Leadership Qualities Essential for the Emerging Arts Manager and the Challenges that Lie Before Them
Today’s emerging arts manager is faced with several challenges that current and former arts managers did not have to consider at all or as much throughout their careers. With the advent of technology, struggles to make community connections, and seemingly endless economic downturns, arts managers must find new and innovative strategies to reach out to people of all ages. These strategies can only be developed by an arts manager who understands that they must possess certain leadership qualities to be truly effective. These qualities include, but are certainly not limited to being flexible, relationship-motivated, and actively engaged in the community.
Recent studies show that with the ever-increasing accessibility of technology, arts audiences are turning to non-traditional modes of arts consumption. The National Endowment for the Arts conducted a research study (Novak-Leonard & Brown 2008) to explore in what modes arts participants were consuming art. It was found that only 8% of American adults are only participating in a traditional mode; attending a live performance, and 10% are only participating in new media-based modes (p. 16). This research shows that media-based arts consumption, such as watching a YouTube video or seeing a Met: Live in HD opera, is becoming more popular than going to a concert hall or art gallery to participate in the arts. As Twenty-First Century arts managers, we must be able to be flexible to this kind of paradigm shift.
In his book, Management and the Arts, William Byrnes (2009) states, “It is a simple fact that if the enterprise does not adapt to changes in the world, it is likely to be less effective fulfilling its mission; and if it is too rigid or too slow to change, it will cease to exist” (p. 86). The nonprofit arts organization is different than the sister for-profit model, in that it exists to fulfill a mission while serving its community; whereas a for-profit arts business serves itself and its investors by generating profit. In order to serve a community, emerging arts managers must be cognizant of the shifting modes in which participates are consuming art.
Although one must be flexible and aware of new, up-and-coming ideas surrounding the arts, the roots of the product are not to be forgotten. In the same NEA study (2008) it found that a total of 26% of adult arts participants consumed art in all modes: attendance, creation, and media-based (p. 16). If an emerging arts manager becomes too devoted to exploring new ideas, he runs the risk of forgetting a significant portion of the arts community who still enjoy traditional modes of consumption, either alone or with other modes. If we are to truly become innovative, we must build upon that which works well and improve it in a way that expands our reach into the community.
Additionally, in order to insure the existence of the nonprofit arts organization, emerging arts managers must prioritize active engagement in the communities they serve. In an essay developed for the Exemplar Program, an arm of Americans for the Arts, Ron Chew (2009) states, “These groups [arts organizations] have survived because they’ve been able to initiate and sustain meaningful, creative, and enduring collaborations with other stakeholders in the quest for community betterment” (p. 15). If nonprofits continue to seek support of important community figures, they must be dedicated to using the art and mission of the organization to serve, engage, and improve the communities to which they belong.
In his essay, Mr. Chew (2009) is confident that “Opportunities will abound to reassert the connection of the arts to community service, shedding new light on the constructive role of community-based arts organizations” (p.6). Emerging arts leaders must take advantage of these opportunities to build relationships with members of the community to help their organizations grow and thrive. Byrnes (2009) states similarly, “...leadership is about the future and creating sustainable organizations through working with people” (p. 222).
Since the “Great Recession” of 2008, Americans are cutting back on spending more than ever. According to a 2011 survey by Catherine Rampell, American families spent 7% less on entertainment than the previous year and 5.2% less on charitable donations (p. 1). These are two of the most important contributing factors to any nonprofit arts organization. In a world where an arts consumer can sit in the comfort of his own home and enjoy a high-quality classical performance for a fraction of what it would cost to go to a classical venue, the arts organization struggles to earn enough revenue to keep its doors open.
Orchestras across America are finding this out the hard way. Many are dealing with striking musicians, head-butting contract negotiations, bankruptcy, and even complete failure. Fortunately this is not the case for all orchestras. Some, like the Buffalo Philharmonic, are not only managing to survive these economic hardships, they are thriving! In an article published in Niagara-Wheatfield Tribune, J. Maloni (2012) reports, “At its annual meeting on Sept. 20, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Society announced achievement of a balanced budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year, which ended Aug. 31, 2012, and substantial growth in both audience and contributions” (p. 1). So what is Buffalo doing that the failing orchestras are not? According to JoAnn Falletta, music director of the BPO, “… we continue to stretch artistically and give our audiences a chance to grow with us” (p. 1).
The BPO is successful because they are focused on two things, creating world-class music and connecting with their neighbors in Buffalo. Without this focus Buffalo would not be able to be as successful as they have been. In the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the BPO increased attendance by 7.5%, ticket sales by 7.8%, and the total number of subscribers by 10.6% (p.1 ). These numbers are staggering, even before they are put into context with the current economic climate in the United States.
Emerging arts managers have a tremendous responsibility as they are entering the field in one of the most tumultuous economic times our country has seen since the beginning of the profession. In order to be truly successful, one must be flexible, innovative, and willing to build relationships with community members. By mastering these skills, along with others, emerging arts managers can grow deep the roots of the nonprofit arts organization and secure its role in the fabric of American culture.
