• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About
    • About Alan Harrison
    • About Scene Change
  • ArtsJournal
  • AJBlogs

Scene Change

Arts are essential. Your nonprofit is not.

Alan Harrison

Mission Grammar for Nonprofit Arts Organizations: Flick the Prepositions and Cut the Nonsense

May 28, 2024 by Alan Harrison Leave a Comment

Your community requires “Why,” not “How” – and the slogans have got to go Let’s make this short and impactful. Well, impactful anyway. Get the prepositions, whether they’re attached to a phrase or not, out of your mission statement. And the slogans, too. Not only are they unnecessary, but more than that, these words set up your nonprofit arts organization for … [Read more...] about Mission Grammar for Nonprofit Arts Organizations: Flick the Prepositions and Cut the Nonsense

For Live, Functioning Artists, The End Comes Not With a Bang, But an Email

May 21, 2024 by Alan Harrison Leave a Comment

In the never-ending, fruitless search for economy, actors are being replaced by algorithms The “race to the bottom” in today’s economy is well-documented. It has always been well-documented, railed against, and ultimately won the day. From the obscenity of 400 years of enslaving Black people to prop up a weak economy in the United States to a smaller vulgarity of … [Read more...] about For Live, Functioning Artists, The End Comes Not With a Bang, But an Email

Nonprofit Arts Organizations: Water Is Wet. And Cultural Crossover Doesn’t Work Unless You Center Your Full-Time Intent Downstage of the Footlights.

May 14, 2024 by Alan Harrison Leave a Comment

Incidentally, it’s my birthday today. So, hey – I have the perfect gift all figured out. Just click on any image you see… You had a nifty idea. Combine hip-hop with one show this season. Then they’ll subscribe to your theater, symphony, or ballet forever more. Neato. Nifty ideas that come from a place of desperation and vainglory never turn out very well. I know. … [Read more...] about Nonprofit Arts Organizations: Water Is Wet. And Cultural Crossover Doesn’t Work Unless You Center Your Full-Time Intent Downstage of the Footlights.

Nonprofit Arts Success: Out of Hand Theater Shakes the Trees of Social Justice

May 7, 2024 by Alan Harrison Leave a Comment

And they’re changing Atlanta for the better every minute. From the press releases announcing new artistic leaders for nonprofit theaters in the last year: Yawn. For the purposes of fairness, let’s look at the active parts of the mission statements of these three organizations. Pardon me. I was mistaken. This part is the yawn part. The first set of quotes is … [Read more...] about Nonprofit Arts Success: Out of Hand Theater Shakes the Trees of Social Justice

Behold LO: The Louisville Orchestra Walks the Walk of a Nonprofit Arts Organization

April 30, 2024 by Alan Harrison Leave a Comment

Teddy Abrams, conductor of the Louisville Orchestra

Bourbon, bats, and basketball. Mint juleps, fast horses, and “Keep Louisville Weird.” Muhammad Ali, Jennifer Lawrence, and Mitch McConnell. And, happily, Teddy Abrams. LOUISVILLE, KY — Horses race in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday of every May. The college’s sports teams (the ones who wear red, not the ones who wear blue) tend to be pretty good … [Read more...] about Behold LO: The Louisville Orchestra Walks the Walk of a Nonprofit Arts Organization

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

About Scene Change

In early 2024, we laid out the problem and gave you a path. The result: SCENE CHANGE: WHY TODAY'S NONPROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATIONS HAVE TO STOP PRODUCING ART AND START PRODUCING IMPACT. In late 2024, we gave you discussion prompts and rules to help you figure out the answers on your own. The result: … [MORE] about About Scene Change

About Alan Harrison

Alan Harrison is a writer, father, performer, consultant, recovering artist, and the author of the industry best-seller "Scene Change: Why Today's Nonprofit Arts Organizations Have to Stop Producing Art and Start Producing Impact" and “Scene Change 2: The Five REAL Responsibilities of Nonprofit Arts … [MORE] about About Alan Harrison

Recent Posts

  • SUMMER RERUN: “The Planet Will Be Fine. It’s the People Who Will Be F**ked.” — George Carlin
  • SUMMER RERUN: The Con Is On – Raising Emergency Money at the Expense of Everyone Else Is Not a Heroic Act
  • SUMMER RERUN: What Would a Post-NEA (Arts) America Look Like?
  • Just a Reminder — June 30 Is Only Meaningful to You
  • No. Just No.

Recent Comments

  1. Benjamin Lemon on SUMMER RERUN: What Would a Post-NEA (Arts) America Look Like?
  2. Tom Tresser on No. Just No.
  3. Alan Harrison on Nonprofit Arts Success in a Changing Environment, Tip 6 — Don’t Talk About It; Do It.
  4. Joyce Linehan on Nonprofit Arts Success in a Changing Environment, Tip 6 — Don’t Talk About It; Do It.
  5. Trevor O’Donnell on “Duck and Cover” — Is That Your Motto for the Next 46 Months?

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in