If you’re familiar with any nonprofit arts organization, you’re probably already intimately familiar with the hardships they have been facing in recent years. Even organizations that were once strong and thriving have been pushed into a state of uncertainty, if not all-out panic. However, leaders of arts organizations are now looking earnestly to the future: No one is going down quietly. Grassroots efforts are providing increasing support for resources, communication, and education for individuals fighting for arts survival.
On Wednesday, February 24, the Foundation Center Atlanta, the Office of Cultural Affairs, and other Georgia-based arts organizations will host Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative at Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Tech.
This event is part of the Arts in Crisis tour, from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and is a series of lectures and resource workshops currently traveling through all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The tour’s lead figure is the Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser, author of The Art of the Turnaround: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations. The tour is aimed at leaders of arts and cultural organizations, but it is open to everyone. Topics covered include fundraising, marketing, advocacy, board development, and sustainable management.
The Arts in Crisis tour was initiated in response to the emerging conditions that plague nonprofit arts organizations nationwide. Decimated resources and diminished contributions have left morale waning. Meanwhile, arts organizations are feeling increasingly disregarded by government entities of all levels. As he engages in conversation with Georgia Council for the Arts Executive Director Susan Weiner, Mr. Kaiser will expound upon how he used non-traditional tactics and a never-say-die mentality to take numerous national arts organizations from the brink of failure to a thriving state of health.
This public event is free, but registration is required. You can do so by contacting the Ferst Center for the Arts online or at 404-894-9600. You can also register starting at 9AM the morning of the event, which begins at 10AM on Wednesday, February 24, 2010.
