Our p.a.v.e. program in arts entrepreneurship brought in a fabulous artist as its March speaker. Leni Schwendinger is a lighting designer and public artist whose work is visible in New York, Seattle, Glasgow, Philadelphia, Dallas, and elsewhere. She was also named by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce...

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,...

I found this information extremely useful.  It has made a difference in my approach to reaching the clients who want me and will pay for my services.  (the following has been edited for this blog) Identifying Your Ideal Client Profile By Nancy Michaels Not everyone is an ideal client. Stop accepting...

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...

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...

The first time I traveled to Europe on my own, I learned a trick for finding my way back to my hotel-hostel-trainstation-vaporetto, etc. If I stopped periodically to turn around and look back from where I had just come, I was able to teach myself to recognize the particular intersection or landmark from...

OK… so I changed my mind. I am allowed to right?  I spent almost a year with interns  building The ETA Resource Center for you. I thought given how much time and money it cost me to build — almost $4000.00, a true labor of love– that it was worth the price of admission. Admission...

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)...

When you engage in the act of creating something new, if that thing develops roots and begins to take hold, you will find a mix of public reactions. You will likely hear lots of support from friends, family, colleagues, peers, well-wishers and others. Simultaneously, you will likely encounter sour pusses,...

I am just back from a four-day training – the Art of Hosting – in Berlin. It was absolutely a great experience to work together with more than 45 people around meaningful conversations. We experienced methods like WorldCafe, Open Space, Appreciative Inquiry, circle work, … and applied...

They have asked me to ‘facilitate’ a track on a creativity conference in Greenwich next week. The purpose of the track is to give a short introduction on the topic, work 2 hours with a 1/3 of the participants and have a creative presentation at the final day to ’summarize’ our...

I hope that this is already old news for most of you but I just saw this video about the biggest artwork ever – the movie ‘Home’ from Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Absolutely fabulous so I’m not going to spend more words and discover it for yourself (movie lasts 1,5 hours but it’s...

Yesterday, I went to an IAF-conference (International association of Facilitators) in the Netherlands and the main theme was ‘3 times nothing’. The purpose was to explore the value of doing nothing at certain moments in a training or workshop. And the consequences that would have on your...

Approach One might assume, with all the previous supportive literature, that it would be easy to document exactly what makes an art project created to effect social change healing, and with this information to be able to develop and enhance this process in a way that is of benefit to the psychological...

CRAVING VOICE: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE HEALING EFFECTS CREATED BY AN ART PROJECT FOR SOCIAL CHANGE The following article is a explanation of the use of a painting used to facilitate healing. The specific focus is on a single painting: “Craving Voice,” which was created at a moment in the...

Although creativity is a new buzzword for desirable in the business world, the creative traits that are desired by many employers are not the same as the traits displayed by many creative personalities. Employers and organizations, who are looking for creative personalities, are generally looking for...

The Customer is a poem by Frank Halliwell, from Jimboomba, Australia. This poem is really funny, or at least it was to me, so sit back and enjoy. Have a great weekend. ************************************************************************************ “Good morning! Thanks for calling us! ...

Pins and needles require no sitter We choose the seat because we want them to prick us Nothing needs to pin us or needle us If we allow what we do, instead, to free us

It’s Saturday morning. The leaves have been raked and are burning in the fire pit. From the fire, ringlets of smoke, like grey ghosts, drift across the lake. This morning seven ducks stood on the first layer of thin ice, proudly. As I look out the window, the dullness of the colorless sky sets...

Lickity-split with one twist the view of life can change To focus your view you need one or two new ideas to sharpen your frame Leaving pain left unknown your passions can grow ideas flow when you feel whole Lickity-split with one found twist shout outloud the life you can name