“Sold out!” Those lovely words. Who’s playing to capacity venues—and why? The Jazz Corner in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, has found a formula that mixes excellent food and drink with first-rate live jazz performance and a commitment to jazz education. Every night of the week, this venue presents local and touring jazz musicians, punctuated…
Picture this: You have conceived a new way to boost support for your arts agency. It’s a great idea with transformative potential. Your case for it is based on irrefutable data. You’ve developed a fresh marketing angle and have anticipated key implementation hurdles and their solutions. You’ve recruited some influential allies and you’re eager to…
The NASAA board of directors held its spring meeting in Washington, D.C., last week. The biggest news from that gathering, of course, was the appointment of Pam Breaux as NASAA’s next CEO! Many thanks to all of you who have written or called to express your congratulations and support for Pam. The board and staff…
Many state legislative seasons are reaching their peaks in April. Elected officials are moving bills through the pipeline and putting the finishing strokes on budget packages, all while navigating last-minute political twists and turns. At this time of year, arts advocates are channeling the same skills that are taught in NASCAR driving school: “Master your…
NASAA is open for business and happily settling in after our office relocation. On a practical level, our new lease terms are great for NASAA’s bottom line. We’re already benefiting from a more efficient floorplan, better bandwidth and a conference room that’s large enough for our whole staff to gather in one place. We pride…
I recently met with Tony Grybowski, CEO of the Australia Council for the Arts, the Aussie equivalent of our own National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Our meeting was a good opportunity to trade ideas and compare notes about cultural policy and government funding models. Both our nations use three tiers of government (federal, state…
In January our in-boxes bulge with articles from futurists defining the essential trends that will emerge in the new year. Thus far I’ve seen a prediction for the most popular colors of 2015 (how did I get on that mailing list?), two forecasts for the global economy, auguries from three marketing gurus and more dispatches…
‘Tis the season for expressions of gratitude. As the year draws to a close, arts organizations and artists all over the country are thanking the people who make their work possible, celebrating what they’ve accomplished, and recognizing the creative partners, volunteers and supporters who contributed to their success. This year-end flurry of thanks and good…
Dear NASAA friends and colleagues, I have sent literally hundreds of monthly messages to NASAA members and to our extended readership since I began my tenure as NASAA CEO in 1985. In this one, I want to acknowledge some of what I have been privileged to witness state arts agencies and NASAA accomplish, to wish…
This month, NASAA asked Theresa Colvin to reflect on her experience leading NASAA’s Nominating Committee. I was honored and privileged to serve this year as the chair of NASAA’s Nominating Committee. As anyone knows who has ever served on this committee (affectionately known as NomComm), it is a great deal of work—but it is also…
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