Entertainment | July 01, 2009 | 3 comments

Arts in Crisis (And Not Just From the Economy)

source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-kaiser/arts-in-crisis_b_222393.html

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"American arts organizations are threatened, but it is not the economy that poses the largest threat.

It is the decision-making of boards and staffs in response to economic challenges that has much greater long-term implications for the health of our arts ecology.

While arts funding only fell 6% last year, many arts organizations are making drastic cuts to their programming. Many have canceled performances, eliminated educational programming, shortened seasons, or closed altogether. Others are "dumbing down" their product; there is a widespread call to make programming more accessible (read boring). Still more are cutting their marketing dramatically; after all, they argue, who will notice if we spend less on communicating our (reduced) programming?

These approaches to dealing with the current recession all assume that cost is the underlying problem of the arts; conventional wisdom suggests that an arts organization can "save its way to health."

But this is wrong, dangerously wrong.

Arts organizations across the world have a revenue problem, not a cost problem. We are a remarkably efficient industry, doing more with less. But we do not yet know how to create the revenue streams we need to do our work in a consistent manner.

And what creates revenue for an arts organization? Good art supported by strong marketing. Arts organizations that consistently do good work and are aggressive about their marketing are the ones which succeed, both programmatically and financially.

Cutting programming and marketing, the current favored strategy, therefore, ensures that future revenue will fall. This initiates a viscous cycle; less art and marketing yielding less revenue leading to more cuts in programming and marketing, less revenue, etc. etc.

Taken to its conclusion, an arts organization simply gets too small to matter.

This is why our arts are in crisis today. We can survive the current economic downturn if we keep our programming vital and work harder than ever to convey our message. Those arts organizations who compete well will survive and recover when the economy recovers. Those that continue to cut away at their programming are likely to become irrelevant."
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    Entertainment,   Art and Style,   Culture
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3 comments // Arts in Crisis (And Not Just From the Economy)

  • artemis6
  • tommytripper
    • 0
      tommytripper  

    • culture is in many respects defined and enhanced by the art that it produces, it is a vital reflection of what is going on in a given culture at a given moment. what is built endures and what is built informs those who will come after us what we held as important at a given moment in time.

      look at all the cultures and civilizations that have come before ours, it is there art and architecture that paints our intail understandings of them, from their we dig deeper. if we lose this, then we stand to lose any record of ourselves for future generations.

      Text books and records only show what those who wrote them thought or claimed as truth, where art comes from outside the established norm, and can give another look at what those who are enforcing their views upon others what to hide or kept from general knowledge and the more we move to a digital format the easier it will be for those who seek to dominate others to hide past history and lie enough and often enough that it becomes the common truth and reality that we subscribe to.

    • 2 years ago
  • eden49
    • 0
      eden49  

    • Can't really say much here...but to put it in practical, bottom line terms...people just don't have the money anymore...and it is ALL about economic downturn...

    • 2 years ago
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