“The constant drumbeat for new models for arts organizations is deafening,” writes Kennedy Center President and CEO Michael Kaiser Monday (6/25) on Huffington Post. “But none of the experts calling for the creation of new models is being very specific about what these new models should be or even what specific problems they are meant to address. Perhaps the problems currently seem so overwhelming that the only possible answer is to scrap our current arts system and start over again. Many are suggesting, for example, that board structures be eliminated in favor of other models of governance. Since my arts management career began in 1985 countless people have tried to define new governance structures with little, if any, success. In fact, when boards are managed well, they are incredibly productive and supportive. … We have too few well-managed boards, I admit, but that does not argue against the model but rather against the way the model is implemented. … Yes, the world is changing—it has always been changing. Tastes change, needs change. We must adapt to new technologies, new art forms, new ways of communicating. … But that does not mean that we have to discard an entire way of working, losing the tremendous advantages enjoyed by successful arts organizations.”
Posted June 28, 2012
