September 02, 2002
Art VS. Profit
When exactly did it become an incontrovertible truth that arts organizations should be run like for-profit businesses? Certainly no one would argue that a dose of fiscal sanity and even occasional conservatism is no bad thing in the service of art, but recently, there seems to be a general assumption that art should pay its own way or hit the road. And that, says Peter Dobrin, is a dangerous philosophy. "Marketing teams are now part of the artistic planning process from the inception of an idea, weighing in on whether repertoire will win audiences. No surprise that programming has grown conservative. The spirit of daring at the Opera Company of Philadelphia can't be heard amid the din of a march from Carmen."Posted at September 02, 2002 12:05 PM | Arts
