Blog Posts for Massachusetts

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.


Julia Dixon

Community Leadership from the Inside Out

Posted by Julia Dixon, Apr 17, 2017 0 comments


Julia Dixon

Berkshire County in western Massachusetts is an incredibly rich place for the arts. It contains such a critical mass of artists, arts institutions, and arts resources that in 2016 the county was named the 12th most arts vibrant small- to mid-sized community in the nation by the National Center for Arts Research. With this abundance of creative activity comes a necessity for arts leadership, although here, these positions aren’t reserved for executive directors and upper management of large institutions. A new generation of community arts leaders in North Adams is surfacing as junior employees and other non-executive workers are beginning to cultivate leadership roles outside of work.

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Elbert “EJ” Joseph

Far and Beyond: to Fulfill a Promise

Posted by Elbert “EJ” Joseph, Sep 12, 2018 0 comments


Elbert “EJ” Joseph

My name is Elbert Joseph, I have cultures in me, because of experiences and battles; I have learned. I live in cultures where I have to pick between a community and the chance to fit in. My cultures are Black, Deaf, and Gay. Family, friends, and colleagues are different from each other. Not many of them understand about certain matters: with acting I have to learn mostly on my own to improve my articulation and diction, for the sole purpose of equalizing myself to my hearing peers. I combat hearing privilege in the theatre community, working twice as hard for my skill and talent to be seen and appreciated. But I had to choose to fight. 

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Ms. Sobha Kavanakudiyil

10 THINK-ACTION STEPS when thinking about diversity

Posted by Ms. Sobha Kavanakudiyil, Apr 08, 2016 4 comments


Ms. Sobha Kavanakudiyil

I have been involved in many deep discussions regarding diversity and often leave the conversations thinking, what can I do?

I realized that I needed to start by making  PERSONAL CHANGE—TO LISTEN AND NOT JUST HAVE AN AGENDA. Based on conversations, interactions with people, and my own person soul searching I’ve arrived at what I call the 10 Think-Action Steps regarding diversity.

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Kristen van Ginhoven

Women’s Leadership in the Non-Profit Theatre: Continuing Actions to Shift the Perception

Posted by Kristen van Ginhoven, Apr 20, 2017 0 comments


Kristen van Ginhoven

Women have never held more than 27% of leadership positions in American non-profit theatre. Why? In a field in which “representation” is important to the stories we present to the public, the persistent underrepresentation of female leadership is puzzling and problematic. A 2013 research study was able to unravel some of the reasons behind leadership gender imbalance through a multi-informant and multi-method design, which made clear that the issue is not a pipeline problem. There are sufficient numbers of women in next-in-line positions in the field. Action plans that address this “glass ceiling” need to be developed to correct the disparity and will be explored at the pilot Berkshire Leadership Summit in October 2017.

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Matt Wilson

The 9 Questions You Need to Answer to Run a Winning Arts Advocacy Campaign

Posted by Matt Wilson, Apr 12, 2016 7 comments


Matt Wilson

For many artists and cultural leaders, being a part of a political campaign is the farthest thing from their mind. Concentrating on a new creative inspiration, the upcoming show, ticket sales, are often the #1 focus for an artist or arts administrator.

Yet, we all have to remember the arts and cultural community is a public good. Like schools, police departments, and roads, the arts deserve public investment as they are vital to the health and vibrancy of our communities.

Public policy decided by our political leaders is a major factor in deciding the level of resources and support for the creative sector’s work. If the arts, cultural, and creative community wants the resources and support necessary to build vibrant, healthy and equitable communities, it has to start embracing and running political campaigns to build that public support.

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Mr. Robert Lynch

Sometimes the Budget Pie is Big Enough for Everyone

Posted by Mr. Robert Lynch, Apr 26, 2017 0 comments


Mr. Robert Lynch

It’s the late 70s and I’m standing in the rotunda of the Massachusetts State House with a 10-foot-wide Boston cream pie. A pencil-thin line of white frosting drawn from the center outward like the minute hand of a watch is punctuated by a tall cardboard flag that says, “A piece of the pie for the arts.” This might get us some curious onlookers, maybe some pictures, I think. But before I know it, every elected official and staff member in the entire statehouse is drawn to the spectacle and descends into the rotunda not only to view it, but to get a piece. My fellow advocates and I served a lot of pie that day … and we also got an increase to our arts budget. 

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