Why do we continue to accept bad advocacy for the nonprofit arts sector? Americans for the Arts (AFTA) has done it again. On their website, among various and sundry other managed facts and figures culled from hours upon hours of research, they have a special page devoted to their version of public opinion. The cover art on this article is completely invented, but it … [Read more...] about No. Just No.
Leadership
I’m Not Angry. I’m Batman.
I’m just trying to help save the nonprofit arts industry from its own worst impulses. Where’s my utility belt, Alfred?! It always happens. Whenever I am asked to speak to a group or I write an article or a book, there are those that get caught in the invectives. They get angry because they feel attacked rather than advised. And inevitably, these are the people in the … [Read more...] about I’m Not Angry. I’m Batman.
What Was That? Your Arts Organization Needs Funding? Get In Line.
Sorry, it was hard to hear you above the din of civil destruction. Massive layoffs. Mass deportations, even of people who are here legally. De-funding Social Security. Enacting enormous tax cuts for the wealthy. Crashing the financial markets (worldwide). Eliminating Medicare. Destroying hope. Raising prices. Legislating inequity. Jettisoning … [Read more...] about What Was That? Your Arts Organization Needs Funding? Get In Line.
A Guy Walks Into a Room.
Privilege, in a nutshell, from a liberal, non-Christian, ostensibly White guy. This is not a sermon, nor is it a definitive proclamation. I am not an expert on race relations, ethnic bias, or anything even remotely academic that might even come close to qualifying me as the “go-to” on the subject of privilege. I’m just a guy who writes commentary, mostly about the … [Read more...] about A Guy Walks Into a Room.
“Hope for the Best. Expect the Worst.”
You need to find a way to justify your worth to your community — and at the same time, prepare for bad news, too. The buzz inside your nonprofit arts organization is louder than outside the walls. Much louder. As in, if someone is not completely tuned in to what’s going on at your particular arts organization — either your performances or your impact — they’re just … [Read more...] about “Hope for the Best. Expect the Worst.”