In the introduction to Engaging Art: The Next Great Transformation of America’s Cultural Life, former NEA chair and current interim Chair Bill Ivey writes about piano sales in 1909: 364,545, “an impressive total in a country with a population of less than 100 million.” By 1934, “sales had plunged to just over 34,000 instruments.” Yes, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Education’
100 Years Ago
Posted in Education, tagged Education, small and rural communities on July 7, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Knowing the Numbers
Posted in Business Model, Education, tagged Business Model, data, Education, small and rural communities on July 6, 2009 | 8 Comments »
It is time for arts organizations to get serious about data. We need to know the numbers backwards and forwards. We need to master the data. We need to be bilingual, speaking not only arts-speak, but also data-speak. If you “don’t do math,” as all-too-many arts majors whine as they face even the most basic math class, then get out of the way and let somebody else lead — you’re a drag on the field. If you find research reports “boring and tedious,” then step aside and let somebody lead who takes their field seriously. Until artists begin behaving like adults who run a business, they will be treated like children who have a hobby.
Samuel Mockbee: Educating Students
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Education, role of the artist on March 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I was listening to an old edition of NPR’s Speaking of Faith this evening on the way home. It was a wonderful episode called “An Architecture of Decency,” about the famous Rural Studio in Western Alabama. Included in the website for the program was an essay by Samuel Mockbee, the founder of the Rural Studio. [...]
