The Artist and Sustainability in American Arts Organizations
Multiple facets facilitate the success of arts organizations; two of those facets are the artist and sine qua non of sustainability. To grasp the importance of artists and the sustainability of arts organizations, the significant contribution of arts to society must first be established. Robert L. Lynch (2015) highlights the arts as a catalyst of bringing people together, whom might otherwise not interact, to build stronger communities through connection. Human connection and understanding are essential to forward a community, a country. Arts organizations are unique in that they nurture the careers of those who produce art, who in turn offer historical perspective as a reflection …show more content…
Thomas, Christopher, and Sidford (2011) focus on the cost structure of an organization as its sustainable asset. “Adaptive capacity is evidenced by the strength of the balance sheet and the ability to regularly generate revenue in excess of expenses” (Thomas et al., 2011, p. 6). Comprised of intricate interactions, the current state of many organizations, and their demise in the effort of sustainability, is due to mis-capitalization.
In an effort to combat mis-capitalization, Thomas et al. (2011) explains that both arts organizations and art donors must transform from a “how was the or my money spent” mentality to one that is based on an investment approach. Their structure in attaining an investment approach is through liquidity (surplus), adaptability, and durability, which is built on operating revenue and capital, with a specific emphasis on change capital. Ultimately, when an organization aligns their money with their strategies and plans properly, it will result in a forging of audience demand, cultivation of new contributors, and an adaptation of historical cost structures (Thomas et al., 2011). The strength of the balance sheet then becomes the sustaining influence of an …show more content…
In application, the artist is the pillar of an arts organization. It is the artists who substantially found organizations and in doing so take on multiple roles. It is the artists whose works provide the substance of the organization. It is the artists who interact with the audiences and communities of the organizations. Structurally, however, it is not the artist who forges the organization forward, rather it is a collaboration of departments. Although I do not agree with Taft Thomas’s view that an artist should not have a role in the organization, an artist is an artist at the end of the day. As narrated by Markusen et al., Saraniero, and Bonin-Rodriguez, the artist is fluid and intertwines themselves throughout many roles inside and outside of the arts organization in a way that successfully drives their career. For me, that is the role of the artist, to be a trickster who floats across
Multiple facets facilitate the success of arts organizations; two of those facets are the artist and sine qua non of sustainability. To grasp the importance of artists and the sustainability of arts organizations, the significant contribution of arts to society must first be established. Robert L. Lynch (2015) highlights the arts as a catalyst of bringing people together, whom might otherwise not interact, to build stronger communities through connection. Human connection and understanding are essential to forward a community, a country. Arts organizations are unique in that they nurture the careers of those who produce art, who in turn offer historical perspective as a reflection …show more content…
Thomas, Christopher, and Sidford (2011) focus on the cost structure of an organization as its sustainable asset. “Adaptive capacity is evidenced by the strength of the balance sheet and the ability to regularly generate revenue in excess of expenses” (Thomas et al., 2011, p. 6). Comprised of intricate interactions, the current state of many organizations, and their demise in the effort of sustainability, is due to mis-capitalization.
In an effort to combat mis-capitalization, Thomas et al. (2011) explains that both arts organizations and art donors must transform from a “how was the or my money spent” mentality to one that is based on an investment approach. Their structure in attaining an investment approach is through liquidity (surplus), adaptability, and durability, which is built on operating revenue and capital, with a specific emphasis on change capital. Ultimately, when an organization aligns their money with their strategies and plans properly, it will result in a forging of audience demand, cultivation of new contributors, and an adaptation of historical cost structures (Thomas et al., 2011). The strength of the balance sheet then becomes the sustaining influence of an …show more content…
In application, the artist is the pillar of an arts organization. It is the artists who substantially found organizations and in doing so take on multiple roles. It is the artists whose works provide the substance of the organization. It is the artists who interact with the audiences and communities of the organizations. Structurally, however, it is not the artist who forges the organization forward, rather it is a collaboration of departments. Although I do not agree with Taft Thomas’s view that an artist should not have a role in the organization, an artist is an artist at the end of the day. As narrated by Markusen et al., Saraniero, and Bonin-Rodriguez, the artist is fluid and intertwines themselves throughout many roles inside and outside of the arts organization in a way that successfully drives their career. For me, that is the role of the artist, to be a trickster who floats across