As a casual observer of the arts scene (and perhaps even an avid supporter and attendee of concerts) you might not be able to see through all of the raging arguments in online forums surrounding the ailing arts organization. Barry Johnson over at the Oregonian has written a very thoughtful column about the facts surrounding the troubles of Oregon Ballet Theatre, and it’s a good template for how to approach thinking about any arts organization that’s going through difficulties.
Arts organizations in trouble are messy places. Passions run high. The fickle finger of blame gets pointed this way and that. People worry about their jobs and about the future of the art form. It’s awful.
If we’re looking in from outside, we wonder how we can make sense of it all, what we can possibly do about it and how much it really matters.
That describes almost any organization in trouble, arts or not, but right now, we’re talking about Oregon Ballet Theatre, which is in big trouble. The company, as we’ve reported, needs to raise $750,000 by June 30. The alternatives include shutting its doors for good.
Fortunately, we have people around who are used to peering into the chaos of a thrashing arts group and figuring out how to proceed. Arts consultant George Thorn, for example, has been working with the company and has helped reorganize its budgeting process to help stabilize its situation in the next fiscal year.
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