Michael Kaiser has a new column entry for the Huffington Post today – here’s the gist of it:
Too many of our great arts institutions have migrated from the typical challenge of balancing the annual budget to a far deeper evaluation of their very viability.
Earned income has failed to keep up with inflation and fundraising has plummeted for too many organizations. It is not uncommon to read about huge deficits and cancelled seasons. Not surprisingly, orchestras are suffering the most and the most visibly (although no art form is immune). Orchestras have the highest level of fixed costs and therefore are the least flexible during hard times; they simply cannot lower costs as much as dance or theater companies who can save money by doing smaller works or museums that can mount exhibitions from their own collections.
This has left many suggesting that we need new models for running arts organizations (although I have yet to hear any suggestions of new models that could save large organizations like orchestras, ballet companies and opera companies) and others looking for draconian cuts to the budgets of the institutions they love.