This one will have to be quick because I’m leaving on a plane to California in a few hours. Busy, busy, busy! The Hewlett Foundation has finally released phase two of its Youth in the Arts report, conducted by Barry Hessenius. This edition used focus groups of young arts professionals to explore the implications ofRead More
Art and politics
I mentioned how I was surprised that at the National Performing Arts Convention in Denver, political speech at the plenary sessions was so openly embraced. Well, maybe I shouldn’t have been: according to the NEA’s Artists in the Workforce report (pdf), eight of the top ten states by number of artists per capita are blueRead More
Once more, with feeling
As a final epilogue on NPAC before it completely disappears from our memories (the official blog is already looking pretty dead), and in the spirit of contributing constructively to the discussion, I thought I’d share how I voted among the choices that were given to us at the final AmericaSpeaks town hall meeting/caucus session, andRead More
Got Milk?
What is with the arts field’s obsession with the Got Milk? ad campaign? I feel like every time the subject of an ad campaign or slogan comes up, Got Milk is immediately referenced–it’s practically the Godwin’s Law of arts marketing. At NPAC, I apparently wasn’t the only one to groan when I learned that theRead More
NPAC: Day 4
NPAC ended on Saturday with a “21st-century town hall meeting” in the Korbel Ballroom. I hate to say it, but after three days of excitement and promise, this one ended on a down note for me. It wasn’t just because the electronic point-and-click voting toys were the same ones we used in State & SocietyRead More
Reflection
Oh, the Places You’ll Go!NewMusicBox, June 14, 2008.
Live from NPAC: Day 3
[again, too busy to post this day of…I’ll be back with a wrap-up tomorrow!] One of the major features of the 2008 National Performing Arts Convention is the series of “caucus sessions” designed and implemented by an organization called AmericaSpeaks. At the first session on Wednesday we worked to define an overall vision for theRead More
Live from NPAC: Day 2
I’m writing this from the second general session of the National Performing Arts Convention, which features an address from Jim Collins, author of Good to Great. Collins is a former professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and has a book that came out a couple of years ago called Good to Great andRead More
Live from NPAC: Day 1
[My apologies for the delay in posting these; it took a bit longer than expected to get consistent internet access here.] I’m here in Denver for the National Performing Arts Convention, an event bringing 4,000 artists, organizations, businesses, and patrons together for a conversation about collaboration and advocacy. Despite a rather harrowing trip here (myRead More