SUDDENLY HE'S EVERYWHERE
Michael Kaiser on Huffington Post
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?