Another Conference I Can't Attend

The 15th International Conference on Cultural Economics:

6/12-6/15 in Boston

Including:
-Scale, Scope and "Crowding Out" in the Nonprofit Lively Arts: Economic Analysis of Organizations in a Geographic Market
-The Socioeconomic Composition of Arts Participation: Definitions, Evidence and Policy Issues
- Innovation in the Cultural Industries
- Artists' Demographic Characteristics and Employment Patterns in the US
- To Dare or Not to Dare: Key Risks in London's Cultural Industries
- Tax Incentives as a Tool for Cultural Policy: The Experience of Japan, Italy, and Bulgaria

Oh boy. Four days of cultural economics freakout-geekout in my hometown? And it overlaps NPAC? Why does everything happen when I'm already busy? Phooey.

Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP)

No, I didn't get hit by a bus - just buried under some exams and term papers. Hopefully I'll put out a mini-avalanche of posts in the next few days to catch up.

First, I wanted to highlight the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), a new annual survey designed to track what artists actually do with their lives once they leave school.

Besides Theatrefacts, I can't think of another long-term study of cultural engagement and involvement. (If I'm missing something, please let me know!) I can't figure out how they're choosing the survey participants, but I'd be happy to volunteer.

From the press release:

SNAAP is a visually engaging online survey system to collect, track, and disseminate national data about the artistic lives and careers of alumni who trained as visual, performing, or literary artists at both the high school and college levels. As an ongoing research system, it will allow education institutions, researchers and arts leaders to look at the systemic factors that helped or hindered the career paths of alumni, whether they have chosen to work as artists or pursue other paths.

Neither an exit nor a longitudinal survey, SNAAP will be administered as an annual survey of alumni at specified junctures following their institutionally-based arts training 5, 10, 15 and 20 years after graduation. Once fully operational, SNAAP findings will allow for national and other comparisons and can be disaggregated in various other ways so that institutions can better understand, for example, how students in different majors use their arts training in their careers and other aspects of their lives.

So. Excited. About. This.

Weekend Reading

I am in love with Leonard Jacobs' interview with Andrei Belgrader and the cast of BAM's Endgame.

Alvin Epstein, currently playing Nagg, played Lucky in the first US performance of Waiting for Godot, and played Clov in the first US performance of Endgame. Forgive the italics - it's the best I can do for a national treasure.

From the interview - Elaine Stritch, on Beckett's intelligence:

Beckett must have been some sort of a fucking genius. I think he was one hell of a smart son of a bitch. I'm just getting this off my chest.

Finals this week! Back to posting next week.

Weekend Listening

I just discovered this archive of Americans for the Arts video and sound recordings (thanks, Mission Paradox). I'm looking forward to listening to Daniel Pink's address at this year's Arts Advocacy day on the train home tonight - I've heard it was amazing. Also featured: speeches from the 2007 Americans for the Arts convention, 2007 Arts Advocacy Day, and the Americans for the Arts podcast, ARTcast.

Weekend Reading

I know, I know, I should probably change the name of this blog to "Sarah's Writer-Crush on Lyn Gardner"... but how great is this? Let's clone her.

Obsession: Leechblock

According to Google Analytics, most of my readers use Firefox (also my browser of choice). I want to sing the praises of one particular Firefox Add-on: Leechblock.

Leechblock takes about 30 seconds to install, and once it's up and running, you can use it to block time-wasting sites. I've created a few different sets of blocks, like one set of sites is blocked for my entire work day, one set is blocked after I've spent 15 minutes on the site, etc. Suddenly my papers are being written in record time, and I am no longer cruising Facebook all day checking out my middle-school boyfriend's profile. Even emerging arts leaders need some time-management help once in a while.

Lifehacker keeps track of the best Firefox Add-ons, if you're interested in other ways to soup up your browser.

Philadelphia: Christmas in April

This is a nice wrap-up of the massive bailout of Philadelphia's no-longer-flailing Kimmel Center.

My favorite part comes at the end

Now that the debt is gone, Ewers said, the Kimmel will concentrate on two other ambitious efforts: enlivening the public spaces of the center, which are currently populated only around performance times, and undertaking an acoustical remake of Verizon Hall.

Questions about the acoustical work involve not only how to fund it, but also whether the hall's original acoustician or another firm should undertake the effort. Strategies for enlivening the public spaces were unveiled last week in a series of ideas crafted by PennPraxis, the University of Pennsylvania planning authority, proposing physical changes to the building.

Ooh, go with the original acoustician! He deserves a second crack at it.