As we emerge from the pandemic, it has become clear that the destabilizing effects have contributed to a new normal in our sector. Audiences behaviors have changed, ticket sales are down, and financial stress is felt at organizations of all sizes. Though the immediate crisis has ended, we have entered a period of sustained hardship in which we are constantly inundated by crises of a smaller scale that drain our resources and challenge organizational capacity.

To help arts leaders and organizations in the region adapt to the new normal and build their resiliency, we are planning a suite of targeted support for those facing prolonged hardship.

From identifying trends in the sector to engaging with policy influencers, consider CultureSource your advocate in adapting to the collective challenges we face.

Whatever challenges you or your organization are facing, know that you are not alone. Join CultureSource and our lineup of experts to get calibrated to sector-wide trends, and share inspiration with peers and colleagues that are facing similar challenges.

What’s Happening? Sessions

Convening Leaders

CEO Roundtables
Cohosted by Diana Abouali (Arab American National Museum), DeLashea Strawder (Mosaic Youth Theatre), Susan Westoff (Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum/Leslie Nature & Science Center)

From September through November, we’ll convene the CEOs and executive directors from CultureSource member organizations to dissect common issues faced by leaders across the sector. These guided conversations will give colleagues a chance to share ideas, develop collaborations, and build camaraderie with peers. You can also join us online, all the time, via instant messaging on Slack.

To join the CEO Roundtable series or on Slack, email us at [email protected]

Find past events. Find information about past events and key takeaways on our resource library.

What’s Next? CultureSource is developing a how-to series that will provide guidance for responding to the sector-wide trends identified in What’s Happening.

We continue to maintain our popular Funding page, which features CultureSource grant programs, external grant opportunities, and a listing of RFPs and open calls-for-art.

Convening Arts Program Officers
CultureSource hosts a monthly roundtable of arts program officers from local and national foundations to keep them informed of the realities faced by many arts organizations. We will continue to facilitate these meetings as a way to support the vitality of the arts in Southeast Michigan.

The more information we have about the state of the arts sector in Southeast Michigan, the better prepared we will be to respond to the challenges that come next. We are continuing to engage with our three core research partners; the AEI Lab at Indiana University, 8 Bridges Workshop, and WolfBrown to identify opportunities to conduct relevant research that empowers arts organizations to make data-driven decisions.

We are exploring potential new studies to identify:

• Common challenges faced by Southeast Michigan arts organizations
• The creative economic ecosystem in Southeast Michigan
• Leadership and management during sustained hardship

We understand that for the regional arts sector to thrive, it needs long-term, consistent commitments from policy makers and influencers in our state.

To accelerate this objective, CultureSource will host an advisory meeting with employees from our member organizations to identify the collective policy priorities of our creative community. This discussion, facilitated by CultureSource’s Omari Rush and The Henry Ford’s George Moroz, will explore the advantages of having a formal representative for the arts sector to advance our interests in Lansing.

Insights and action items from this planning meeting with be shared via our monthly newsletter.

We know news and headlines are constantly whizzing by you…here are some things we’ve recently tuned into and key insights you don’t want to miss. We’d like to thank our friends at the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance for helping us compile these articles. 

Despite its challenges, the pandemic has revealed an opportunity for arts leaders and administrators to rethink the work culture at their organizations. Instead of reverting back to the traditional models of work, investigate these resources to help you consider new ways of working in the post-pandemic era and beyond.

More Information