For those of you who know me, and for those of you who do not (yet), it is not a secret how passionate and determined I have been throughout my professional career in the arts, to help artists not only survive but make a difference with the talents they have. I believe artists are on this earth to make...

Are you a mid-career museum, preservation, or historic site professional with a desire to change your institution and engage your community? Do you wants to learn how innovators in cultural institutions apply the tools of successful businesses, and acquire the skills of an  entrepreneurial leader? If...

Interested arts entrepreneurs should consider entering the 2010 Chicago Business Plan Competition NOW, and share in $10,000 in prizes. FREE business plan writing workshops will be offered in Chicago every Wednesday in March to support the contest. Deadline is April 5th. Also sharpen your mind and your...

If I told you I could make a genie came out of this lamp and grant you three wishes for anything in the world you wanted would you believe it could really happen? How far are you willing to believe in what your imagination can do for you and your future as an artist? The truth of the matter is that...

Henry Fogel, the most well known executive director to orchestras and orchestral musicians around the world, gave this speech to The National Association of School Music administrators in November of 2009.  As I read it my heart jumped for joy! It is so deeply satisfying to see someone with so much...

Claiming Creativity: Art Education in Cultural Transition A Joint International Symposium presented by Columbia College Chicago in partnership with the European League of Institutes of the Arts April 21-24, 2010 Chicago, USA Claiming Creativity seeks to re-position creativity as a driver not only for...

Zoe Keating shares this hilarious (and true) presentation on what it is like to be a touring musician. Thank you David Cutler and The Savvy Musician for finding this video for us to share!!

So, this Friday The IAE is hosting this real fun private networking event for artists and entrepreneurs at Rockit Bar in Chicago downtown. We have had a lot of people sign up for the event. We even released another 50 tickets for more folks to attend and they, too, all went fast.  Feels great to have...

I’ve been having a great time the last several weeks developing the syllabus for a course we’re calling “Foundations of Arts Entrepreneurship” that I’ll teach for the first time a year from now. It’s a challenge to determine the right balance between content related to creativity and innovation,...

Thanks Steve Hendershot for the Q&A today! Q&A: Entrepreneur teaches biz skills to artists | Enterprise City | Crain’s Chicago Business

The 2010 Creative Chicago Expo will be held on Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 10am-4pm at the Chicago Cultural Center. This year, TheIAE will be a sponsor of the event. Now in its 7th year, this CCE connects artists and art organizations in all disciplines (music, dance, theater, film, design, new media,...

Happy 10th anniversary SEA! The SEA conference is coming right up and if you have never attended you need to! Come learn more about how to turn your artistic passion into a living from other successful artists. What The Conference Offers In addition to keynote presentations, topic specific sessions...

The Dana Foundation is offering a free Webposium for Teaching Artists on Friday, January 29, 2010 11:00-12:00 (CST)  12:00-1:00PM (EST) Online they will be discussing the challenges and successes of working with students with disabilities.  The event will be streamed live and viewers will be able to...

There is an opinion piece in today’s Arizona Republic by Craig Barrett, former CEO of Intel, about creating an environment for innovation in the state in which I live. Among his other observations, he writes, “just look at the thousands of startup companies around Stanford and UC-Berkeley and Harvard...

It seems that every time I am interviewed by someone who is interested in my work, the question always comes up: “Well, do you still play the clarinet? What do you do as an artist?” For some time now, I have been scratching my head and thinking to myself, “What is it that I am saying...

As our summer programs for The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship™ begin to roll out, I find myself consistently thinking about just how much blue sky and open space there is in the world of entrepreneurship for artists. So many new businesses and new ideas to be implemented that no one else EXCEPT...

Have all of you noticed the amount of press The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship has already received?  Our first press release continues to be picked up on blogs and news feeds! This is so exciting for us! The most recent shout out came from  ENTmind– a blog devoted to Entrepreneurs helping...

This incredibly well written article speaks to the reason why I created The Bite-Size Arts Ensemble™ and why students at theIAE.com will learn the value of further developing their imaginations to create the kind of connectivity- whole brain thinking- our world so desperately needs to, again, lead...

Following my last posting on the fiscal health of theatres, my fellow ETA blogger Jim Hart contacted me with some provocative questions. I thought I’d address two of them – and forgive me, Jim, for paraphrasing slightly: 1. Can we teach our aspiring theatre artists to avoid the traditional path of...

As you may recall from a previous posting, I’ve been doing some research on the fiscal health of nonprofit arts organizations, specifically theatres. Prior research indicated that one could look at several factors (revenue diversification, operating margins, administrative expenses, and access to equity)...