How describe the American arts system to Chinese arts officials?
October 8, 2015 8:12 PM   Subscribe

I'm going to spend a day lecturing, to a large group of visiting Chinese art officials, about the nuts and bolts of the American arts system. Literally, from org charts to budgets to curating to education to publicity to fundraising to opening receptions. Yes, that's a vague, enormous topic that I need to narrow down. I'm comfortable with the material; it's the structure and the audience (I'll have a translator) that I'm concerned about. I'm thinking I'll spend the first half of the presentation discussing non-profits, the second half comparing nonprofits to private arts institutions.

For anyone who has experience on the subject - and with the audience - is that a good start?

I want to be as thorough as possible but I also want a simple hinge on which the whole argument can rest. Any ideas?

Thank you.
posted by holdenjordahl to Media & Arts (6 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: When I have done presentations on this topic, I have found it helpful to "follow" an object or exhibition through its complete process. It could start with the acquisition of a work (and funding sources); curatorial research on the object which then becomes the germ of an exhibition; building an exhibition (loans, fundraising, registrarial matters); conservation; publishing; presentation of the exhibition (education, programming, graphics, interpretation); marketing; opening events; etc. I think people find it easiest to follow a case study that demonstrates how all these functions work together than try to describe them separately. YMMV but I have found this to be a pretty successful approach, at least in terms of trying to explain the mechanisms of a nonprofit art museum.
posted by fiery.hogue at 8:56 PM on October 8, 2015 [4 favorites]


Response by poster: fiery.hogue, that is OUTSTANDING! Thanks.
posted by holdenjordahl at 9:24 PM on October 8, 2015


Best answer: My cousin wrote the book on Chinese Museums. Memail me if you'd like to talk with her. I'm pretty sure she'd be happy to do a phone call, and could provide good insights into the Chinese perspective.
posted by alms at 8:40 AM on October 9, 2015


Best answer: I'd start with a general framework

-public sector (federal and state-level arts orgs and agencies
-private, independent nonprofits (most museums, some performing arts center, etc)
-private for-profits (some theatres, performing arts centers, etc).

As the simple hinge, I would spend some time on why this system is what it is, explaining that our not-for-profit structure is designed to incentive citizens to do charitable and cultural work that is beyond the scope of government agencies and investment and might not be sustainable using market forces alone. So we have diversified our arts organizational structures in order to maximize the ability for the arts to thrive in all three sectors, rather than investing all the expectation in only one, because each has their constraints.
posted by Miko at 10:49 AM on October 9, 2015


Best answer: ...and then obviously you could go into the structures, advantages, and constraints of each and how they mix into a comprehensive "arts system."
posted by Miko at 5:32 PM on October 9, 2015


Response by poster: Thanks Alms and Miko. This has all been great!
posted by holdenjordahl at 2:52 PM on October 19, 2015


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