What are the key priorities of most New Orleans arts organizations over the next 18 months?
STC: Programming issues range from the challenges of adequate housing for artists to lack of venues and volunteers. We’re looking at real change in the emphasis of our organizations, having to look at the most basic needs, having to work collaboratively on issues like marketing. Our audiences have changed; our venues have changed. We also need to help people understand where the money is and isn’t. It’s a different funding world; we lost a lot of our corporate base. Even our long-term, most stable organizations have to adjust. For example, one of our museums has to raise $15 million over the next three years to make up its losses. There’s also a real need for ongoing sustainability coaching, strategic planning, and the opportunity to come together periodically as a group. We need to help people learn what the right questions are to ask, get them to ask themselves those questions, and decide if their mission is still valid in the current climate. NEA: What were some of the outcomes of t
