On Speaking The Truth

A colleague said in a meeting last week that we must be able to speak the truth to each other and to those we enter into dialogue with. In this climate of hard times, where we are constantly trying to maintain good relationships, survive and ensure sustainability into the future, it's something all of us can and should carry with us.

But what does speaking the truth mean? To me, the truth:

• is what the speaker believes to be the honest, clear reality at the time he or she speaks it;
• is frank, open and honest;
• is not always easy to hear or to speak;
• is not spoken in a mean or mean-spirited way;
• can change during a dialogue, if the discourse is open-minded and ego-free;
• is not taken personally by the listener, although it can be challenged providing the listener is also frank, open and honest, and willing to be open-minded and ego-free.

We work with and for Artists, who speak their own truths through their work all the time. We want them to do this. It is what Art is for. As a society, we rely on them to do exactly this, illuminating both the pleasant and unpleasant truths. Now, more than ever, we need to not be afraid to follow their example and speak our own truths - have our own dialogues with those who need to hear our message, be they other Artists, Organizations, Patrons, Sponsors, Funders or Colleagues. This is the only way we will progress and the only way we can survive.

Happy New Year!

When it seems as though things will never go well, disaster is all around me, and those around me are also down, I am often fond of saying, "It's only theatre/a festival/ballet! It's not world peace." And this is true. Nobody will die or lose a limb because of what I do or don't do that day - things are rarely that urgent. HOWEVER, what we do in the Arts is vital for our society and I feel truly fortunate to be able to work towards this every day and be a part of the transcendent, joyous, profound and beautiful process that is ART.

Wising everyone the very best for 2011. May better times be ahead.

Wading In...

Although there are so many voices in the whole debate about ballet dancers and body image issues right now, as a former dancer, I feel compelled to weigh in and say my piece. Over the past several days, I have read the National Post article on Alastair Macaulay's comments in the New York Times about one of the Sugar Plum Fairies in New York City Ballet's The Nutcracker, I have read several comments on-line and from colleagues and friends, I have read and heard the hype about the new film, Black Swan, and this morning, I listened to the interview CBC's Jian Gomeshi did with Suzanne Gordon (author of the 1984 book Off Balance) on his show, Q. Following are my comments.

On Mr. Macaulay's view:
In my opinion, the comments made in that review about Jennifer Ringer were just wrong. The dancers in the photo that accompanied the National Post piece showed beautiful artists with healthy, athletic bodies. I cannot fathom what could be wrong with that. They are gorgeous people and in no way anywhere close to overweight.

On the interview with Ms. Gordon on Q:
I cannot deny that eating disorders still exist among some dancers. As a former dancer who currently works in the arts and has a close relationship with dance, I can say that things are different. Where I work, I see healthy dancers who are very careful about maintaining that health and I see Artistic Directors and dance companies who support that. Things are changing.

Ms. Gordon's statements that many dancers (especially young girls) are coerced into staying in ballet by their parents and do not feel they can quit absolutely do not reflect my experience and that of my friends. I trained in Toronto and Montreal with young men and women from across North America. By the time we were training seriously, almost all of us had to fight for our passion. Instead of coercion, we faced opposition from our parents, our schools, and our friends and neighbours. Becoming an artist was not considered a viable career and we had to work very hard to convince those around us that this was the right thing for us to do. Ms. Gordon should not sell dancers short. They are intelligent, passionate people and to imply that they are in dance for anything but the love of it is almost insulting to these artists.

On the Black Swan film:
I need to be clear that I have yet to see the movie, or even the trailer. However, I do know that it is a fictional story, so I believe it is important to remember that whatever is or is not portrayed on screen may or may not be a true reflection of reality. Like any film, it is a director's interpretation of a story, so perspective is important.

And on the subject of perspective, I will only say in closing that it is important for anyone who really wants to know about ballet and dance to take the time to form their own opinions. So ultimately, my recommendation would be to go and see a ballet - or any dance - and form your own opinions about the art form. For me, it is an art form that transcends all boundaries of language and can convey the deepest, most profound emotions in the simplest of gestures, allowing dancers and choreographers to communicate in the universal language that is human movement.

Some Good Information

An analysis of the latest reports on Canadian consumer and government spending on Arts and Culture was recently released by Hill Strategies. If you haven't already seen it, you can find it here. the figures, from 2008, create some very interesting comparisons and highlight some even more interesting trends from just before the economy started to rapidly decline. Despite the size of such an undertaking, I hope that a similar survey can be done for 2010. Some of the figures and trends are likely to be very different in the current environment and the comparison would be very revealing.

Also, for those who completed the Business for the Arts annual Performing Arts Survey last spring, you will probably have received your personalized reports via e-mail. I have to say, I LOVE this aspect, as well as the tools available to survey participants for further analysis and comparison. I know we all get deluged with surveys and requests for information, but I definitely recommend taking the time to do this one. Because so many organizations participate, the results are very comprehensive and quite representative. Using this as well as the data which is available in the CADAC (Canadian Arts Data/Donnees sur les arts au canada) we have some very solid numbers to use in a variety of ways: to make us better within our own organizations, to back up any arguments on the positive influences we have on society as a sector, and so on.

Thinking Strategically

I recently read David La Piana's book, The Non-Profit Strategy Revolution, and had the opportunity to hear him speak. I have never been one to jump on bandwagons, but I am beginning to think this is one that I want to join - the bandwagon of Strategic Thinking. Before I came across Mr. La Piana's work, I had often wished for "five minutes of thought," so that the pros and cons of a given opportunity could be weighed, and thought I was old-fashioned, or even just old, for doing so. It turns out that I was neither alone nor behind the curve.

Strategic Thinking is nothing new-and in and of itself, it really isn't. For years, decades even, the non-profit world, including the Arts, has been engaged in devising Strategy. This has often been referred to as Strategic Planning. As Mr. La Piana so aptly pointed out in his book and at his talk, this practice has become something that many of us see the value of, but rarely see returns from in terms of its actual implementation. As I listened to him speak and read his book, I nodded in agreement with his statements about how pleased we all feel when we finish a Strategic Plan and how discouraged we feel when, several months later, we find that it's already hopelessly out of date and that half of the things we planned to do are either impossible or no longer relevant because circumstances have changed in the meantime.

The things that make David La Piana's methods different are:

• his methods create a flexible structure that can be quickly updated when things change, so that an organization can be pro-active in responding to that change (or in choosing not to respond, if that's appropriate), and
• the concept of Strategic Thinking is normal - in other words, taking a certain amount of time to think something through and determining whether it fits with an organization's mission, vision and goals.

This may seem like common sense, and it is. However, in a world where there are constant demands to say "yes" to everything for fear of being left behind, or worse, not surviving in an era of significant challenge and change, the reminder that it's possible to use strategic thinking and still come out ahead - and in fact, better than ahead - is truly refreshing and reassuring.

David La Piana's ideas may or may not be appropriate for the needs of every organization, but the concept of taking the time to think strategically about whether they are surely is.

Fascinating Reading

I've been reading some fascinating things recently, each in its own way pointing to the value of the Arts in our society.

1. Alain de Botton's The Consolations of Philosophy

In the chapters featuring Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, de Botton points out the importance that both philosophers place on the role of Art and Artists. As Schopenhauer struggled to find a way to explain and cope with the pain caused by love, he turned to Artists. As de Botton explains it, from Schopenhauer's point of view, "Artists and philosophers not only show us what we have felt...they give shape to aspects of our lives that we recognize as our own. They explain our condition to us and thereby help us to be less lonely with, and confused by it...through creative works, we can at least acquire moments of insight into our woes..." Exactly.

Nietzsche used the evolution of great Artists to illustrate his philosophy that one cannot experience true pleasure without also experiencing true suffering. One can have all the talent in the world, but without the pursuit of that talent in the face of adversity (such as Stendhal's perseverance with writing - it took more than a decade of producing "poor plays" before writing one his masterworks, Le Rouge et le noir), success is not possible. Whether you agree with Nietzsche or not, the central place of Art and creativity in his arguments is impossible to miss.

2. Archein, by Joe Costello

This blog is about political economy, and concentrates on the situation in the United States, but what makes Mr. Costello's point of view different than most is its holistic nature. In analyzing the current economic and political situation, he doesn't simply focus on the movements of economic indicators and the actions of politicians. Rather, he writes about the implications of these things to society as a whole. As a result, he often brings in points about history and the social consequences of economic and political developments, including the vital need for creativity.

In his essay-length post, The Design Economy, Mr. Costello points out that in the future "...people as both individuals and collectively as associations are going to be valued as creators, editors, communicators and decision makers, in short we must revalue the citizen." Who better to lead the way in this than Artists, who foster this idea in everything they do? I believe Mr. Costello would support this notion.

3. Hill Strategies Arts Research Monitor, Vol. 9, No. 3, October 2010

This latest bulletin includes a summary of results from recent Canadian and US studies on arts participation and public perception. Of greatest interest to me were the results of the The Arts and Heritage in Canada – Access and Availability 2007 (link provided in the bulletin itself) study from Canadian Heritage, which said that 91% of Canadians believe that "Governments should provide 'support for arts and culture in Canada' ". This speaks to strong public support for the maintenance of government support for what we do and its value to Canadians, especially since the same study showed that Canadians strongly believed that it was Government's responsibility to assist with maintaining accessibility to the Arts. (Note that I place the onus here not on organizations to maintain this accessibility at the expense of financial responsibility. Rather, it is important for governments to assist with making the Arts accessible via helping to defray the cost of producing the Art that Canadians value as an intrinsic part of their society.)

4. Wolf Brown "On Our Minds", October 6, 2010

On the subject of revenue streams and support for the Arts, among the subjects of Wolf Brown's bi-weekly bulletin is the topic of Diversification of Revenue, something that is often required of Arts organizations by various funders and is regarded largely as a positive. An interesting perspective on this topic is provided via the link to Carla Miller's blog post on the subject. Ms. Miller is head of the Nonprofit Finance Fund in the US. The focus is not specifically on the Arts, but on all types of non-profit organizations. However, what she writes about is certainly relevant to anyone in the Arts. The comments by others who have read this post are also extremely interesting and indicate that there is no definitive opinion on this topic. Reading through these comments also reminded me of some of the key differences in the "culture of philanthropy" between the US and Canada.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Bill C-470 Update

I thought I would include an update about bill C-470 this time. As things get going again this fall, Bill C-470 is in committee. While it isn't getting the media attention that the possible demise of the Long Gun Registry is, this bill is still of great concern for many of us.

On August 19, Imagine Canada sent a letter to the Prime Minister and the leaders of the Opposition parties (Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe) outlining the potential consequences of the legislation as proposed and again calling for dialogue. I highly recommend everyone take a look. Aside from the capping of staff compensation at $250,000, there are several issues of particular interest to arts organizations. Among them is the potential invasion of privacy, given that charities would be required to publicly disclose, on their annual Charitable Tax Return, the names of the five staff members earning the highest salaries and their total compensation. I can think of many arts organizations where that would be most or all of their staff. Their salaries, for better or worse, would be posted on the CRA website, alongside their names, for anyone to see.

I'm sure that this invasion of privacy was not uppermost in the minds of those who wrote the bill originally, but I believe it is something that needs to be carefully considered now, along with all of the other issues raised in Imagine Canada's letter. I share all of these concerns.

I want to reiterate that I don't know of any Arts organization (or any charity, for that matter) that has a problem with being accountable for the donor and taxpayer dollars it receives, and that many, many hours are spent ensuring just that. I sincerely hope that Imagine Canada and the rest of the signatories of the letter (among them representatives of several Arts-focussed organizations, including Business for the Arts, the Canadian Arts Summit, the Canadian Conference of the Arts, and Compagnie de danse Marie Chouinard) are successful in securing the dialogue that needs to happen around this bill.

I would also call on all of us to take every opportunity to remind politicians of all political stripes and at every level of government, whether they are campaigning or already in office, that THE ARTS MATTER TO OUR COMMUNITIES. The Arts are an intrinsic, vital part of our societies and society would be a shadow of its former self if the Arts did not exist. Please encourage everyone you know to have an open, positive exchange, a constructive dialogue, and simply let our elected officials know that when they support the Arts, they are doing a really, really good thing for all people.