“Approaches once considered sacrosanct, realities thought etched in concrete, are giving way to a host of novel strategies. Some are based on cutting back; others are grounded in giving patrons and contributors new reasons to attend and invest.” A look at the state of the city’s seven principal arts institutions.
Category: issues
Journalists, Do Unto Google As You Would Have Others Do Unto You
“If you go by the journalist’s own logic, then the truth is that they are exploiting the newsmakers they cover. After all, it’s really the newsmakers who are ‘creating’ the story, and all the journalists are doing is writing up an account of it, for commercial purposes, and not rewarding the newsmakers who make their jobs possible in the first place.”
Get Thee To A Nunnery (Says Your Travel Agent)
“[M]onasteries have always been hospitable, obliged by the Rule of St Benedict to open their doors to whomever the Lord might send their way, [but] in secular times that hospitality has reached another level.” Yes, monasteries are becoming players in the travel market, from simple and contemplative guest retreats to four-star boutique hotels.
Seven Philadelphia Groups Split $1 Million In Pew Grants
“At a time when the flow of outside funding seems to be slowing relentlessly, the Pew Heritage Philadelphia Program has awarded a little more than $1 million to seven area cultural organizations. The grants, ranging from about $56,000 to $200,000, will be used to implement capital projects, explore new interpretive programs, install innovative technology and extend the reach of cultural groups into new and surrounding communities.”
An iTunes For News? (Or Maybe A PayPal)
“Three longtime media executives are building an automated system to allow newspapers and magazines to charge for online access, including an ‘all you can read’ subscription that would allow access to multiple publications, the executives said on Tuesday.” The company is called Journalism Online, and among its founders is one Steven Brill.
As More Nonprofits Merge, The Stigma Fades
“Those involved in the nonprofit sector say [mergers] have increased in the last decade, but are accelerating now as organizations face a drop in donations and cuts in funding due to the recession.” In the past, “there was the perception that nonprofits merged simply to stay afloat, signaling that their business practices might not be sound. … That attitude seems to be changing.”
Orange County PAC Slashes Salaries
“The Orange County Performing Arts Center is reducing staff salaries and benefits by 14 percent across the board, with senior staff taking a 16 percent reduction. Three full-time employees have also been laid off.” To stave off further cuts, the OCPAC board has launched a $1 million challenge grant.
Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit Becomes Mideast Political Football
Senior officials of the Palestinian Authority have written to Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper protesting an upcoming showing of the scrolls at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. The Palestinians argue that the scrolls were illegally acquired when Israel annexed east Jerusalem in 1967 and that the exhibition therefore violates international treaties on antiquities.
Challenge To The Wealthy: ‘How Can I Give More?’
“Donations to charities in the millions have fallen by one-third, and the need for assistance keeps climbing. But some philanthropists use this as a call to give more in times of greatest need.”
The Ford Foundation’s Objectives, More Sharply Defined
“The Ford Foundation, the nation’s second-largest philanthropic institution, has begun unveiling the results of a two-year overhaul undertaken by its new leader, Luis A. Ubiñas.” For example: “a single line of work devoted to advancing and supporting Native American arts and culture has been melded into a new, broader line of work supporting and promoting native, indigenous and minority contemporary artists.”