For What It's Worth

Reasonable people can disagree on the amount of military support the US ought to give to Ukraine. But no reasonable person can think that the costs of this are actually benefits in terms of spending and US job creation. The benefit to the public of the arts is the arts, not the money that we spend on the arts. The benefit to the public of aid to Ukraine is the aid to Ukraine, not the money that was spent on providing that aid. … [Read more...]

We had a lively and sometimes contentious discussion earlier today - it will appear on YouTube at some point, I will post it then. In the meantime, a condensed version... … [Read more...]

One week from today, Wednesday October 18, at noon eastern time, my colleague Dr. Joanna Woronkowicz will be interviewing me, and taking questions, on my recently published book, as part of the Center for Cultural Affairs workshop series (we meet every two weeks via Zoom, for the latest in arts management and policy research). It's free to register - please join us! UPDATE: Here is the video - I really enjoyed the discussion … [Read more...]

New Yorkers who are interested in seeing the film Barbie at the local multiplex will pay $25.49 per ticket. If, on the same weekend, they wish to also see Oppenheimer, as I read, in about one hundred and forty-seven news reports, people were doing, then we are up to $51. If baseball is more your thing, $30.80 will put you in the highest tier right field bleachers to watch the rather mediocre Yankees take on the Tampa Bay Rays tonight. Many people will do these things. The New York Times reports on major big-city museums raising their single … [Read more...]

In the New York Times, Isaac Butler sounds the alarm for the fate of live theatre in the US: The American theater is on the verge of collapse. ... Regional and nonprofit theaters were in trouble well before 2020 and the force majeure of the pandemic. Most regional and nonprofit theaters were built on a subscription model, in which loyal patrons paid for a full season of tickets upfront. Foundation grants, donations and single ticket sales made up the balance of the budgets. For much of the 20th century, this model worked. It locked … [Read more...]

Here's what the Internal Revenue Service says: Organizations organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, educational, or other specified purposes and that meet certain other requirements are tax exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). Organizations whose primary focus is literary or educational are exempt from the corporate income tax (they are also typically exempt from state property taxes, but that is a state government matter). An orchestra or museum … [Read more...]

For all the stages an author experiences in seeing the draft of a manuscript through edits and proofreads, nothing really matches the day you receive delivery of a box of hard copies. Details are here. The cover is a nod to the Hoosier state, who a hundred years ago or so decided that towns, even small ones, ought to have some place to gather to hear talks and enjoy performances. … [Read more...]

The New York Times asked 17 columnists to choose a single work. Maureen Dowd chose Invasion of the Body Snatchers, David French chose Arrival (great film, though I'm not entirely convinced as an answer to this question. But, and truly this is not hometown bias, the winner is a 1979 film that saw coming the divides that curse us in 2023. I reckon Mike is in his early 60s around now. … [Read more...]

The Center for Cultural Affairs at Indiana University in Bloomington is only four years old, but has quickly made a name for itself with conferences and a workshop series that brings together scholars and practitioners from around the world. This summer, the CCA hosts two in-person international conferences: The Association for Cultural Economics International will hold its biennial conference in Bloomington in late June. This is the first time I can recall when the conference has taken place in a small city. I first attended this … [Read more...]

The journal Cultural Trends (for which I serve on the Editorial Board) is hosting a wonderful event: The Cultural Trends journal team are hosting their first 'Global Dialogue' conference event in Santiago de Chile. Key themes (could) include: cultural democracy and social justice; power, public management and cultural policies; development of cultural institutions and governance of culture; subsidy for the arts and public financing alternatives; cultural worker, status of the artist and socioeconomic conditions of culture; the role of civil … [Read more...]