My Interview with “CI to Eye” I recently had the honor of being interviewed by Erik Gensler of Capacity Interactive Partners for the company’s “CI to Eye” podcast. Capacity Interactive Partners is a digital marketing consulting firm for culture and arts, working to help build audiences, engage community and “market smarter.” In my conversation with Erik, I talked about what the arts and cultural institutions … Continue reading My Interview with “CI to Eye”
While the world was abuzz last week about Nike’s 30th anniversary #Just Do It! advertising campaign and commercial featuring a voiceover by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick—which I discussed in last week’s blogpost—there was another development that we need to keep our eyes on: the announcement by WarnerMedia that it was adopting a company-wide policy to increase diversity both in front of and behind the … Continue reading Supporting Socially-Conscious Companies in the Midst of Our Nation’s Culture War: Part 2
I have always been an advocate of corporate community engagement, especially as it relates to the arts. Since the early days of my career working as the director of marketing for Dance Theater of Harlem, I have found great value and fun in doing outreach to Diversity Employee Groups, Employee Resource Groups and human resource directors to plan arts-related outings or helping to plan in-house … Continue reading Supporting Socially-Conscious Companies in the Midst of Our Nation’s Culture War Part 1
Kitab Rollins is a proud native of Newark, NJ, and a performing arts and event producer. He currently works as the Director of Performance and Broadcast Rentals at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC). For the past six years, I have had the pleasure of experiencing Kitab’s stellar producing skills. I am inspired by his devotion to his hometown; his dedication to promoting and supporting … Continue reading Kitab Rollins’s Stellar Producing Skills Create More Opportunities for Access to the Arts
When I first envisioned the formation of my company more than 25 years ago, I imagined a small operation consisting of me and an assistant. But once I focused full time on the company in 2002, our business grew so rapidly, even during the recession of 2009-10, that I had to expand my staff to provide service to our growing roster of clients. Recently, my … Continue reading In Appreciation of My Team
As my readers know, my blog Arts and Culture Connections has the mission to examine, critique and share global community engagement initiatives, as well as celebrate projects that are creating access to the arts for all people, especially those marginalized communities. This week, the focus of my blog is the ambitious effort to bridge the five boroughs of New York City through a common story … Continue reading The Mile-Long Opera: An Effective Template for Engaging Diverse Audiences
Nearly a year ago, Joseph Haj, artistic director of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, wrote an opinion article for American Theatre, in which he called for succession planning that incorporated diversity as part of the process. At the time of Mr. Haj’s article, he noted that 20 major theaters were undergoing a change in leadership. And he expressed concern that many of those positions would … Continue reading The Road to Diversifying Theater Leadership
My colleague, Jeremy Johnson, Executive Director of Newark Arts, recently made me aware of a wonderful initiative underway for people of color at the Newark Museum. The program was funded through the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative (DAMLI), which was established as the result of a joint venture between the Ford Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation. This program is of particular interest to me … Continue reading Pipeline for Cultivating Leadership in the Arts
For the past few months, I have been a participant in interviews, panels and symposiums that have focused on history, legacy and the future. Most recently, I had the opportunity to participate in the Scholars Symposium, which was one of the features of the 2018 March on Washington Film Festival. Before a live audience, I interviewed Ernest Green, one of the Little Rock Nine, and … Continue reading Food for Thought for Artists and Arts Administrators
Several years ago, the Center for Arts in Society launched an initiative to study and document the impact controversy has on the arts. One of the key points made by cultural sociologist and author Richard Howells was that “controversies in the arts are rarely only about the arts.” Instead, Professor Howells notes, what needs to be examined is the “the power dynamic in both the … Continue reading Whose story is it anyway?
