Leading an arts organization right now can feel like sitting at a blackjack table on a bad night. The stakes are high, the cards aren’t great, and the audience—the one group you can’t bluff—can see every move you make. When to Hold (on to your values) All we really have with our audiences is trust. That’s why the Smithsonian needs to hold its independence like a winning hand. No bluffing needed – smile, look the other players directly in the eye and let them know you’ve got a winning hand. … [Read more...] about When to Hold, When to Fold, When to Play a Different Game
Arts Funding
Kennedy Center audiences vote with their feet. What happens next?
Boycotting is alive and well as a protest tactic. Based on ticket sales figures leaked to The Washington Post, Kennedy Center audiences are voting with their feet and staying away. Sales appear to be cratering. Here's the damage: The Center’s constituent arts organizations are suffering as well, with the National Symphony Orchestra’s subscriptions down 28% and the Washington National Opera down 25%. It’s just two weeks into the subscription campaign, but the staffer who provided the … [Read more...] about Kennedy Center audiences vote with their feet. What happens next?
Imagine if the arts were funded with $27 donations
In a recent New York Times article, Barry Edelstein, Artistic Director of The Old Globe, a large nonprofit theater in San Diego, gave a quote that caught my eye. He said, "We’re not going to solve the structural financial problems facing the sector through Bernie Sanders-style $27 contributions. It’s going to take really significant infusions at the scale that Roy is doing them.” The person that Edelstein is talking about is Roy Cockrum. The Roy Cockrum Foundation has quickly … [Read more...] about Imagine if the arts were funded with $27 donations
Where’s the $500 million fund for the arts?
Row X by Hannah Grannemann Last week, four big name funders, MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, and the Knight Foundation, announced a $500 million initiative called Press Forward. The goal of the fund is to support the local news sector (both nonprofit and for-profit) to revive and modernize local news. Funds will support infrastructure for community-centered news, new journalistic practices, increasing diversity in newsrooms, and new business models. I shook my … [Read more...] about Where’s the $500 million fund for the arts?