What do you do when you have the answer, an answer that’s proven, and it doesn’t gibe with institutional, failing inertia? Some procrastinators don’t know that they procrastinate. Some do, and use it to wield power within their systems. Little Donny Dingdong, convicted of 34 felonies so far, vacillates between quick action (when he wants money or paranoically wreaks … [Read more...] about Doing the Right Thing With Nonprofit Arts Organizations: “Like Walking in High Heels Through Meat”
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“Dog on a Cold Stone Floor,” or When Nonprofit Arts Organizations Obsess About the Art More Than the People
Art is a universal good. No argument. Nonprofit arts organizations are not art, and therefore are not a universal good. No argument there, either. “But Alan,” said the guy, “what do you have against art? It’s a public good. Hell, it’s a universal good. It requires funding. It deserves to be funded. Why do you tell all these arts leaders that they aren’t worth funding, … [Read more...] about “Dog on a Cold Stone Floor,” or When Nonprofit Arts Organizations Obsess About the Art More Than the People
Like I said on February 27, 2024: War Is Coming. You ready?
This is not a metaphor. Real war. Today. In the nonprofit arts sector, it will force you to act. This article originally appeared on February 27, 2024. I wish I had been wrong. But now that it's here, let's look back. The United States will be fighting a war within the next 6 years. It’s inevitable. It’s happened before. Whether the war is a “civil” one or one … [Read more...] about Like I said on February 27, 2024: War Is Coming. You ready?
Short and Sweet: Teachers : Educators :: Arts Organizations : Nonprofit Arts Organizations That Deserve Donations
Back to the basics, because the message is only going so far. It’s up to you to save the sector from its own worst instincts. If you put a teacher at the front of a second-grade class and they declaim the entirety of the year’s curriculum on the first day in one 7-hour monologue, are they a bad teacher or a bad educator? Or are they bad at all? If you put that same … [Read more...] about Short and Sweet: Teachers : Educators :: Arts Organizations : Nonprofit Arts Organizations That Deserve Donations
As Regional Arts Elephants Struggle, Some Defy the Odds
Naples, Fla., and Milwaukee are quite different, but have one thing in common: They are home to regional arts elephants that are thriving. America’s regional elephants are facing difficult times. But not all of them are struggling. Some are booming. In Wisconsin, Milwaukee Repertory Elephants (The Phant) has finished the first phase of an $80 million renovation of its … [Read more...] about As Regional Arts Elephants Struggle, Some Defy the Odds