In Which Edward, Adam, and Barry Save the Arts

I spend a lot of time thinking about and talking about sustainability in the arts.  Why is the model for most arts projects, productions, organizations, broken?  How can we fix it?  Is anyone willing to do that work when their ingenuity is much better-rewarded elsewhere?

I got really lucky this year when these musings went from second most-frequent topic over drinks with Flora* to an actual professional project, promoting a wonderful book called 20UNDER40.  The book, part of a larger project whose mission is to give emerging arts leaders a voice about where this industry is going, to create a dialogue between arts professionals of all ages, is an anthology of 20 incredibly smart essays about what could, and should, be next.  You can get it at www.20UNDER40.org or the usual online book suspects.

An interview with the author/aggregator, Edward Clapp, was posted yesterday on Barry's Blog, which is fantastic for getting the word out to people in our field.  He has a lot of wonderful, insightful things to say about the state of the arts and how we might create an environment where young people might want to stick around instead of bailing for a decent paycheck.

That writeup led me to this excellent, excellent interview with Adam Huttler, who runs Fractured Atlas (where I contribute as marketing blogger).  Adam not only has smart solutions I wholeheartedly agree with, he's on the ground every day making it happen.


I mean, would you look at this?!:

Some non-profit leaders use mission as an excuse for inaction, inefficiency, or incompetence. In a capitalist society, non-profit organizations exist to provide goods or services that are considered valuable but that can’t survive without subsidy due to some kind of market failure. The word “mission” is ultimately a kind of shorthand for those inherently unprofitable objectives.

and

I’m going to get into trouble here, but my personal belief is that the tension between aesthetic integrity and popular appeal is overblown. All too often this ostensibly irreconcilable conflict serves as a convenient excuse for vapid artistic pretension, incompetent marketing, or both. Shakespeare was the most popular playwright of his day, and he sold a lot of tickets. 

Oh no he didn't!  Definitely check out the full post for more solid stuff, said better than I ever could.

May we have many more Edwards and Adams.  Thanks guys.

*the first most frequently discussed topic is boys, duh.