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Info You Can Use: Insurance Pocket Guides for Artists

April 11, 2011

by:

Joe Patti

As part of their never ending battle to become the best friend of everyone in the arts profession, Fractured Atlas has created a website for a series of pocket guides to insurance for performing and visual artists they have developed. There is a specific guide to each discipline- music, teaching artists, theatre, dance, public artists, visual artists, craft artists and film. There is a note that guides for other groups like independent contractors and radio producers are on the way.

The guides are short and pretty easy to understand. There are fun little prompts to get you to read further

“Since this is a solo operation, I don’t have anyone I pay but I do shamelessly ask friends to move my gear. Done under duress or not, that’s still considered volunteering. Do them a favor. Volunteer Accident [Insurance]

And the answers found on those pages also employ a little humor:

“In a claim, you pay the first $250 and the insurance company will cover the rest. That’s to keep you from filing a claim for the $30 of Medicated ChapStick you bought your trumpet player after your six hour rehearsal. “

The guides cover everything from general liability coverage for groups and individuals, volunteer accidents, workers’ comp, property coverage (including instrument insurance), touring, disability, health and insurance for boards of directors.

But probably of most value is recent guide they have added about the new health reform law and how it relates to artists. I had been wondering what the implications of the law might be for the arts. Though there is clearly still work to be done, from what the guide says, many artists can breath a little easier and should be able to have insurance and a place to live instead of choosing between them.

Fractured Atlas encourages everyone to participate in getting health insurance:

If we’re going to hold insurance companies accountable, then we must also ensure a stable risk pool with full participation by everyone in the United States workforce. We are all players in the system, and our actions impact its economic balance.

That’s why the law includes an individual mandate which requires that all Americans have health insurance or face tax penalties. The only way to prevent a spiral of ever-increasing premiums is to ensure that we’ve all got some skin in this game.

Art(ist) Education, Government Relations, Info You Can Use

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Does Screaming and Demeaning Treatment Make the Show Better?

April 6, 2011

by:

Joe Patti

The big discussion on the LinkedIn Performing Arts Manager forum right now is about the design of a Masters Program in Cultural Leadership. The conversation was slow in starting but sort of took off in the last couple weeks. I mention this just in passing in case anyone else wants to join the discussion and note the source of my post topic.

Anne Marie Quigg recently mentioned in the discussion that she was going to be delivering a conference presentation on her book about bullying in the arts. Bullying is a hot topic in general these days, mostly in schools. But we really don’t discuss it that much in the arts. Or rather, we grouse when we experience it, but we don’t really talk about needing to address it as a matter that undermines the health of the industry, organizations and individuals.

The description of the book notes that really awful people and situations are tolerated because they produce exceptional artistic products and that there is no really concerted effort to change that environment.

“Anne-Marie Quigg researched whether the behaviour represented isolated, rare occurrences in specific creative environments or if it was indicative of a more widespread problem in the arts and cultural sector. She discovered the highest level of bullying recorded in any single employment sector in the UK.

Bullying in the Arts reveals Dr Quigg’s findings, including the personal, organisational, legal and economic consequences of bullying behaviour. Looking at the experiences of countries such as Australia, Canada, France, Sweden, and the United States, this book challenges the notion that the arts are beyond the limitations of the ordinary milieu, exempt from the rules and regulations governing the treatment of employees. “

There have already been mentions in other articles that young leaders reject the premise that one must give their lives to the organization and pay their dues like their predecessors did and prefer a work-life balance. For this reason, many young leaders entering the field don’t aspire to the executive director role.

If this is indeed the trend, (heck, even if it isn’t) it indicates the necessity to address the negative pressures across all areas of the arts and not just administration. It is difficult to believe that only those with ambitions in administration are reticent to embrace the current lifestyle of arts managers and the performers and designers are just fine with the way things are.

Being an artist doesn’t convey a special grace that absolves one of behavior that would get people in most professions fired. Restaurant kitchens are notoriously rough places to work (and they have knives!) and there is a similar debate over the supremacy of the head chef (the way it has always been) vs. the idea that the food doesn’t taste any better for all the screaming.

Given that my experience is mostly in theatrical production and presenting, I am not entirely familiar with the world of dance, opera, classical music and visual art. Are there attempts to address this problem in other areas? What sort of behaviors and practices need to be changed?

General Musings, Leadership, Management Philosophy, State of the Arts

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Advocate For The Real Artistic You

April 5, 2011

by:

Joe Patti

Many people I follow on Twitter made note of the flashmob activity that happened on Capitol Hill as part of Arts Advocacy Day. I clicked the link to see what interesting thing the arts people converging on the Capitol to talk to their representatives had done.

I have to say, I was pretty disappointed. I am generally not very critical here and rarely directly critical of a specific effort so I think this is saying something.

The whole idea, the thing that is exciting, about arts flash mobs is that they occur in places you don’t expect them providing an arts experience out of the context of the space. Singing a patriotic song like “America, The Beautiful” on Capitol Hill doesn’t really push that boundary and give the thrill of experience that makes you think about the value and place of the arts in your lives the way the Knight Foundation’s Random Acts of Culture program does.

It might not be entirely appropriate, but the first song that entered my mind as an alternative was Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” The title has the sense of converging on Capitol Hill and the lyrics talk about a man and woman switching places to gain an empathy for the other. That sort of understanding being a desired outcome for the day’s efforts.

Yeah, it is easy for me to criticize sitting at my computer 5,000 miles away rather than participating in the advocacy efforts. I just think something so safe does a disservice to all those artists who are walking into the offices of representatives who are hostile or indifferent to their cause. A flash mob of arts people should make a statement about all those things we say the arts do–bring change, push boundaries, make people think, excite, etc. At the very least, it should be a statement that the arts people are in Washington and be a source of morale and courage for those who have the face the steely gazes, dismissive smiles and condescending tones of various politicians.

It should be be manifestation of Amy Scheidegger’s Artistic Rebuttal Book which made the trip to D.C. There are a lot of disruptive pokes and prods in that book. But an artist walking into a representative’s office is a more disruptive presence than this flash mob was.

Perhaps the decision to do a flash mob thing was an actual flash effort organized at the last minute and wasn’t really thought out or organized. And granted, you can’t make a lot of sudden unexpected moves in the Capitol without making security very nervous. In the future maybe something more engaging can be planned and executed in another forum. To me it just kinda came off as an attempt to assure legislators that arts people are good patriotic Americans rather than subversive socialists as is widely believed and that they won’t do anything upsetting during their visits.

Arts people shouldn’t have to make any statements about their loyalty. While a legislative office visit isn’t the time to exhibit your “Musings on an Abattoir,” there is nothing to be lost by making people nervous that the work might appear. That is just an illustration of the power of the artist in society.

Government Relations, Leadership

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Info You Can Use: Good Governance Policies

April 4, 2011

by:

Joe Patti

There is an old adage about the cleanliness of a restaurant restroom being indicative of the care being used in the kitchen for food preparation. There really isn’t an actual relationship between these two facts, but a dirty restroom is enough to give one pause.

The Non-Profit Law blog says the IRS takes a similar stance on whether you check Yes or No on your Form 990 about the presence of policies in the following areas:

* Conflict of Interest Policy (Part VI, Section B)
* Executive compensation approval process (Part VI, Section B)
* Document Retention and Destruction Policy (Part VI, Section B)
* Gift Acceptance Policy (Schedule M)
* Meeting minutes document practices (Part VI, Section A)
* Review process of Form 990 by the Board of Directors (Part VI, Section B)
* Whistleblower Policy (Part VI, Section B)
* Joint Venture Policy, if applicable (Part VI, Section B)
* Policies regarding chapters, affiliates, and branches, if applicable (Part VI, Section B)

It is not illegal to lack these policies, but their absence can be a sign of poor governance and therefore contribute to a decision by the IRS to subject an organization to greater scrutiny.

Emily Chan notes that just because you have policies in these areas doesn’t mean you are covered. It is important to evaluate the policies to ensure they are appropriate for your organization and its ability to adhere to them, comply with the law, are understood and actually practiced.

She supplies the following helpful info: “Note changes to policies are not required to be reported to the IRS unless such polices or procedures are contained within the organizing documents or bylaws and regarding certain subject matter such as conflicts of interests. See Form 990 Instructions.”

If an organization doesn’t have a policy, Chan advises not rushing to formulate them out of a desire to appear to be exercising good governance for public relations reasons (and to perhaps avoid the IRS’ steely gaze). Poor policy being nearly as bad as no policy. Proper policy takes time to formulate so give yourself the time to develop it. In her tips for evaluating existing policies there is an implication that one should avoid adopting the policies of other organizations in any significant degree.

The guidance she provides for creating new policies is:

Thoughtful considerations about how to get to “yes” can include questions such as:

* Which policies have a higher priority based on the circumstances of the organization? For example, an organization that frequently accepts non-cash gifts may have a more pressing urgency to adopt a useful gift acceptance policy as opposed to an organization that hardly, if ever, accepts donations from the public.
* What are anticipated governance issues or past governance issues that these policies should address?
* What kind of capacity limitations – staff, financial resources, or otherwise – should we be mindful of in drafting and adopting a new policy?
* What is the projected timeline for drafting such policy and presenting it to the board?
* If anticipating a prolonged delay (due to resources, time, etc.) before formally adopting such policies, what problems might this cause and what can the organization do to help mitigate these risks?
* Is the organization prepared to explain to the IRS, its constituents, or others why it currently does not have a certain policy and articulate its action plan moving forward to adopt one?

Additionally, it is important to note an organization lacking the recommended policies is not without any recourse on the Form 990. For example, Schedule O (2010) allows for supplemental narratives to further explain the policies or processes used at the organization to address these governance concerns.

Boards, Government Relations, Info You Can Use

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