It was a gloomy day for staff and leadership at the Overture Center for the Arts yesterday, as they sought to hack large chunks out of their 2009 budget by cutting 25 percent of the ”authorized” workforce (leaving four vacant jobs vacant, and eliminating 11 others). Probably not the first or the last significant arts organization to downsize its staff while also hoping to upsize its earned and contributed income, but a stunning local example of what’s likely to come nationwide.
It certainly provides an opportunity to focus, clarify, winnow, and rethink. But it would be nice if it didn’t have to be such a painful opportunity.