• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About
    • About Alan Harrison
    • About Scene Change
  • ArtsJournal
  • AJBlogs

Scene Change

Arts are essential. Your nonprofit is not.

Board of Trustees

A Guy Walks Into a Room.

April 29, 2025 by Alan Harrison Leave a Comment

Privilege, in a nutshell, from a liberal, non-Christian, ostensibly White guy. This is not a sermon, nor is it a definitive proclamation. I am not an expert on race relations, ethnic bias, or anything even remotely academic that might even come close to qualifying me as the “go-to” on the subject of privilege. I’m just a guy who writes commentary, mostly about the … [Read more...] about A Guy Walks Into a Room.

“Hope for the Best. Expect the Worst.”

April 22, 2025 by Alan Harrison Leave a Comment

You need to find a way to justify your worth to your community — and at the same time, prepare for bad news, too. The buzz inside your nonprofit arts organization is louder than outside the walls. Much louder. As in, if someone is not completely tuned in to what’s going on at your particular arts organization — either your performances or your impact — they’re just … [Read more...] about “Hope for the Best. Expect the Worst.”

Nonprofit Arts Success in a Changing Environment, Tip 6 — Don’t Talk About It; Do It.

March 25, 2025 by Alan Harrison 2 Comments

Doing the right thing is always the right thing to do. It’s right there in the phrase. In the new/old world order of Trumpian policy, your arts organization faces the real possibility that, in the face of anti-arts, anti-education, and anti-truth political muckraking euphemistically calling itself “populism,” it will be shut down. The most intelligent thing your nonprofit … [Read more...] about Nonprofit Arts Success in a Changing Environment, Tip 6 — Don’t Talk About It; Do It.

Nonprofit Arts Success in a Changing Environment, Tip 5 — You Can’t Do It Alone

March 18, 2025 by Alan Harrison Leave a Comment

The work to deprogram cultish minds is dangerous. Get help. Lots of it. In the new/old world order of Trumpian policy, your arts organization faces the real possibility that, in the face of anti-arts, anti-education, and anti-truth political muckraking euphemistically calling itself “populism,” it will be shut down. To combat that, we’ve talked about: The most … [Read more...] about Nonprofit Arts Success in a Changing Environment, Tip 5 — You Can’t Do It Alone

Nonprofit Arts Success in a Changing Environment, Tip 3: Symbolism Is Cute and Clever and Performative and Futile

March 5, 2025 by Alan Harrison Leave a Comment

You can change the minds of the armies of pseudo-populists, but only one at a charitable time. Simple satire won’t cut it. Over the next few years, your nonprofit arts organization will be tasked with trying to succeed in a local and national environment powered by zero-sum, anti-art, anti-intellectual, pseudo-populists that now hold sway. It is with that in mind that we … [Read more...] about Nonprofit Arts Success in a Changing Environment, Tip 3: Symbolism Is Cute and Clever and Performative and Futile

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

About Scene Change

In early 2024, we laid out the problem and gave you a path. The result: SCENE CHANGE: WHY TODAY'S NONPROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATIONS HAVE TO STOP PRODUCING ART AND START PRODUCING IMPACT. In late 2024, we gave you discussion prompts and rules to help you figure out the answers on your own. The result: … [MORE] about About Scene Change

About Alan Harrison

Alan Harrison is a writer, father, performer, consultant, recovering artist, and the author of the industry best-seller "Scene Change: Why Today's Nonprofit Arts Organizations Have to Stop Producing Art and Start Producing Impact" and “Scene Change 2: The Five REAL Responsibilities of Nonprofit Arts … [MORE] about About Alan Harrison

Recent Posts

  • Nonprofit Arts Companies: Beware the Allure of the Headhunter
  • Have People and Write Stuff Down
  • Consequences — If They Cut Funding, You Go Nuclear (or Go Home)
  • A Strategic Plan for Your Flailing Nonprofit Arts Organization Is Just a Waste of Time
  • Arts Organizations: Laughing, Yelling, Insanity, and You

Recent Comments

  1. Larry on Nonprofit Arts Companies: Beware the Allure of the Headhunter
  2. Michael Chang on Arts Organizations: Laughing, Yelling, Insanity, and You
  3. Rick Stein on For Nonprofit Arts Organizations, It’s August and the Fan Is Clogged with S**t
  4. Benjamin Lemon on SUMMER RERUN: What Would a Post-NEA (Arts) America Look Like?
  5. Tom Tresser on No. Just No.

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in