Presenting art is not enough, at least if you’re running a nonprofit. Something has to be done or else the opportunity is lost forever. I was watching the 1953 version of War of the Worlds recently and it struck me that as time passes, the perspective on this particular story changes wildly. Secondly, and more importantly for the nonprofit arts industry, those perspective … [Read more...] about How Does Your Nonprofit Arts Organization Use History to Tangibly Make Things Better?
Nonprofit Arts Organizations Don’t Support Artists; They Employ Them
Artists matter more than any producing organization. In recent articles, as we’ve discussed the ways in which nonprofit arts organizations have, in the main, chosen to be irrelevant to their charter, their communities, and their owners (the states in which they incorporated), several performing artists have written in with some terror in their subtext, that pointing out … [Read more...] about Nonprofit Arts Organizations Don’t Support Artists; They Employ Them
Nonprofit Arts Organizations: What’s a “Community?”
“Community” ≠ “Constituency.” And it’s certainly ≠ “Audience.” IYKYK. It’s not altogether clear that nonprofit arts organizations know what “community” means to their organization. They may have a dictionary definition at the ready, or some parsed-out word salad to describe the community of people they seek, but rarely do they describe the community (or communities) that … [Read more...] about Nonprofit Arts Organizations: What’s a “Community?”
What’s Next, Fair Harvard? The Alois Hitler Theaterzentrum?
Despite everything, Harvard chooses to keep the Sackler name on its museum. Why? Back in 2022, members of the Harvard College Overdose Prevention and Education Students, a campus group dedicated to overdose awareness, petitioned Harvard’s administration to remove Arthur M. Sackler’s name from campus buildings. The petition was not a haphazard one and had teeth because it … [Read more...] about What’s Next, Fair Harvard? The Alois Hitler Theaterzentrum?
Scene Change 2 Now Available for Preorder
Assuming that your board has no clear sense of why they’re representing their nonprofit arts organization’s work, there’s a handbook for that. The first essay of the school year is usually some throwaway set of paragraphs entitled, “How I Spent My Summer Vacation.” This is kinda that. I’ve been exceptionally busy over the last month doing podcasts, interviews, and signings … [Read more...] about Scene Change 2 Now Available for Preorder