Minnesota arts managers represent in national leadership program

Posted at 9:00 AM on September 26, 2011 by Marianne Combs
Filed under: Arts management

Six arts managers from Minnesota have been selected to participate in a national leadership program designed "to re-imagine how cultural institutions can contribute to civil society." They are:

Kaywin Feldman, Minneapolis Institute of Art
Chris Fischbach, Coffee House Press
Jocelyn Hale, The Loft Literary Center
Michael Henson, Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Lutman, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Laura Zabel, Springboard for the Arts

Called the "Chief Executive Program," the two year initiative brings together 100 arts leaders from around the country. The organizing institution, National Arts Strategies, describes the motivation for the program this way:

We believe that our cultural institutions are at a crossroads at which their relevance and even the role of the arts in civil society are being questioned. Cultural leaders are grappling with many complex and intractable questions. How do you take an institution designed in a bygone era and make it relevant today? How do you compete in an increasingly crowded market? What does a thriving financial model look like for a nonprofit cultural organization? In the face of such difficult questions it's hard to find the time and support to explore the answers. There are exceptional leaders - across the country and abroad - who are working on creative solutions. The challenge is to support these leaders and harness the power of their ideas to create solutions that will reverberate throughout the cultural sector.