Intricate Historic Valentines by Joe Patti

I happened across an Aeon article earlier this month featuring a video by the Victoria and Albert Museum displaying and discussing Valentine's Day. I thought folks might enjoy learning about…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 12:36am on February 15, 2024☆⚑

Secret Lonely Lives Of Arts Loving Kids by Joe Patti

Artsjournal.com linked to a Hudson Review piece by poet and former NEA Chair, Dana Gioia, talking about how he became entranced by opera and classical music as a child, but realized it was n…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 6:32pm on February 14, 2024☆⚑

What Other Dwindling Skillsets Threaten Arts and Culture? by Joe Patti

Last August, I called attention to the dwindling number of qualified piano tuners posing a threat to arts organizations' ability to host concerts.  Along those same lines, Artsjournal.com…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 11:48pm on February 12, 2024☆⚑

Pay Attention To New Spam Policies Going Into Effect This Month by Joe Patti

Last month Drew McManus posted on ArtsHacker warning about changes that Yahoo and Gmail are implementing this month that will shunt a greater number of emails to spam folders unless you take…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 9:48pm on February 6, 2024☆⚑

Music To Your Beers by Joe Patti

I was kinda thrilled to hear the melodious voice of conductor Bill Eddins on the Marketplace Morning Report this morning. Bill had written the Sticks and Drones blog here on Inside the Arts …

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 9:24pm on February 5, 2024☆⚑

Enrolled In Ones Work by Joe Patti

Yesterday I cited a Seth Godin post about rethinking how we measure work productivity.  Around the same time he made a post along the same lines noting that while strictly following instr…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 1:42am on February 1, 2024☆⚑

The Measurement Used Can Alter The Impact Of Your Work by Joe Patti

Long time readers know that I resist the use of economic impact as a measure of value for arts and culture for many reasons. The late potter-philosopher Carter Gillies was really effective i…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 1:18am on January 31, 2024☆⚑

Will Congestion Pricing Further Depress Broadway Attendance From NYC Suburbs? by Joe Patti

Just before Christmas Broadway producer Ken Davenport called attention to an issue which may or may not impact Broadway attendance starting later this year. Starting this Spring, congestion …

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 12:54am on January 30, 2024☆⚑

Artists, They Aren't Making The Community Any Worse by Joe Patti

Title of the post today is intentionally leveraging a statement in a study conducted by Jennifer Novak-Leonard and Rachel Skaggs for the National Endowment for the Arts of public perception …

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 10:48pm on January 24, 2024☆⚑

Hiring A Fun Coach Like A Physical Trainer by Joe Patti

Last week, NPR Reporter Andrew Limbong interviewed Catherine Price, author of The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again. Limbong observed that while he has the impulse to roll his eyes at th…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 10:36pm on January 23, 2024☆⚑

Supermarket Self-Checkout And Loyalty by Joe Patti

I came across a study conducted by researchers at Drexel University , (well one is an alum that teaches at University of San Diego), on whether using the self-checkout lane at a supermarket …

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 10:12pm on January 22, 2024☆⚑

Cleveland Ballet Issues Turned Out To Be Much Bigger Than Initially Suspected by Joe Patti

Back in November, I had written about allegations of harassment by the administration of the Cleveland Ballet of one of their teachers due to body weight issues. I thought that would more or…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 8:48am on January 18, 2024☆⚑

Guaranteed Basic Income Programs Seem To Benefit Those With Concrete Goals by Joe Patti

Long time readers know I tend to pay attention to news about guaranteed basic income programs, particularly those that have artists as a target group. Thanks to a CityLab link to a story on …

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 2:36pm on January 17, 2024☆⚑

It Ain't Easy Being Public Art by Joe Patti

I think Art in Public Places staff for any community have one of the most difficult jobs in the arts, particularly when it comes to public perception of the job they do.  While everyone a…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 2:02am on January 16, 2024☆⚑

Kids Making Modern Art Less Intimidating For Adults by Joe Patti

I came across a link to a post on the Alliance of American Art Museums website about the Clyfford Still Museum's efforts to make their facility a welcoming option for bringing kids as young …

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 12:06am on January 11, 2024☆⚑

Many Moving Pieces Means Many Opportunities To Remove Friction by Joe Patti

One thing I like about Broadway producer Ken Davenport is that he is constantly trying to identify barriers to attending shows on Broadway. Not just his, but any show. He has the rising tide…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 11:48pm on January 9, 2024☆⚑

Audience Engagement & Community Engagement Aren't The Same Thing by Joe Patti

In a recent episode of Quick Study, Sunil Iyengar, director of research and analysis here at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), notes that the arts community, including the NEA, toss…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 11:24pm on January 8, 2024☆⚑

A Flip Of A Coin Is More Likely To Correctly Identify Your Org As A Non-Profit Than A Recent Visitor by Joe Patti

Another post I wanted to make to get people thinking and doing things differently for 2024 is based again on research Collen Dilenschneider and the IMPACTS team have done. As I mentioned in …

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 9:54pm on January 3, 2024☆⚑

You And You're Audience Don't Agree On What It Means To Be Entertaining by Joe Patti

Okay, to start 2024 off with something to ponder for the whole year, I want to direct you to a piece I wrote on ArtsHacker a couple weeks ago about how your definition of entertaining as an …

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 3:32am on January 3, 2024☆⚑

Dayton Live's Fun Beyond The Scenes Videos by Joe Patti

You probably aren't searching the Interwebs for trenchant observations on arts administration the day after Christmas. But still, you can learn a little something from some entertaining vide…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 12:54am on December 27, 2023☆⚑

Always Good To Vet Before Giving And Be Wary Of Stolen Non-Profit Identity by Joe Patti

As we move through the middle of the holiday season, it seems like a good opportunity to remind people to do a little due diligence so they don't fall prey to some charity scams.  Back in…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 10:54pm on December 20, 2023☆⚑

NPR's Fortunes Changed By Billions And Billions Sold by Joe Patti

Last month there was an interesting story in the Washington Post about the $220 million bequest left to NPR 20 years ago by Joan Kroc, widow of former McDonalds CEO Ray Kroc.  What I foun…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 10:24pm on December 19, 2023☆⚑

Somethings Are Down, But Overall Broadway Is Looking Up by Joe Patti

Broadway Producer Ken Davenport posted last week about The Broadway League's attendance report for the 2022-2023 season.  The 2022-2023 season was the first period in which a full season …

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 10:02pm on December 18, 2023☆⚑

A Good Communications Staff May Be Costly, But Not Having One Can Be Even More Expensive by Joe Patti

At various times I, and others like Drew McManus have written about the importance of having a good crisis communication plan.  The marketing department should be focused on more than jus…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 2:12am on December 14, 2023☆⚑

Ouch! Non-Profit Board Structure Being Used As An Example Of What Not To Do by Joe Patti

Tyler Cowen, the economist who write the Marginal Revolution blog linked to an interesting paper from 2014, Corporate Governance Without Shareholders: A Cautionary Lesson from Non-Profit Org…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 1:48am on December 13, 2023☆⚑