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.


Ebony McKinney

Planting Seeds: Sustaining Leadership Growth

Posted by Ebony McKinney, Apr 08, 2010 0 comments


Ebony McKinney

Last April, we held our first public event, Evolve & Vocalize. We asked the audience of 80 folks, a multi-disciplinary crowd of predominantly Gen X and Gen Y’s (with some progressive Boomers mixed in) on an early Saturday morning at SoMarts Cultural Center… “What could we enact now that will make a positive, powerful impact on your arts sector career in the future?” Our steering committee heard that there was a need for self-organizing, better connections to peers and mentors, access to relevant capacity building services and interest in experimenting with new business models.

The recent award from Hewlett and Irvine made it possible for us to spend dedicated time researching and creating an outline of our future in a 4-year strategic plan, action plan and budget. It’s also helping provide focused learning, knowledge sharing and network building opportunities like our spring 2010 series, New Growth : a spotlight on new ways of working. These funds, to a great extent, have allowed us to be more reflective and proactive.

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Joanna Chin

So An Arts Administrator Walks into a Bar... (from Arts Watch)

Posted by Joanna Chin, Apr 07, 2010 0 comments


Joanna Chin

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"38599","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignright","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"200","height":"72","title":"artswatch","alt":""}}]]An arts administrator walks into a bar. (No, it’s not a joke, per se.) She’s catching up with a friend that she hasn’t seen in years. The usual small-talk ensues. Her friend has a one-year contract with an environmental non-profit.  He’s saving the world or, at the very least, the polar bears.

Then, he asks the dreaded question: “So, what are you doing now?”

My friend, the environmentalist (not the arts administrator), who relayed this anecdote noted his dismay when his friend waved off her work, as if arts education was less important than the next Watershed Act passed by Congress. Did she feel her work wasn’t as important as halting deforestation, or just that she couldn’t make the case for its value?

The need to validate the arts is not a new concept and yet, in recent months, the common thread between almost all of the discussions in which I’ve participated has been the necessity to better understand our communication, framing, and vocabulary. From the excellent Community Arts & Development Convening mounted by the Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute at the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission, to a recent report by Cincinnati’s Fine Arts Fund, to Americans for the Arts’ briefings for the upcoming National Arts Advocacy Day, I’ve picked up a spectrum of arguments for the importance of the arts

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Merryl Goldberg

Arts Education and Bullying

Posted by Merryl Goldberg, Apr 07, 2010 8 comments


Merryl Goldberg

Alright - if we had mandatory arts education we would have far less bullying. I honestly think this is true. There's been a lot of press abut bullying recently - and I'm glad there is. Bullying is a topic that has emerged in nearly every middle and high school setting in the schools with which we have residency programs using the arts. I've dealt with bullying as a parent of an elementary school age child who has been bullied this year; and sadly, as a young child myself, I was relentlessly bullied when our family moved when I was in the 4th grade. I'll never forget it - and it very much shaped who I am today and how I perceive the world and my role in it.

Bullying is essentially about power - power over others. It takes many forms such as physical or verbal abuse, or targeted and relentless teasing. It lingers especially when nothing is done to stop it, and the consequences for the targeted individuals can be (and often are) devastating. 

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Marc Vogl

What a Seder Can Teach Us about Arts Leadership

Posted by Marc Vogl, Apr 07, 2010 7 comments


Marc Vogl

Who went to a Seder last week?

I went to one in San Francisco and, perhaps because I was thinking about what I wanted to blog about in this emerging leader’s discussion, I was struck by the protagonist at the center of the story. (I was also impressed with my sister’s matzah lasagna but that’s for another blog).

If the Seder were a cabaret the big number is the Ma Nish Tanah, and that solo belongs to the youngest person in the room. And, what does this person do with the spotlight? They start asking questions.

I may be stretching here, but I think there is an analogy that may apply to the discussion of inter-generational dynamics within an arts organization.  Because so many arts organizations operate on incredibly thin margins and strive to provide quality programming that their constituencies (audiences, students, community members, etc.) depend on, they are, necessarily, very focused on the tasks at hand: getting the show ready to open this weekend, preparing for a Board meeting tonight, or turning in the grant application in by  5pm.  Those in leadership positions especially carry the burden of executing the plan of record which, as many E.D.s will attest, means putting out the fire that’s blazing now or shifting the pots on the stove around so that none boils over today.

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Ms. Shannon E. Daut

Leadership Takes Risks, Some Unproven

Posted by Ms. Shannon E. Daut, Apr 07, 2010 1 comment


Ms. Shannon E. Daut

At WESTAF, I work with a number of public sector arts agencies—mainly local and state arts agencies (SAAs). Our region has 13 SAA executive directors who are hardworking, often visionary, and valuable to their state’s constituents. But I have grown increasingly concerned about the future of public sector arts leadership because I do not see many opportunities for emerging leaders to step into these positions.

I’ve written elsewhere about the tendency for transitions in the arts to mimic that old puzzle game, comprised of squares (with one spot missing), where you had to push the squares around to form a picture or numerical set. You might also call it the “ED shuffle,” which is the phenomena of executive directors (usually Boomers) moving from ED position to ED position, never leaving an opening for a younger leader to step up. And further complicating matters, I fear that younger arts administrators are increasingly turned off by the politics and bureaucracy of public sector work. Who will lead once the seasoned leaders retire?

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Katherine Denny

Reform is in the Air: Take Advantage

Posted by Katherine Denny, Apr 07, 2010 0 comments


Katherine Denny

I attended a panel at New York University recently, and heard an interesting statistic from Frank Hodsoll: 45% of the global population is less than 25 years old. Shocking? Perhaps not.

Though global, this statistic is a reflection of the anticipated shift in leadership we expect here in America as the baby boomers prepare to retire. And luckily this next generation lives in the era of reform. Reform and a global economy.  This is an opportune time, therefore, for young leaders to accomplish what arts activists have been advocating since the Cold War: Organized National Arts Policy – meaning a unified strategy using culture as a diplomatic tool. And with the current administration’s focus on public diplomacy, you can participate in the creation of that platform.

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