Thank you to the many people who have been blog contributors to, and readers of ArtsBlog over the years. ArtsBlog has long been a space where we uplifted stories from the field that demonstrated how the arts strengthen our communities socially, educationally, and economically; where trends and issues and controversies were called out; and advocacy tools were provided to help you make the case for more arts funding and favorable arts policies.

As part of Americans for the Arts’ recent Strategic Realignment Process, we were asked to evaluate our storytelling communications platforms and evolve the way we share content. As a result, we launched the Designing Our Destiny portal to explore new ways of telling stories and sharing information, one that is consistent with our longtime practice of, “No numbers without a story, and no stories without a number.”

As we put our energy into developing this platform and reevaluate our communications strategies, we have put ArtsBlog on hold. That is, you can read past blog posts, but we are not posting new ones. You can look to the Designing Our Destiny portal and our news items feed on the Americans for the Arts website for stories you would have seen in ArtsBlog in the past.

ArtsBlog will remain online through this year as we determine the best way to archive this valuable resource and the knowledge you’ve shared here.

As ever, we are grateful for your participation in ArtsBlog and thank you for your work in advancing the arts. It is important, and you are important for doing it.


Tommer Peterson

Here’s to Not Knowing the Ropes

Posted by Tommer Peterson, Apr 09, 2010 3 comments


Tommer Peterson

First off, you need to know how hard it was not to type “Knot knowing the Ropes,” but I managed to resist at least for a few seconds.

Inexperience, like a bad pun, is undervalued.

By that, I don’t mean ignorance of one’s field, or bring unprepared, but being free of the self-imposed limits can easily come with working in a field for a period of time. Our new and (in the best sense) inexperienced colleagues are often a great source of new ideas and creative solutions. And this creativity is often born of not knowing the “best practices” or the traditions of our lines of work.

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Joshua Russell

Building a Farm System for the Arts

Posted by Joshua Russell, Apr 08, 2010 0 comments


Joshua Russell

I have been enjoying all of the rich dialogue that has been going on all week through this Blog Salon from some very articulate individuals. Like most of you, I do what I am passionate about. I am passionate about the arts, and have been since High School when the arts helped me find my voice, my confidence and a group of friends that I still have today.

I am also passionate about sports. I am not able to work within sports but I do keep active with three sports blogs that I write and manage on a daily basis. This allows me to engage in both of the areas that I find the most passion and excitement.

It is with that unique lens that got me thinking about the path to leadership in the arts. In fact, the way that I often describe our emerging arts leader network, genARTS is as "a farm system for arts leadership."

Think about it, you've got Single A (new to the field), Double A (a couple of years of experience), Triple A (established emerging leaders, ready to step into a leadership position) and the Major Leagues (leaders of arts and cultural organizations).  

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Americans for the Arts

Tweet the Arts on National Arts Advocacy Day, April 13

Posted by Americans for the Arts, Apr 08, 2010 2 comments


Americans for the Arts

Next Tues, April 13, is National Arts Advocacy Day, when more than 500 arts advocates will be going to Capital Hill in Washington, D.C. to talk to their government officials about the power of the arts and the need for arts education and arts funding. If you can't join us in D.C. on April 13, please take the time to create a tweet that day featuring the hashtag #arts on your Twitter accounts and tell you friends to do the same.

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Mr. Ian David Moss

Boss : Emerging Leader :: Funder : Grantee (A Bullet-Point Manifesto)

Posted by Mr. Ian David Moss, Apr 08, 2010 1 comment


Mr. Ian David Moss

(Note: the last time I guest-blogged for Americans for the Arts, my inaugural post in the bullet-point manifesto format became the third-most-commented post on ArtsBlog ever. We'll see what kind of response this one gets!)

A boss is to an emerging leader as a funder is to a grantee.

  • Think about this: there is an inherently unequal power relationship between a boss and an employee.
    • A boss gets paid more.
    • A boss has greater autonomy to make decisions about how she does her job.
    • A boss has greater autonomy to decide what her job even is.
    • A boss can make decisions that affect not just her own work, but everyone else’s work too.
    • A boss is identified with her organization and therefore has greater visibility.
      • Meaning better connections and more opportunities to lead.
    • And most importantly…
      • The employee is to no small degree dependent on the boss for her ability to pay the bills.
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Cora Mirikitani

Creative Capacity Fund – Sometimes it IS About the Money

Posted by Cora Mirikitani, Apr 08, 2010 0 comments


Cora Mirikitani

Even in the best of economic times, the biggest barrier to accessing professional development offerings can be a lack of money, plain and simple.  This is probably more true now given the effect of the recession on nonprofit budgets, when many chief executives are seeing their travel and conference attendance curtailed, leaving even less hope for more recently hired staff to attend these programs – including many emerging arts leaders – because they are further down the organizational totem pole.

That’s why I was so thrilled when the Irvine and Hewlett Foundations agreed to support a new initiative at CCI to create a special pool of money parked at our Creative Capacity Fund, just for next generation arts leaders in California to attend workshops and conferences, or work with personal coaches or consultants, to address their professional development needs.  And we’re talking about pretty significant money - $200,000 in professional development grants up to $1,000 each that will directly support some 200-250 next generation leaders in the next two years.

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Jeanne Sakamoto

Supporting Leadership Programs

Posted by Jeanne Sakamoto, Apr 08, 2010 0 comments


Jeanne Sakamoto

In an ideal world, well-funded arts organizations set aside a week or more every year for their emerging leaders to attend professional development workshops or conferences tailored specifically to address the key issues and trends they see in their disciplines. Sounds like a smart thing to do, right? And yet we all know that while the demand exists for these types of professional development programs, they are typically one of the first things to be sacrificed when budgets are cut and revenue is scarce.

At Irvine, we began researching next generation leadership development issues as a way to help advance the arts field in California. Now, given the impact of the recession on the arts, it seems even more important to us that we help prepare the next generation of leaders.

You might argue that leadership development is a luxury that the sector can’t afford right now, but we feel that there are more reasons than ever to support these vital programs. Throughout the recession, we have heard many tales of our grantees having to make severe cuts in staff and programs, typically after they decided to eliminate any possibility for professional development activities. Those employees that did survive the layoffs were often asked to take on additional responsibilities, sometimes for less money, and without adequate training to do so. Needless to say, morale at many organizations was low and the overall situation created a perfect storm for emerging arts leaders to leave the field, either by choice or by pink slip.

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