{"id":2495,"date":"2013-02-09T06:12:34","date_gmt":"2013-02-09T11:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=2495"},"modified":"2013-02-09T06:12:34","modified_gmt":"2013-02-09T11:12:34","slug":"farewell-rocco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/02\/farewell-rocco\/","title":{"rendered":"Farewell Rocco"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RoccoLandesman\"Rocco Landesman’s departure from the NEA and Barry Hessenius’s interviews of Rocco<\/a> and his Chief of Staff, Jamie Bennett<\/a>, provide an occasion to reflect a bit on Mr. Landesman’s legacy in federal arts policy and advocacy. (Disclosure: Jamie has been very good to me in providing support, advice, access to NEA staff, a brief “meet and greet” with his boss, and the Foreword that Rocco wrote for my book.)<\/p>\n

I suspect (hope) that the lasting impact of Mr. Landesman’s tenure will not focus on the Peoria or “supply and demand” kerfuffles. (The former was just silly, while the latter did<\/em> spark worthwhile discussion.) Instead, his work to bring the arts out of their interior world and into cross-sector partnerships (Dept. of Defense, HHS, HUD, the Dept. of Agriculture, etc.) and support of robust research should be what we remember. (Creative placemaking, the third of his areas of focus is probably the “big dog” of his accomplishments now, but I am a bit leery of its “flavor du jour”<\/em> nature and the potential for economic development interests to overwhelm the cultural components. Plus, it can easily be understood as a subset of the cross-sector partnerships framework.)<\/p>\n

But I think the root of my appreciation for Mr. Landesman’s leadership of the NEA is in his “no nonsense” understanding of the relationship between the arts and the non-arts world. I suspect this is comes from his experience as a Broadway producer. Hard-headed realism is a prerequisite for success there. My favorite quote from his Barry’s Blog interview was:<\/p>\n

One of the things that I found a little dismaying in this job is that for most people in this country, “cultural policy” is a synonym for “give us more money and get out of our way.”\u00a0 Far too often, the conversation stops there.\u00a0 But there are big issues that need addressing. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I would quibble about “most people,” but his critique of a sense of entitlement inside the arts world is one worth taking to heart. I am a bit of a Johnny One-Note on this issue, but more work needs to be done inside our community to further public value as seen from the public’s<\/em> point of view.<\/p>\n

I was particularly struck by Mr. Bennett’s expression of surprise that Landesman’s NEA tenure was not focused on his core discipline, theater. All of us had assumed it would be. That he worked from a much<\/em> bigger perspective is something for which we can all be grateful.<\/p>\n

Thank you, Mr. Landesman, and fare well in the next phase of your life.<\/p>\n

Engage!<\/p>\n

Doug<\/p>\n

Photo:\"Attribution\"<\/a> Some rights reserved<\/a> by mlinksva<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rocco Landesman’s departure from the NEA and Barry Hessenius’s interviews of Rocco and his Chief of Staff, Jamie Bennett, provide an occasion to reflect a bit on Mr. Landesman’s legacy in federal arts policy and advocacy. (Disclosure: Jamie has been very good to me in providing support, advice, access to NEA staff, a brief “meet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_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":[4,5],"tags":[12,13,31,36,16],"class_list":{"0":"post-2495","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-overview","7":"category-principles","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-community-engagement","10":"tag-mainstreaming","11":"tag-partnership","12":"tag-public-policy","13":"entry","14":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-Ef","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2755,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/04\/engaged-fundraising-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":2495,"position":0},"title":"Engaged Fundraising: I (More Pies)","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"April 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"There is probably no element of the nonprofit arts management structure that better understands the importance of relationships than the development department. Fundraisers spend their life initiating, fostering, and maintaining relationships with individual donors, corporate sponsors, and foundations. Especially with respect to individual donors, they have great clarity about the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Pies-300x163.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5034,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2017\/09\/zero-sum-funding\/","url_meta":{"origin":2495,"position":1},"title":"Zero Sum Funding?","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Zero Sum Funding? Not smaller pieces; rather, bake more pies.","rel":"","context":"In "The Practice of Engagement"","block_context":{"text":"The Practice of Engagement","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/the-practice-of-engagement\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Pies-e1502213568579.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4890,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2017\/03\/the-nea-and-other-things\/","url_meta":{"origin":2495,"position":2},"title":"The NEA (and Other Things)","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"March 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"My hat is off to Michael Rohd: We must not shout- save the arts! We must sing - we stand together working towards equity, inclusion and resources for those most vulnerable among us.","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NEA_Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NEA_Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NEA_Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NEA_Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6447,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2021\/09\/employee-engagement-as-a-strategy-for-community-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":2495,"position":3},"title":"Employee Engagement as a Strategy for Community Engagement","author":"Guest Blogger","date":"September 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Guest blogger Kathleen Riemenschneider on the relationship between employee engagement and community engagement.","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Post"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/guest-post\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/EE-CE-figure-scaled-e1631121726103.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/EE-CE-figure-scaled-e1631121726103.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/EE-CE-figure-scaled-e1631121726103.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/EE-CE-figure-scaled-e1631121726103.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/EE-CE-figure-scaled-e1631121726103.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4670,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2016\/09\/gard-foundation-symposium-our-communities-day-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":2495,"position":4},"title":"Gard Foundation Symposium\u2013Our Communities: Day 1","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Gard Foundation Symposium\u2013Our Communities: Day 1","rel":"","context":"In "The Arts and . . ."","block_context":{"text":"The Arts and . . .","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/the-arts-and\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Gard Foundation logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Gard-Foundation-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4676,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2016\/09\/gard-foundation-symposium-our-communities-begins-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":2495,"position":5},"title":"Gard Foundation Symposium\u2013Our Communities: Begins Today","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Gard Foundation Symposium\u2013Our Communities: Begins Today","rel":"","context":"In "The Arts and . . ."","block_context":{"text":"The Arts and . . .","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/the-arts-and\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Gard Foundation logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Gard-Foundation-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2495\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}