I was a little nervous that there might be some competition for my status as the only (to my knowledge) theatre manager who actively blogs. I was over looking at Artsmanager.org, a service of the Kennedy Center which offers itself as a resource for arts managers.
What made me nervous was the “Lessons from the Field” section where Kennedy Center president Michael Kaiser talks about the organizations he worked for or that his consultant business helped out. The case studies he presents are interesting reads.
Unfortunately, (because I would actually be happier if more managers blogged) it doesn’t appear like much on the website has been updated since March. It looks like they started out strongly enough in January adding some good content but then had their attention diverted to other things.
I have found more complete information and resource links elsewhere, but I will say I like their Q&A section where people can submit questions to be answered. The questions posed are unlike those answered pretty much anywhere else I have come across. For example-“What payroll taxes apply to board members who are paid for their services?” “Is it wise to write a letter to the editor in response to bad press?” and “What kind of listserv should I use?”
I think if they made the Q&A section the core purpose of the site it would be a great resource for arts organizations on its own. Not only would they be addressing questions whose answers aren’t easily found in one place, in the course of researching answers, they can identify more resources for that section of the site.
So, operating under the assumption that the Q&A section hasn’t been updated due to lack of questions, (and hoping that it isn’t lack of personnel), I encourage people to pose some questions. (bottom of page)