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.


Letitia Fernandez Ivins

bang Bang BANG

Posted by Letitia Fernandez Ivins, Aug 12, 2010 3 comments


Letitia Fernandez Ivins

This title is neither violent onomatopoeia nor a Femi Kuti reference, rather I quote my mom’s favorite phrase which is synonymous to “check, check, check.”  While I’d cringe whenever my mom exclaimed this in her Filipino accent, I think it captures my enthusiasm around the three key accomplishments (some unexpected) that resulted from the Los Angeles emerging leader mentorship program.

People rarely wield the science to invent and hand-craft their own mentor. I’ve observed that mentors tend to emerge in unlikely places and heighten or recede in their presence throughout one’s life. But, in 2007, a nine-member taskforce of Los Angeles Emerging Arts Leaders (EAL/LA) had lost patience with an organic model of mentor acquisition, and began scheming on how to meet a dream career mentor through professional connections and a structured program.

After a year of monthly meetings to strategize recruitment, the matching process, the structure, marketing, and evaluation, we officially launched the Arts Professional Advisors Link (APAL) in the fall of 2008. Each emerging leader member completed an “application” which described professional development needs and wants in a mentor. As a team, we reviewed one another’s applications and leveraged our connections, to help match advisors to the profiles drawn up in the applications. Advisees were charged with all of the administrative work around the program and were to initiate and organize all advisor meetings (four at the least) over the course of the program year. The advisee was to steer the content of the meeting conversations and bring clear, yearlong goals to the table around which the advisor might provide guidance. Over the course of the year, we threw a kick-off orientation mixer, a mid-year opera outing and mixer and a culminating mixer.

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Mr. Roger Sametz

Brand Control to Major Tom: The New Rules of Brand Management

Posted by Mr. Roger Sametz, Aug 11, 2010 0 comments


Mr. Roger Sametz

Yes, the new age of extreme participation is a challenge for brand managers. No, you haven't lost control.

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Tim Mikulski

Preaching to The Choir (from Arts Watch)

Posted by Tim Mikulski, Aug 11, 2010 0 comments


Tim Mikulski

Tim Mikulski

When it comes to television culture in the second decade of the 2000s, it seems like we've reached new lows in what qualifies as entertainment. From The Bachelor to The Real Housewives of (insert city/state here), reality television that celebrates being rich, obnoxious, or both dominates what now passes as pop culture (but I'm not throwing stones as an avid fan of The Amazing Race and even—gulp—Survivor).

However, many American television viewers rallied around the little arts education show that could, Glee, this past season. Despite often-tepid writing, usually the heart of the show permeated through (more in the first half of the season), mixing with interesting musical numbers to create a new genre loved and adored by millions of past, present, and future theater/music/dance geeks, dweebs, and nerds.

But for those of you that have access to BBC America, the truly inspirational arts education show is the award-winning documentary series, The Choir. The British series follows choir director Gareth Malone as he attempts to build a program in a school that had never had one before. Malone walks viewers through the entire process from auditioning singers, to dealing with voice changes, and even a very painful second round of cuts a few weeks into the process.

The goal is to get the group good enough to perform in the World Choir Games. I won't ruin anything by telling the results, but if you Google around, you will find that he later added two more additions of the show after the initial show's 2007 airing.

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