Editor’s note: Over the next two weeks, we’ll feature posts around the final convening of our Chief Executive Program, The Summit at Sundance. We invite you to participate in an online discussion of four major issues facing the cultural field. In this post, Dallas Shelby introduces the last of the problem statements. Why do the arts matter? Why does creativity matter? Why do you matter? What value do we create? We should all be able to answer these questions, and the easier it we can make it to do so the better off we will be. We may be … [Read more...]
Committing to Engagement
Editor’s note: Over the next two weeks, we’ll feature posts around the final convening of our Chief Executive Program, The Summit at Sundance. We invite you to participate in an online discussion of four major issues facing the cultural field. In this post, Theresa Remick introduces the third problem statement. Problem to solve: Engage users/customers/stakeholders as true collaborators in shaping an institution’s agenda. Customers are shifting from passive consumers to active collaborators, and many desire experiences designed for and … [Read more...]
Creating the 21st Century Board
Editor’s note: Over the next two weeks, we’ll feature posts around the final convening of our Chief Executive Program, The Summit at Sundance. We invite you to participate in an online discussion of four major issues facing the cultural field. In this post, Alorie Clark introduces the second problem statement. Governance is a certainly a hot topic for the nonprofit sector. Many organizations are finding that the traditional governance model isn’t working so well, sometimes leading to more stress than success. When considering all that … [Read more...]
Developing Transformative Employees and Systems
Editor’s note: Over the next two weeks, we’ll feature posts around the final convening of our Chief Executive Program, The Summit at Sundance. We invite you to participate in an online discussion of four major issues facing the cultural field. In this post, Fielding Grasty introduces the first of the problem statements. Problem to solve: Develop employees and organizational systems that will transform our organizations and the field. The global financial crisis has passed for much of the world, but an era of uncertainty has … [Read more...]
Mapping the Issues
How do you incorporate feedback from audiences, donors and other stakeholders to design a season, exhibit or service? This is a common question among cultural organizations striving to become more relevant and inclusive, and NAS is right there with them. Throughout The Chief Executive Program, we heard from leaders that they desired the time work together to find solutions to their toughest challenges. We knew that we wanted The Summit at Sundance to be the place for participants to do just that. Our task was to figure out the “how” – How do … [Read more...]
The Summit at Sundance
Editor's note: Over the next two weeks, we’ll feature posts around the final convening of our Chief Executive Program, The Summit at Sundance. We invite readers to participate in an online discussion of four major issues facing the cultural field. In this post, Sunny Widmann introduces the event and the process we’ll use. As with many organizations, National Arts Strategies has a portfolio of programs that carry with them varying degrees of risk and return. When we know that something’s working well, we can keep it running with the … [Read more...]
What does it mean to be a cultural leader?
The experience of being in a place for five days with an amazingly diverse and talented group of individuals through the Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders has left me completely changed. I have to admit that all the conversations that took place floated and tumbled around my head when I was there, and I kept struggling with what this meant for me in my day-to-day reality. As an arts administrator working with education and community partnerships, and specifically advocating for engagement with the most at-risk, I tried to flesh … [Read more...]
Salzburg Global Forum: Some Final Thoughts
We introduced Field Notes as a means of amplifying meaningful conversation. Over the last couple of weeks we put that to the test with content from the Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders, a program that was essentially 5 days of non-stop (and I mean that in the best possible sense) conversation among 64 people from 35 different countries. On an individual basis, I learned something from each conversation, each interview, each post. On a collective basis, what I learned was not something new but it was still incredibly valuable … [Read more...]
Museums in the Digital Age
Sebastian Chan is director of digital and emerging media at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and a Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders Fellow. Watch the following clips and add your voice to the discussion, using the comments below to weigh in with your thoughts. In this clip, he talks about the convergence of street, markets and institutions and how that affects and is affected by the notion of "quality art." Here he discusses the challenge faced by institutions as culture becomes … [Read more...]
What role should orchestras play in their communities?
Watch the following video in which Mark Gillespie, general and artistic manager of Orchestra of the Americas and Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders Fellow, suggests that orchestras should connect with youth at a very early age so that musicians grow out of the community. Add your voice to the discussion. Use the comments below to weigh in with your thoughts. … [Read more...]
How should cultural institutions approach the creation and articulation of value?
Watch the following video in which Albino Jopela, archaelogist and lecturer at Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique and Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders Fellow, suggests that considering the values of all of the stakeholders in a community will help ensure relevance and sustainability. Add your voice to the discussion. Use the comments below to weigh in with your thoughts. … [Read more...]
Why is it important for arts leaders to engage in cross-cultural conversations?
Watch the following video in which Jimena Lara Estrada, program coordinator for the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York and Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders Fellow, talks about connecting with other leaders and the hope that it instills. Add your voice to the discussion. Use the comments below to weigh in with your thoughts. … [Read more...]
How do you articulate the value of the arts in a society where it is largely seen as a commodity?
Watch the following video in which Eyad Houssami, founding director of Masrah Ensemble in Lebanon and Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders Fellow, talks about the challenges of making a case for the arts in a society where the concept of public value is very limited. Add your voice to the discussion. Use the comments below to weigh in with your thoughts. … [Read more...]
What is the place of cultural institutions within their communities?
Watch the following video in which Tisa Ho, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival and a faculty member of the Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders, suggests that to be truly relevant an organization must be "in, of, for and about" its community. Add your voice to the discussion. Use the comments below to weigh in with your thoughts on the role of an arts organization. … [Read more...]
How do arts and culture institutions deal with issues of cultural identity?
Watch the following video in which Yudhishthir Raj Isar, professor of Cultural Policy Studies at The American University of Paris and a faculty member of the Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders, talks about the responsibility that arts and culture organizations have to provide cultural translation. Add your voice to the discussion. Use the comments below to weigh in with your thoughts on the effects of globalization on the cultural sector. … [Read more...]