What We're Reading: Cultural Policy and the Collective
From National Performance Network: During NPN’s annual Board of Directors meeting this month, Caitlin Strokosch, NPN’s President and CEO, shared reflections on three key topics shaping our organization’s operations:
- the financial crisis in the performing arts sector
- the state of intermediaries and arts service organizations
- and culture wars’ impact on artists, arts organizations, and our communities
At a recent Performing Arts Alliance gathering, organization leaders discussed the field’s crisis–while some face economic challenges, others are attracting new audiences and sustained funding. Conversations in Minneapolis, led by Pangea World Theater, prompted us to rethink and reorient ourselves around collective, community sustainability. We questioned how large, white organizations may define being in a state of “crisis” when faced with conditions that smaller organizations of color have always experienced. We considered if quickly proposed solutions might exacerbate inequities and how viewing arts spaces as interdependent with neighborhood wellbeing affects our assessment of organizational sustainability.