March 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This week's best reads hover around existential questions. What arts organizations should exist? Does truth exist? Can theatre really change anything, and should it even try? Canada's new government makes an existential bet on culture. And do our tools define art? Arts Organizations At The Existential Crossroads: Some have argued\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Weekly AJ Top Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Weekly AJ Top Stories","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/weekly-aj-top-stories"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/519048855_1280x720.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/519048855_1280x720.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/519048855_1280x720.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/519048855_1280x720.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/519048855_1280x720.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2009\/03\/help_for_the_arts_but_10000_ar.html","url_meta":{"origin":1305,"position":3},"title":"Help For The Arts (But 10,000 Arts Groups Could Go Out Of Business)","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"March 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Americans for the Arts has warned arts organizations to plan scenarios for 40% cuts in their budgets as the economy gets worse. And the group says that 10,000 arts organizations could go out of business in this recession. Some have been saying for some time that the arts were overbuilt\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"header_logo.gif","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/header_logo.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":65,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2009\/03\/a_culture_of_failure.html","url_meta":{"origin":1305,"position":4},"title":"A Culture of Failure","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"March 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"One thing you hear about the current economic mess is that some banks and companies are \"too big to fail.\" This is the idea that if a mega-corporation like AIG goes down, the repercussions are so enormous that other companies will fall in its wake and the whole financial system\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 12 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 12 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2009\/03\/a_culture_of_failure.html#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"losers.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/losers.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":849,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/05\/five-notable-stories-from-last-weeks-artsjournal-alternative-reality-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":1305,"position":5},"title":"Five Notable Stories From Last Week’s ArtsJournal: Alternative Reality Edition","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"May 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"What Does \"Inclusive\" Mean To A Performing Arts Center? The Kennedy Center held an event to talk about inclusiveness of its offerings. But no one seemed to be able to define exactly what that means. Why is it that many in the arts believe that \"inclusiveness\" means getting more people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Weekly AJ Top Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Weekly AJ Top Stories","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/weekly-aj-top-stories"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/city.jpg?fit=500%2C238&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1305"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1313,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1305\/revisions\/1313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/p>\n