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.


Stephanie Hanson

What do We Need to Know About Supervising Staff? (from Arts Watch)

Posted by Stephanie Hanson, Mar 17, 2010 3 comments


Stephanie Hanson

A few weeks ago, I was out to dinner with some colleagues and friends. We are all emerging leaders who work in the nonprofit arts field, for very different types of organizations and at various job levels within our organizations. During the course of our dinner, one of my friends brought up the subject of supervising staff. She had a question related to her personal experience supervising her own staff, and wanted to get our input. After we had all discussed my friend’s question, and gave a few tidbits of advice, I thought the conversation may morph into a different subject. However, I was surprised to find out that ALL of us had a story related to supervising staff—some good experiences, some not so good experiences. 

The next week, my colleague sat down in my office and said he was out to dinner with some arts friends, and the same subject of supervising staff came up.

Therefore—the seed for this blog post had been planted.

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Mr. Jeff A. Hawthorne

39 Steps

Posted by Mr. Jeff A. Hawthorne, Mar 15, 2010 4 comments


Mr. Jeff A. Hawthorne

In reading all the great content here over the past few days, I’ve learned a lot. And I’ve had some new thoughts as well, inspired by others. So now, in honor of Broadway’s Hitchcock parody, I’ve come up with my own to-do list – 39 Next Steps, if you will – to build more private sector engagement of the arts here in Portland.

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Ms. Anne Katz

The Story is All About the Arts & Community

Posted by Ms. Anne Katz, Mar 15, 2010 2 comments


Ms. Anne Katz

One of the themes of the blog posts this week has been about “telling our stories” in ways that resonate with corporate partners for the 21st century.   I want to tell the story of a small town Wisconsin arts organization that to me, defines the story that we should be telling about the arts to our corporate partners and everyone else.  The Northern Lakes Center for the Arts in Amery, population 2,777, located in beautiful northwestern Wisconsin about 65 miles from St. Paul, MN, is one of the most vibrant arts centers in Wisconsin, or anywhere.  The Center is a nationally recognized hub for the arts that truly involves its community in arts experiences on so many levels.

The Northern Lakes Center receives funding from plenty of public and private sources, but it earns income in ways that should serve as a model and inspiration for the future.   The Northern Lakes Center is the publisher for the weekly community paper in Clayton, WI (a smaller town about ten miles from Amery), a service which satisfies Clayton’s need for a community-based newspaper and, which brings in a good chunk of change for the Center each month from advertising and subscriptions. 

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Betsy Loikow

Dance Education

Posted by Betsy Loikow, Mar 15, 2010 14 comments


Betsy Loikow

I was recently listening to a segment on the Diane Rehm show on NPR about First Lady Michelle Obama’s new initiative to combat childhood obesity, “Let’s Move,” (to hear the segment: http://wwww.wamu.org/programs/dr/10/02/11.php). Growing up in dance, I maintained a high level of physical activity as a child and, while the health benefits were never my motivation for dancing, they were a welcome benefit. Listening to the current debate on childhood obesity and the strategies of “Let’s Move,” I am struck by two things.

  1. Why does the focus on physical fitness and health so often focus solely on sports and leave out dance?
  2. How, as proponents of an education in dance in the ARTS can we tap into the concern over fitness and health without falling back into our traditional and stifling place as dance in P.E. programs?
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Top Technology Trends: What You Need to Know Now

Posted by , Mar 14, 2010 0 comments



Amelia Northrup

In this tough economy, most of us have encouraged ourselves and others to look ahead to brighter times.

But, what exactly lies ahead in the next year for us? How can we make the most of our future? One thing is becoming clear—technology has something to do with it.

Last year, technology influenced our field tremendously. We saw ticketing software evolve, we saw organizations start to develop mobile apps, and the rise of crowd-funding with sites like Kickstarter, the list goes on.

Technology is moving at the speed of light, and innovation is around every corner. So here are some insider tips to get you ahead of the curve on the top trends poised to take off in 2011:

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Ms. Jennifer A. Armstrong

Making Change

Posted by Ms. Jennifer A. Armstrong, Mar 12, 2010 4 comments


Ms. Jennifer A. Armstrong

Change happens. We make change happen.  Change changes us. We change places.  Becoming an arts leader is no small change.

Didn’t many of us start out in this business to make change, or at least to contribute to change already occurring? Did we really sign on to a life of low pay and low profile for the excitement of the status quo?  Is that what keeps our artists and audiences growing, the lure of monotony?  What are the road blocks that prevent us from being innovative agents of change?

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