Anybody

When I look out into the arts world, I don't see a lack of talent.  I see a lack of great arts organizations.

Why does this matter?

Because anybody can produce one good play, or do one good gallery showing.  If you came to my hometown of Chicago and wanted a good artistic experience I could point you in 50 different directions.  The amount of talent in this town, and many, many others, is pretty damn incredible.  But that doesn't necessarily mean the arts scene in this town (or others) is healthy.

How many times have we seen a theatre or a dance company do incredible work and then fall apart - in a spectacular fashion - for reasons that had very little to do with the work they were putting up?

To me, the real quest worth pursuing is the quest to build a great, 21st century, arts organization.

A great one.  Not necessarily a big one.

Can we build organizations that work for all the pieces involved (artists, administrators, audience, Board, etc) or are we going to just keep building organizations where one group or the other is always on the short end of the stick?

Is this really the best we can do?

That's the question that haunts me.

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This isn't just about finding alternatives to the 501c3 model of producing art.  This isn't about trying to figure out whether a particular piece of art is commercial or non-commerical. 

This about how an arts organization can be structured and designed for greatness.  This is about building true teams where everybody (artists/admin/Board) feels valued amd are in an environment where they can their best.

That's a discussion worth having.

That's an outcome worth fighting for.

 

Comments

[Cat Rocketship]

In Des Moines, there's so much inter-org sniping, overlap and competition that it's going to be impossible for any one of them to stand strong. Couple that with a non-existent infrastructure, and you have a big problem.

I spent this weekend looking for resources for artists, and was really depressed to find all the support I need-- In Minnesota. I learned through Springboard's site that MN has ELEVEN regional arts councils, all of whom make awards to orgs and artists. Iowa has one, the Iowa Arts Council, whose budget keeps getting axed.

[Adam]

Cat,

Sorry you had to go so far to find what you need. And you are correct, all the sniping and overlap does make it hard for people to stand strong.

[Ericzieg]

Before getting too down in the dumps, it's worth looking at successful arts organizations (non-profit and for-profit) in Chicago--if you look beyond the fine arts, there's Drag City Records (a record label selling more than they ever have, as the larger industry crumbles), Quimby's (a successful bookstore in 2010, of all times), The Violet Hour, and Schwa. Both The Old Town School of Folk Music, the Union League Club, and Cheetah Gym offer examples of how to use a membership model that some people use daily and others use on rare occasions. In the theater realm, Quest Ensemble shows how a company can have healthy ticket revenue without asking for a penny from its audience until the show is over. The Gift Ensemble and the Side Project show how to make a storefront theater part of its surrounding neighborhood. The 2nd Story shows the benefits of producing outside of the six-week, four-shows-a-week Jeff eligibility requirements, as does any dance company that plays to a packed house, albeit with fewer performances. The Second City (as well as, again, the Old Town School) shows how to have an institution that is busy from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. The models are everywhere. These are the good old days as much as the good old days ever were.

[Adam]

Couldn't agree more Eric. There is A LOT of success out there. We (myself included) have to work harder to draw attention to those positive examples.