I am not a marketer. I have never been a marketer. And I don't play one on TV. I have never had the weight of an arts organization's mission-related income resting on my shoulders. I am (or have been) an artist (composer), arts administration educator, and consultant (occasionally dealing with marketing). I do not have the arrogance to believe that I have definitive answers when it comes to arts marketing. That said, as an academic, I … [Read more...]
Arts 2.0: 40k x $25=$1M
At least twenty years ago I began sharing this formula with students in fundraising classes. (Clearly, we were all math whizzes!) The point was (and is), of course, that a large number of small contributions is just as much $1 million as is a single contribution of that amount. I was concerned way back then about the proliferation of not-for-profit organizations, the skyrocketing costs of labor intensive industries, and the simple math of how … [Read more...]
Art and the Projects
Charles M. Blow, the New York Times columnist, wrote in September about a housing project in West Harlem: It Takes a Village. His principal reason for writing was to highlight a (rare) good news story about children and poverty. As he said, "Writing about children and the poor and the vulnerable these days, there aren’t very many bright spots — but this is one." He visited the Dorothy Day Apartments on Riverside Drive run by Broadway Housing … [Read more...]
Arts 2.0: The Power to Give
My neighbor from down I-85 (or I-40/I-77, I get to choose) has made a big splash recently with a great project for bringing the arts industry into the social media/networking age with respect to fundraising. The Arts and Science Council of Charlotte has introduced a new program, Power2Give. In his October 17 post (The Power to Give) on the NEA's blog, Art Works, Scott Provancher, President of the ASC, introduced this new online … [Read more...]
Equity
It's as if the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy knew I was writing about funding inequity in Quality and Community-2. Seriously, there seems to be something in the air. The NCRP report released recently, Fusing Art, Culture, and Social Change (note that this link may change), points out that: Each year, foundations award about $2.3 billion to the arts, but the distribution of these funds does not reflect the country's evolving … [Read more...]
El Sistema: The Phenomenon
By now, there are probably few in the arts world that do not know about Venezuela's El Sistema, its U.S. (and other) franchises, or its principal ambassador, LA Philharmonic Music Director Gustavo Dudamel. The results of that national system of community youth orchestras has taken the breath away from thousands of music lovers around the world. José Antonio Abreu's vision of every Venezuelan child playing in an orchestra has yielded stunning … [Read more...]
Engagement Uber Alles?
To date I've avoided a direct answer to the unspoken question some of you may have about all of this. Even if engagement is important for some arts organizations, do I really think it is essential for all? After my Quality and Community posts (Quality and Community; Quality and Community-2), it's probably time to face this. And, to save myself some time, I will, once again, quote myself (from Building Communities, Not Audiences). Colleagues whom … [Read more...]
Winds of Change: Houston Grand Opera
In the minds of the general public, opera is often seen as the most distant and elitist of the arts. (Opera lovers, don't pile on. I'm simply articulating what is a fairly common "on the street" perception.) That is why examples of deep community engagement coming from the opera world are so compelling and so important for the entire arts industry. Houston Grand Opera, founded in 1955, has made a strong commitment to engagement. The company's … [Read more...]
Quality and Community-2
Must "quality" and "community" be mutually exclusive? Clearly I believe not, in spite of a widespread opinion to the contrary on the part of many in the established arts world. That prejudice against community is the elephant in the room I called out in my earlier Quality and Community post. In it I addressed, at least in a preliminary way, two of the three questions I put forward to begin the discussion: Who decides what quality is? and What do … [Read more...]
Brooklyn Philharmonic
A recent guest post by Katherine Gressel on Createquity (The new Brooklyn Philharmonic: A “Site-Specific” Orchestra?) discusses the Brooklyn Philharmonic's efforts to become more deeply involved with the neighborhoods that make up the borough. The BP is re-emerging after a budget-induced two-year hiatus. In doing so, the orchestra is programming in venues around Brooklyn, attempting in each to present music that matters to the residents "with … [Read more...]