NFP Boards, Good Idea Run Amok? - State of the Art

NFP Boards, Good Idea Run Amok? - State of the Art

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Theatre as a foundation for community

Arts space has been theorized as a temple and a site of community -- by Richard Schechner and Augusto Boal perhaps most persuasively.

An upcoming production of Sarah Ruhl's PASSION PLAY in Brooklyn further underscores the potential intersections of theatre, community, and belief. Read here.

For those engaged in the act of theatre, the actors, designers, technicians, etc., it is a home, a passion, a devoted life not unlike a nun or a priest. Those engaged in the arts would seem to follow a similar level of commitment as there are no other incentives to justify the choices for the average artist (the income is well below average and the work environment less than most would find acceptable).

I frequently tell those going into the field the same thing that was said to me -- if you can do anything else, do it. Admittedly, I tried. I was miserable, so I returned to the fold.

For those entering the management of the arts, their paths frequently emerge from the making of art. The relationship of their professional and personal satisfaction changes, from one directly linked to the art to one responsible for the environment of the product (the organization or its own works). The transformative quality of the art -- the BELIEF in the art is at the center of why one comes to work each day.

Strangely and perhaps disturbingly, the arts, like religion, are increasingly segregated from the everyday experience of the public. The public (and those studying to work in the arts) blurs the understanding of 'art' with 'entertainment' as art has become increasingly commodified in order to exist in America's capitalist society AND audiences align the use of non-work time with either family or entertainment options (be they shopping, watching movies, going out to dinner, or seeing a play).

Back to the importance of the Sarah Ruhl work in Brooklyn. The play offers an opportunity for its audience to evaluate and discuss their relationship to belief and religion. What offers audiences the opportunity to evaluate and discuss their relationship to the arts?

The Arts GDP

Americans for the Arts will unveil the measurable statistics for the arts sector (the arts GDP, so to speak) on January 20th. I am glad that they have taken leadership on this realm. It is much needed and long coming. It is difficult to argue broadly or deeply about the impact of the arts with only a hodgepodge of data from sometimes narrow sources or data sets.

Simultaneously, AFTA will be celebrating its 50th year. In their most recent newsletter, they noted emerging trends in the arts (some of which have been obvious to those of us on the ground for years).

a) the arts market is out of balance, with capacity (artists, art, performance venues) or 'supply' exceeding demand (capital funds are so much easier to get than operating funds . .)

b) Our audience's engagement has changed overtime, with an acceleration in the recent internet years. The recent NEA study underscores this observation -- audiences are attending live performances less often, but consuming mediated art forms at a more rapid pace. Additionally, they want to make art as well as consume art.

c) The subsidy for the arts is receding with the arts receiving a smaller piece of the philanthropy pie. (Sadly, it seems that the philanthropists haven't figured out that the arts are the critical piece to success in the social sector.)

d) The arts are increasingly less competitive. A disturbing condition considering the extensive amount of arts management training now available in the US as well as training opportunities through conferences like the National Arts Marketing Project. For arts organizations to exist they must recognize their unique position in their community and communicate broadly and deeply. They must continually educate and demonstrate their significance to their community -- as their RELEVANCE to the community is what drives both their earned and unearned income. Arts organizations must find ways to be their art and engage their audiences in new and unique ways if they are to maintain the already vexed system of nonprofit arts as it currently exists in our society. (another post on the vexed relationship of the arts to the nonprofit structure in the first place).

On the good side -- the arts are increasingly critical to the citizens of the United States. However, the relationship between the arts and their audience is changing -- from mentor/student to peer to peer. Online or in person, the organization has a relationship with its audience -- it's up to the organization to forge the first step.

Changing Landscape of Cultural Participation

The NEA Survey for Participation in the Arts is revealing a suprisingly quick moving seachange in the American relationship to the arts. For those involved in longstanding institutions devoted to live exchange between artist and audience, the findings reveal stark changes to our future -- rapid adoption of online arts consumption that seems to be replacing the lived experience. For example, classical music is seeing the maturation of the seachange that has been in progress the last twenty years such that middle-aged audiences are attending less and less often yet they are still consuming mediated formats.

http://www.artsjournal.com/sandow/2009/12/day_of_reckoning.html

Many arts organizations are riding the wave of the change (see below) and it seems that many will need to do the same if there is a to be a salient future for the arts in our culture.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/09/AR2009120904233.html

More on thinning the nonprofit herd

More on thinning the nonprofit herd

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My chat with Bill Ivey

My chat with Bill Ivey

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Curtain, then finger-pointing at North Shore - The Boston Globe

Curtain, then finger-pointing at North Shore - The Boston Globe

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