Er, ahem, I was mistaken…

A couple of posts ago, I was very excited about the giant video screens on the lawn and over the pavilion stage at Ravinia. My posse returned to Ravinia Festival on Sunday and found, alas, that the video screens were nowhere to be found. I gave the box office a call and learned that the screens were a temporary feature installed in conjunction with Ravinia’s annual fundraising gala held that weekend. As you may have heard, that gala featured Dame Kiri Te Kawana in her last Chicago performance (perhaps she will change her mind) — certainly very deserving of all manner of videoscreens. But I’m sorry we can’t have them for every performance.

Latinos in the fine arts – questions, questions

I was just reading “600 words by Esther J. Cepeda,” a fine blog you should check out. In her recent postings about Latinos in the fine arts, she points to ways that white-dominated arts orgs can, could and should bring diversity into their offerings. As she observes, given the rich artistic traditions in any given ethnic community, why don’t we see more members of these communities on mainstream stages? What talents are we not seeing on stage — or in charge of the stage — and why not? It’s not necessarily racism at work, I don’t think, but has more to do with friends working with friends and shared networks of influence. It’s true that arts orgs, like for-profit corporations, occasionally go about their “diversity initiatives” in ways that are accidentally insensitive — road to hell paved with good intentions and all that. To Cepeda’s insights, I’d also ask why it can be as hard to diversify the audience as it is the stage. My theory is that arts orgs, ethnic or white, don’t always market to audiences beyond their base, e.g., investing advertising dollars in ethnic media or soliciting program ad trades with a more broad range of orgs. Diversity on the stage is a good place to start, but that’s not all. For more on this topic — ask Esther J. Cepeda! I’m just here to ask the questions.

Ravinia gets its multimedia on!

My posse and I made our first foray this season to the Ravinia Festival yesterday and I was excited to see a ginormous video screen facing the main lawn. Another screen, nearly as large, now hangs over the stage in the pavilion. This is a wonderful way to bring a visual element of the performance to those of us who enjoy the lawn more than the pavilion (see my previous posts about music in the great outdoors). Because the concert featured the hugely popular Lang Lang, our view was blocked by a beautiful tree…but I’ll take a good tree view anytime. I did spend some time wandering about watching Lang Lang in close-up. Note to self: Arrive earlier to snag a picnic spot in the video sight line!

P.S. The concert included an opportunity to buy Lang Lang’s freshly published memoir and have him autograph it. I know he is a red-hot star, but isn’t age 26 a little early to start writing your memoirs? I’m just sayin’…

Building your online presence on a tight budget?

The Chronicle of Philanthropy hosted an interesting online discussion today about networking on the Web. It’s chock-full of insights and tips for getting started with search engine optimization, social networking and the like. I learned a lot (but I had a lot to learn!). While the participants were mostly social service organizations, the information is equally relevant to any arts organization that wants to work the Web and isn’t sure how to go about it. While I’m not sure whether the transcript is available to non-subscribers, it’s probably worth the price of a subscription. This is a useful publication for all nonprofit managers!

http://philanthropy.com/live/2008/07/tight_budget/

A most interesting piece of mail from the Joffrey Ballet

Going through a rather intimidating pile of post-vacation “snail” mail, I came across an intriguing package from the Joffrey Ballet. In case you haven’t heard — has anyone not heard? — the Joffrey is completing a capital campaign for its stunning new headquarters currently under construction in downtown Chicago. What I received was a catchy solicitation package for the campaign. It consists of a full-color brochure, with attached self-mailer, in a brown “Moving Up and Moving In” wrapper, all wrapped in a reprint of Hedy Weiss’ March 8 article about the project in the Chicago Sun-Times. While the package itself was informative, I was a little surprised to receive it, because I am not exactly a regular patron of the Joffrey. In fact, I’ve been once in the past five years, having seen the Anthony Tudor show this spring. I enjoyed it very much, but does that me a likely donor? When I am far more attached to certain other arts orgs in town? It’s an expensive gamble, imo.

And while I’m on the subject…bring classical music to the club-hoppers!

Thinking further about performing arts in the outdoors, I continue to be stuck on this idea that we need to bring fine arts into unusual settings if we want to reach new audiences. Chicago Chamber Musicians has just launched an interesting partnership with the Chicago Architecture Foundation along these very lines, bringing chamber music into the halls of selected local architectural gems. Each concert includes a docent-led tour and reception along with the concert. A fine idea, imo. I am also intrigued by the urban nightlife approach, as described in this recent NY Times article about mixing it up with jazz and pop. For those of us who grew up attending rock concerts and playing in youth symphony, a nightclub sounds like a perfectly comfortable place to hear some classical music.

Performing in the great outdoors

As I floated down the San Juan River in southeast Utah last not long ago with a hearty group of family members, friends and friendly guides, I was thinking about how many performing artists I know love hiking, canoeing, backpacking and other outdoor adventures. Judging by the number of outstanding performing festivals held in outstanding locations, it seems that many patrons love the outdoors as well. Thus it was with great appreciation that I saw an announcement about Morton Arboreteum’s summer “Theater Hikes and Theater Bikes” series. This seems like a fantastic idea to me, bringing together the natural treasures of the arboreteum with theater performances. Similarly, seeing The Tempest performed on the lawn of Lake Forest College in the now-defunct “Shakespeare on the Green” series was an enjoyable change from the indoor stage environment, esp. for a play that so involves nature. Having just been in Utah, I wish I could return for the Moab Music Fest, which presents chamber music concerts in a natural red rock amphitheater (among other places). If you have ever seen the red cliffs in southeast Utah, you will know this is a magnificent environment for music. Nature stirs the soul and so the arts, which is why bringing them together can be a successful strategy for attracting audiences that may not necessarily enjoy the typical concert hall setting.