Michael M. Kaiser, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, will visit the University of Central Arkansas’s Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall on Thurs., July 8, as part of the Arts In Crisis Tour.
Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative, is a response to the emergency facing arts organizations throughout the United States. Kaiser will address the challenges facing non-profit performing arts organizations today through such areas as fundraising, building more effective boards of trustees, budgeting and marketing. “Each locality is dealing with its own unique and specific challenges, and there is no better way to understand each region than through in-person visits,” Kaiser said. “Communicating in person allows us to be more effective in advising organizations in need.”
The tour began in February 2009 and has included arts community conversations in major cities across the country, including Boston, Chicago, San Diego, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Baltimore, Detroit, Cleveland, New York City, Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, Charlotte, Seattle, Grand Rapids, St. Louis, Kansas City, Houston, Dallas, Orlando, Miami, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Phoenix, Bismarck, Santa Fe, Albany, Lincoln, Pierre, Portland, Anchorage, Denver, Salt Lake City and Boise.
The tour will also stop in Little Rock at the Clinton Presidential Center on July 8 prior to the UCA stop.
The initiative has received bipartisan support from such people as First Lady Michelle Obama, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader John Boehner.
At UCA, the College of Fine Arts and Communication will host a reception beginning at 12:45 p.m. Donna Lampkin Stephens, assistant professor of journalism, will interview Kaiser on stage at Reynolds at 1:15 p.m. Audience questions are encouraged. Following the interview, a press conference will begin at 2:45 p.m.
Seating is limited. Call (501) 450-3293 or e-mail jdlooney@uca.edu to reserve seats.
Prior to his arrival at the Kennedy Center in 2001, Kaiser oversaw management successes at the Kansas City Ballet, Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Foundation, American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Opera House. He has written The Art of the Turnaround: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations (2008); Strategic Planning in the Arts: A Practical Guide (1995); Developing Industry Strategies: A Practical Guide to Industry (1983); and Understanding the Competition: A Practical Guide to Competitive Analysis (1981).
Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative is funded by Helen Lee Henderson and Adrienne Arsht. For more information, visit www.artsincrisis.org.
