The concept and principles of creating public value have informed state arts agency (SAA) strategy and management since the Wallace Foundation initiated the START (State Arts Partnerships for Cultural Participation) program in 13 states from 2001 through 2005. NASAA had long previously articulated and advocated as hallmarks of effective practice the aligning of SAA policies…
I was intrigued to see a session on the Americans for the Arts annual conference agenda last month entitled “Agree or Disagree: We Should Let Arts Organizations that Don’t Adapt Die.” It was moderated by our own Shannon Daut, executive director of the Alaska State Council on the Arts, and featured Aaron Dworkin of The…
The occasion of planning offers unique opportunities for an agency to position itself to meet its greatest challenges successfully. Some big decisions about the scope of a plan for multiple years of an agency’s activity are made up front. If we perceive radical change is necessary—perhaps due to changes in how constituents define or experience…
The House Budget Committee, chaired by Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI), issued its fiscal year 2015 budget resolution entitled “The Path to Prosperity” earlier this April. It contains the following language: Encourage Private Funding for Cultural Agencies. Federal subsidies for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Corporation for…
Dear NASAA Friends and Colleagues: As I celebrate my 29th year as NASAA’s CEO, I’m writing to share with you that I plan to end my tenure as NASAA’s CEO at Assembly 2014 in New Orleans this November. It has been my great privilege to serve as your CEO during the last three decades—a period…
NASAA CEO Jonathan Katz often makes the point that a state arts agency and its constituents must work together to sustain the enthusiasm of the body politic to invest in the public benefits the arts provide. In this candid message, Arizona Commission on the Arts Executive Director Bob Booker speaks directly to the board members…
I’ve participated in several strategic forums on the future of the arts and arts education. One was convened by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and another by the Cultural Data Project with sponsorship from Bloomberg Philanthropies; a third was part of the Arts Education Partnership planning process. In each, there was discussion of the…
In 2013, after four years of recession-driven decrease, state appropriations to state arts agencies (SAAs) increased by $19 million. Appropriations are expected to increase another $30 million to $308 million in fiscal year 2014. The recovery among SAAs is broadening, too, from 28 state increases and 11 flat fundings in FY2013 to 38 state increases…
I’m reading a book misleadingly entitled Mad Science. It’s about what its subtitle mentions—Einstein’s Fridge, Dewar’s Flask, Mach’s Speed, and 362 other Inventions and Discoveries That Made Our World—and its content comes largely from Wired. Example after example illustrates how inventors and creative thinkers draw upon their artistic and design skills as they break ground…
NASAA is grateful to all who supported and participated in the NASAA 2013 Leadership Institute in Jackson, Wyoming, last month. Proceedings from the meeting are being posted as they become available. Here are my remarks to members at the Leadership Institute’s business meeting. I usually begin my CEO report by trying to clarify the key…
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