As Sarah mentioned in her recent post, a cornerstone of our research and inspiration for ArtsPool is linked to the sharing economy. At its heart, the sharing economy and its dramatic rise has exposed a shift from, “…a world where we’re organized around ownership to one organized around access to assets…”[1]

In the world of the arts, ownership, or more broadly institutionalization, has often translated into increased infrastructure, which the field then struggles to sustain. Part of the challenge is that traditional notions of ownership and institutionalization place a premium on having your own space, your own staff, etc. But, that infrastructure quickly loses its value if we’re spending a disproportionate amount of our time trying to maintain and pay for that infrastructure and spending less and less time, money, and other resources delivering on our core purpose.

We’re not alone. The entire economy has shifted and many are turning to sharing as a potential solution. Read More…

On Sunday, February 23rd, I had the pleasure of participating on a panel (Arts Research Now: NYC Dance in Context) at the Dance/NYC Symposium, hosted at the Gibney Dance Center. On the panel with me were: Anne Dunning of Arts Action Research, Ian David Moss of Fractured Atlas, Jennifer Wright Cook of The Field, Monica Valenzuela of Staten Island Arts, and David Johnston of Exploring the Metropolis. The panel was moderated by Pamela Epstein, Assistant Director, Community Arts Development Program, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

I presented some of our research toward the development of ArtsPool’s business plan, which included the convening of a group of 12 arts organizations, varying in size and scope, to serve as a sample set for our research. With this group, we conducted a series of interviews, focus groups, and data gathering, which included reviews of CDP resources, budgets, contracts, corporate documents, etc. Though nuances varied (one group found payroll to be a struggle where another found it to be an easy task), the overall need for better organized and more efficient operations was heavily underscored through our conversations with these developmental participants. Read More…