235 stories from Mission Paradox
Language can be deceptive. When you say the word audience it is easy to see them as one body. In reality, any audience is composed of multiple segments that have very different needs and may…
When you work with art, the list of things you can't control FAR outweighs the things you can control. I can't control whether an actor will miss a line, or if a dancer will fall, or if a mu…
It's 11:30pm in Vegas. But I'm still on Chicago time so it feels like 1:30am. So I'm a little tired. Plus my last journey to the craps table didn't go well. So I'm a little cranky. It's at t…
Something powerful when art and audience connects. Someone sees a spectacular stage show and it redefines their idea of what is possible. A person in the crowd of a sold out concert hears a …
Sherlock Holmes is a smart guy. That's part of the audience's attraction to him. It's also a bit of a problem. Left to his own devices, the knowledge that Holmes has could easily fly right o…
There are photographers who want to make a living from the work. There are craftspeople that want to make a living by selling goods on Etsy. There are excellent graphic designers that want t…
Part One is here: http://www.missionparadox.com/the_mission_paradox_blog/2012/06/the-future-of-the-nonprofit-arts-part-1-breaking-away-from-our-parents.html --------------------- Allow me to…
Here's the premise, having diverse groups leads to better decisions. Here's the logic behind the premise, courtesy of Northwestern University: "Diverse groups outperformed more homogeneous g…
I'm honored to be a part of the TCG Conference, especially the Plenary: Ensuring the Sustainability of the Field I've offered my thoughts on diversity, sustainability and the arts in the pas…
This is probably as I'll ever get to a "manifesto". It's about the nonprofit arts system and how it can have an exciting, relevant future in a complicated, dynamic world. -------------------…
Part 1 is here So what are the characteristics of a good platform? Let's start with the idea that a platform can come in many forms. It can be digital or print. It can be based in social med…
If you're an arts administrator and want to advance in your field, you need a platform. If you're an artist looking to be a part of interesting projects, you need a platform. I think that co…
A day like today reminds us that there is a value in remembering and honoring the past. It's important to remember that no matter what challenge you are facing, someone has faced that challe…
One more lesson from my post on Wednesday. At some point every industry breaks down into groups. Those who are trying to maintain the status quo and those who are trying to move that industr…
Authentic efforts to expand/diversify an audience look like this: An orchestra is trying to bring in a younger audience. It's a common problem in the classical music game. So the conductor o…
You can't thrive in a world without understanding the shadows. You can't be an artist and decide that an understanding of marketing, financing, logistics, etc. are a job for somebody else. Y…
. . . is a course that doesn't exist. Some things can't be simplified into a Dummies course. Some things can't be boiled down into seven easy steps. Hell, I've written over 1000 blog posts o…
Every project includes a set of assumptions. For example, a theatre may be producing a play on the assumption that 10,000 people will pay an average of $25 to see the show. A painter may ass…
I say "marketing" and you start thinking tactics. You start thinking about tweets and Facebook posts. You start thinking about the creative copy you can use to describe the shows. Stop that.…
When the artist presents her work to the world as a gift and is rewarded with engagement, attention and (sometimes) money . . . When the right play, with the right performers, touches the ri…
Most of the advice I give to artists boils down to this: If you don't feel strongly about the project, don't do it. You've got a limited amount of energy, time and resources to devote to any…
. . . that's what the salesman told me as I bought a suit a few weeks back. He was a fantastic sales person. Smart. Helpful. I gladly put my credit card on the table when it was time to...
It's really about balance. If you work in a field that has a strong (understandable) thirst for growth, then you need something to balance it all out. So what if you decided not to grow? Wha…
If you accept the idea that unchecked, or poorly considered, growth can be a major source of headaches for an arts organization (or an individual artist) then you may end up wondering why it…
I want to spend a little time this week talking about growth. That growth comes in many forms, from an arts organization breaking ground on a building to an artist getting an agent and a man…
