Development Dialogue: Watching the Winds
We hear, in whispers and loudly, that political and economic uncertainty, changing corporate priorities and the world’s daily chaos seem to be giving businesses sudden pause and tighter budgets, at least when it comes to the arts. Read more in this month’s Development Dialogue.
Leadership Corner: Dennis Buehler, Executive Director, Oregon Ballet Theatre
Every leader needs a fundamental understanding of how each part intersects and works together in their organization, whether it’s operations, marketing, production, business, they all serve, ultimately, the mission, said Oregon Ballet Theatre Executive Director Dennis Buehler. Read more on leadership here.
Weaving a Future for Inclusive Dance
Judith Smith cofounded AXIS Dance Company in Oakland, Calif., as one of the first contemporary dance companies to create and present dance on dancers with physical disabilities who used wheelchairs, prosthetics and crutches performing alongside nondisabled dancers. In May 2016, AXIS brings together physically integrated dancers and dance companies, presenters, dance service organizations, and funders with expertise in this area for the first time since 1997.
Development Dialogue: Please … And Thank You!
Most arts organizations offer donor benefits to show gratitude and motivate support. Companies typically tie these to the level of giving: the more you give, the more you get. Read on for 11 successful ideas from development colleagues around the country on saying thank you, then feel free to share your own.
Leadership Corner: Melanie Rios Glaser, Artistic Director, The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, Calif.
Melanie Rios Glaser of The Wooden Floor, which offers dance training and academic and social service support to at-risk youths, discusses collaborative leadership, which is essential in managing her growing Santa Ana-based dance organization as it expands its reach across the country.
Leadership Corner: Sixto Wagan, Director, Center for Arts Leadership, University of Houston
“Arts leaders have gone through a period of professionalization in the past decade or more,” said Sixto Wagan, director of the Center for Arts Leadership, University of Houston. Read on for more on leading in the 21st century.
Staying Relevant in a Changing Neighborhood
How can arts organizations more fully reach and engage their communities and audiences? Learn how Philadelphia’s Fleisher Art Memorial revamped its programs in the face of changing neighborhood demographics. Read on for more.
Expanding Possibilities
As I navigate my identity as a black, female artist, I’m especially
interested in creative efforts that prioritize cultural equity and
embody more empowering models of community participation, writes dancer and dancemaker Katrina Reid. Read on for more on opening up possibilities for women choreographers of color.
A Model for Equity: Diversity and Inclusion
Lack of clarity on what diversity and inclusion mean in our current climate is a great way of not realizing either of them as a goal. Is diversity the same thing as inclusion? If we manage to create an environment of inclusion, does that mean we have diversity? Is it true that we can have diversity without any inclusion? And, finally, perhaps the most powerful question, why does it matter that we achieve either of these equitable goals? Read more in this essay from the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures.
Development Dialogue: A Challenge of Legacy:
How to ensure a donor’s legacy continues? What is our responsibility to protect it deep into tomorrow? It’s an interesting challenge for posterity, not to mention for promise making and keeping. Ron Fredman, chief development officer at Kansas City Ballet, has some thoughts.