Who Knew Genealogy Was The Gateway To Community Relevance For The Arts

ADAPTISTRATION-GUY-046aJoe Patti just came back from his vacation to Germany and like most arts administrators, he apparently had a difficult time turning off the arts management gears. But that’s good news for us as Patti used his time originally designed for genealogy research to share some realizations in an article at Butts In The Seats about the way different societies afford cultural relevance as a byproduct of land use policy.

In a moment of insight, I wondered if this basic difference between being forced to live together in Germany versus being forced to live apart in the U.S. may have been a major factor in the differences that developed in the way each country experiences and views their relationship with the arts. Can land use policy be as, if not more, important than education and direct funding when it comes to participation in the arts?

Wonks and wonkettes alike will dig the journey Patti takes to reach that point in his post so do yourself a favor today and treat your brain to something juicy.

Read Will Zoning Laws Make Us Love The Arts More

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

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