Announcing the 2014 Grand Opening Performance Series!

After months of renovation, we are so excited to share with you our 2014 Grand Opening Performance Series! Read on for the full schedule and details about each performance.

“This is an exciting time for lovers of the performing arts,” says MAC Interim Director Diana Martinez. “The MAC has always had a strong reputation, but with updated performance spaces, public areas, and a new art gallery, the MAC promises to be ‘the’ destination to experience the visual and performing arts in the western suburbs.”

The MAC’s 2014 Grand Opening Season’s Performance Series officially opens on Feb. 8 with a performance by Grammy Award-winner ‘Keb Mo’.The MAC will hold its Grand Opening Celebration and MAC Madness Benefit, Saturday, March 8 at 6 p.m. The event, headlined by College of DuPage and Second City alum Jim Belushi and The Chicago Board of Comedy, will be an exciting evening of improvisational comedy with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and more.

The exciting selection of music, literary, comedy and dance events for the MAC’s 2014 Grand Opening Season’s Performance Series is as follows. All events take place in the Performance Hall unless otherwise noted.

Keb' Mo'

Saturday, February 8

8 PM

$50 adult / $48 senior / $40 youth

The MAC’s 2014 Grand Opening Season’s Performance Series opens Saturday, Feb. 8 at

8 p.m. with three-time Grammy Award-winning musician Keb’ Mo’, known for his genre-blending artfulness, intuitive lyrics, unique guitar style, and magnetic onstage charisma.

Secret Concert for Your Valentine

Cleve Carney Art Gallery Dedication and Concert

Sunday, February 16

4 PM

$44 Adult / $42 Senior / $34 Youth

To mark the dedication of the new Cleve Carney Art Gallery, a surprise Grammy Award-winning jazz artist will share his rich vocal flights, edgy lyrics and original compositions in this unforgettable concert. Performer to be announced in January. Dedication at 3 p.m.

College of DuPage Foundation Proudly Presents

MAC Madness - Official MAC Grand Opening Night

Featuring Jim Belushi

Saturday, March 8

6 PM

$250 per Person

An evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and laughs with College of DuPage alumnus and friend Jim Belushi and the Chicago Board of Comedy to benefit and celebrate the programs at the newly renovated McAninch Arts Center. For more information about MAC Madness, call the College of DuPage Foundation
at 630.942.2462 or foundation@cod.edu.

Jim Belushi

Saturday, March 8

9:30 PM

$44 adult / $42 senior / $34 youth

The Grand Opening evening of non-stop improv continues with a second late night show with Jim Belushi and the Chicago Board of Comedy.  Saturday, March 8 at 9:30 p.m.

David Sedaris

Sunday, March 16

7 PM
$60 adult / $58 senior / $50 youth

David Sedaris, known for his sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, performs readings of his newest work in “An Evening with David Sedaris,” Sunday, March 16 at 7 p.m. “Sedaris’ droll assessment of the mundane and the eccentrics who inhabit the world’s crevices make him one of the greatest humorists writing today,” says the Chicago Tribune.

Leftover Cuties

Club MAC - Playhouse Theatre

Friday and Saturday, March 21 and 22

8 PM

$36 adult / $34 senior / $26 youth

Hot off the heels of their new full-length album, “The Spark & The Fire,” the LA-based, critically acclaimed indie pop quartet Leftover Cuties opens Club MAC with their irresistible combination of sultry vocals, pop-perfect songwriting and old-school musicianship in two MAC debut concerts Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22 at 8 p.m.

Chicago Jazz Philharmonic

Saturday, March 22

8 PM

$38 adult / $36 senior / $28 youth

Orbert Davis’ Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, renowned for their rich, accessible, multi-cultural music experiences share their uniquely Chicago jazz vibes at the MAC on Saturday, March 22 at 8 p.m.

Cherish the Ladies

Friday, March 28

8 PM

$44 adult / $42 senior / $34 youth

The explosively entertaining Celtic ensemble Cherish the Ladies brings their enchanting wit and music back to the MAC stage on Friday, March 28 at 8 p.m.

Hot Club of Cowtown

Club MAC - Playhouse Theatre

Friday and Saturday, March 28 and 29

8 PM

$36 adult / $34 senior / $26 youth

By popular demand, the Austin-based western swing band Hot Club of Cowtown returns to Club MAC with performances Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29 at 8 p.m.

Classic Albums Live:

Abbey Road

Saturday, April 5

8 PM

$45 adult / $43 senior / $35 youth

In April, Classic Albums Live, who performed their crowd-pleasing version of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” this past summer at Ravinia Festival, performs music from The Beatles’ “Abbey Road” note for note - cut for cut, Saturday, April 5 at 8 p.m.

Madeleine Peyroux

Sunday, April 6

7 PM

$48 adult / $46 senior / $38 youth

French-American jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux wraps up that weekend with her intensely distinctive renditions of old classics and modern tunes by Leonard Cohen and The Beatles, among others, Sunday, April 6, at 7 p.m.

Isabel Wilkerson

Tuesday, April 15

7:30 PM

$10 adult/$8 senior/$6 youth

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson comes to the MAC’s Performance Hall for a talk, Q&A and book signing Tuesday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. Wilkerson is the author of “The Warmth of Other Suns,” one of the New York Times “Top Ten Book of the Year” and also chosen as the 2013-2014 “One Book, One Chicago” selection.

Pilobolus

Thursday, April 17

8 PM

$48 adult / $46 senior / $38 youth

The internationally acclaimed Pilobolus Dance Theatre returns to the MAC for an evening of mixed repertoire, Thursday, April 17 at 8 p.m. NYC Newsday hails Pilobolus as “a mind-blowing troupe of wildly creative and physically daring dancers who leap, fly, intertwine and break all the rules… Audiences should expect the unexpected.”

Capitol Steps

Saturday, May 3

8 PM

$42 adult / $40 senior / $32 youth

The indomitable Capitol Steps bring their nationally renowned brand of gut-busting, funny political satire to the MAC’s Performance Hall for one evening only, Saturday, May 3 at 8 p.m. “I cannot remember the last time I laughed so hard or have been so wonderfully entertained during a live show,” says Splash Magazine.

Tickets

To order tickets or for more information, call 630-942-4000 or visit AtTheMAC.org.

MAC Pack - The more you attend, the more you save.

Pick two events - SAVE 10%

Pick three or more events - SAVE 15%

Limited Time Offer – Order a MAC Pack by December 17

Purchase a 2014 MAC Pack by December 17 and receive:

•   two complimentary concessions vouchers

•   two complimentary passes to an exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the New MAC (date TBA)

Offer valid for any MAC Pack purchase. Voucher may not be used for alcohol, and is applicable only during the 2013-2014 season at the MAC.

Want to be among the first to experience the new MAC? 

Make your plans to attend New Philharmonic’s popular New Year’s Eve Concerts at 4 & 9 pm on Tues., Dec. 31! 
This year’s concert is “Viennese Pops with an International Twist” and features an evening of waltzes, polkas and other traditional selections as well as Soprano Emily Birsan from Lyric Opera’s Ryan Opera Center singing Adele’s Laughing Song from Die Fledermaus and much more.

It’s a must-see event and tickets are selling quickly! Call the MAC Box Office today at 630.942.4000.

Plus – Save the date for New Philharmonic’s April 12-13 concerts – The Ultimate Rebel - Ludwig Van!

The April concerts feature Beethoven’s groundbreaking Fifth and Seventh symphonies in one program. For more information or tickets visit www.AtTheMAC.org

Mixed Emotions

The following letter was posted to MAC Subscribers on July 1, 2013...

Dear Friends,

It is with mixed emotions that I write to tell you that I am leaving the College of DuPage/ McAninch Arts Center to take a position in Early August at California State University, Chico. I am grateful to College of DuPage for giving me the opportunity to serve this community for the past seven years. It has been my pleasure. I believe we have stayed true to our mission to enrich the cultural vitality of the residents we serve, and have laid the groundwork for the MAC to reopen in 2014 stronger and more beautiful than ever.

In my new position as Director of Public Events at Chico State I will oversee the Chico Performances series as well as North State Public Radio - NPR for Northern California. It is a wonderful opportunity for me professionally and for my family to be closer to our extended family.

As some of my last duties as Director of the MAC, I am putting the final touches on a fantastic 2013-14 season that includes performances by wonderful artists including Madeleine Peyroux, Pilobolus, David Sedaris, our own New Philharmonic and Buffalo Theatre, and many more. Our great MAC staff will be sending information out to you about upcoming events and the reopening of the McAninch Arts Center in December. I promise you will be astonished by the amazing renovation and upgrade to the MAC.

Thank you for the kindness and generosity you have shown me and my family. I am sad that I will not greet you at the steps of the new McAninch Arts Center, but hope you enjoy many more performances at the best venue in the Western Suburbs.

Sincerely,
Stephen Cummins
Director, McAninch Arts Center

Calling All Champions

Currently the MAC has three ongoing campaigns to raise dollars for the arts. That's a lot, some would say too many, that our focus is too spread out. But our focus has always been broad and diverse. We have never catered to only one community.

So we find ourselves soliciting money for the Cleve Carney Art Space (contemporary art gallery and collection), Buffalo Theatre Ensemble (resident Equity theatre company), and New Philharmonic (professional orchestra in residence). At present New Philharmonic is 46% of the way to its three year pledge goal of $450,000 and Buffalo Theatre has reached 17% of their $240,000 three year goal.

The first on the list, the Carney Art Space, is assured a secure future because of the generosity of one man, Cleve Carney. Cleve's seed gift of dollars and art (estimated $1.2 million) has formed the solid base that will ensure that contemporary art has a home at College of DuPage for many years to come.

Cleve joins a long line of arts benefactors in the U.S. Some with names you know like the competing wine families in California (Mondavi Center at UC Davis and the Gallo Center in Modesto CA. Or closer to home Pritzker Pavilion, Harris Center, the new Logan Center at U of Chicago, and North Central College's Wentz Concert Hall. Every community has champions. Individuals who realize that the greater good cannot be served unless they themselves step up. They embody the etymological definition of philanthropist, "lover of humanity".

We are grateful to Cleve for his generosity, vision and humanity. We thank all those who give at whatever level they are able, because they love the arts. In the coming year our community will hear more about opportunities to be champions like Cleve.

be well
Stephen

Board Presentation - MAC 2014

Recently I presented to our Board of Trustees an overview of the McAninch Arts Center. This was intended to be a short and concise view of the MAC: its history, operation and our plans for the future when we come out of our present reorganization. As much as I vainly dislike how I appear on video (remember the camera and the 10 pound rule), I think these 15 minutes are of value if you wish to better understand the MAC. If you have a question or comment - please let us know.

be well
Stephen

New Philharmonic Concert Cancellation

The New Phil's New Year's Eve concert was bitter sweet this year. The music was sweeter than ever under Kirk's direction, but it was bitter knowing that the last two concerts of the season would not go on. It is a difficult decision to cancel a concert and one I have only had to make a few times in my career. As theatre people the idea of "the show must go on" is engrained in our fiber; thus, not going on with the New Philharmonic season is hard to accept.

When we were presented with the reality of being away from our concert home for two seasons we asked ourselves how will we sustain the artistic momentum that New Philharmonic and Maestro Muspratt have been gaining. The orchestra has steadily been growing audience and ticket revenue over the last five years. And all would agree that the concerts are a delight to attend, so what effect would two years away from the MAC have? We were advised by some at the College to shutter the operation, that our audience would come back when we were ready for them. At the same time many of our fondest patrons were asking us where they would go for classical music through the Spring of 2014?

It roughly costs the orchestra on average $40,000 to produce each two evening concert concert cycle. The math is pretty simple, at the $32 average ticket price we need over 1,250 people to attend a concert. So when we made the decision to rent concert halls away from our own home and present a modified season (2 fewer concerts) we calculated that 80% of our current audience base would need to follow us. In reality only 40% did. When asked, and we called every subscriber, the reply we heard over and over was, "we love New Phil, we love Kirk, but venue x is too far to travel to in the winter. We'll see you next year when the MAC is back up and running."

Facing a 60% drop in ticket revenue, I made the only decision that seemed prudent. We cancelled the final two concerts of the season, Cosi fon tutte and Great Russians. We will end the season in the red and the College will have to cover our deficit. Something they have consistently done to one degree or another for the last decade.

Going forward is the next question. In the era of revenue neutral (see post from December 28) we will need to know that the dollars through the door, in the form of donations, ticket sales and sponsorships, can cover all the expenses of this fine orchestra. The College does not want to cover any deficit at the MAC with income from student tuition or tax revenues. This policy includes all MAC operations including the MAC Artist Series, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble and Schoolstage, our K-12 education program.

So the onus now is on you, our patron. If you enjoy the orchestra or value any of the offerings of the MAC let us know how you are willing to support your community performing arts center. Comment here or contact me (630) 942-3008 or cummins@cod.edu.

be well
Stephen

Revenue Neutral

A recent Daily Herald article, “Waterleaf chef quits amid COD faculty complaints” (12/23/12), chronicles the challenge that College of DuPage faces in operating its auxiliary units, primarily the McAninch Arts Center, WDCB Public Radio, and the new Waterleaf restaurant and Inn at Water’s Edge boutique hotel. I often joke with people that if you were going into business with dreams of big profits, at the top of your list of business prospects would certainly be a jazz radio station, a French restaurant and a performing arts center.

The Daily Herald reveals three operations of the college that cost the taxpayer and the enrolled student $1.6 million to operate. “In 2012…, the MAC lost $519,000…”. I take issue with the Daily Herald’s use of the word “lost”. When the College spends dollars in support of academic learning or the operation of the physical plant those dollars are offset by tuition and tax revenues. Currently auxiliaries contribute to their operation, The MAC generated $1.3 million in earned and contributed income in fiscal 2012. However the balance of the MAC’s operating budget is covered by the college general fund. The College posted no year end deficit and in fact increased the fund balance.

The mandate going forward from the College is that we operate in a “revenue neutral” manner. The term comes from D.C. tax legislation in the 80’s with the idea that spending increases in the federal budget would be offset by increases in revenue. At the College it simply means that auxiliary units do not spend more than we can earn through earned or contributed income. The Daily Herald article continues, “Though college officials expect deficits to continue in the short term, they say they're planning initiatives to try to cut expenses. Breuder said he wants to see the losses reduced, but for now, the college isn't at the point where it would have to give up on enterprises such as the restaurant.”

We have already begun at the MAC. During this time of renovation and a smaller season we have reduced staff and other operating expenses and we are stepping back and taking a hard look at our operation. We have every intention of providing arts experiences upon our return but those experiences will have to be going forward “revenue neutral”.

Be well

Stephen

Giving

I am happy to see a day in the holiday season designed to ask people to stop and consider others. I do have to laugh that Americans gather on a special day to give thanks for all the blessings and abundance we have, and then the very next day they madly run out to buy more stuff as if what we were thankful for the previous day was not enough. So now Black Friday, Grey Thursday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday are  being followed by Giving Tuesday. Still a little out of whack – consumption gets four days and selflessness gets one. It’s a start.

NPR aired a nice story about this possible trend. 'Giving Tuesday': The Start of a Holiday Tradition?

We recognize the need for social service giving. The MAC has long partnered with the People’s Resource Center during our Christmas Carol and Orchestras Feeding America food drives. In years past we have hosted their annual Gavin Coyle Christmas Concert. This year with the MAC under renovation the concert has moved to North Central College’s Pfeiffer Auditorium this Saturday Dec 1. Ticket information for Songs of the Season: A Gavin Coyle Christmas can be found at the PRC website.

The McAninch Arts Center and many arts organizations hope our patrons remember us during this season. Support for arts and culture has always depended on the generosity of others. Beethoven depended on royal patronage and commissions to support his family. Shakespeare wrote plays for the Queen’s court, works that otherwise might never have been enjoyed by the common man for one pence. It is the patronage of a few people with means that allow the masses access to the arts. 

The troubling trend for people in my position is that just as audiences for classical music, theater, and the more challenging fine arts are aging and shrinking so are the donor dollars. Grantmakers in the Arts has published several reports noting that arts giving is down and that most markedly affected are the small and medium sized organizations. The CSO, Goodman, Art Institute and the Lyric Opera are storied institutions that are part of the bedrock of Chicago cultural and civic life. Even in down times their patron-donor base rises to the occasion. But what impact does it have on a community when the storefront theater, the hamlet's only art gallery, or the small civic orchestra is forced to close its doors? 

Please remember the small arts organization this season and to our friends on this "Giving Tuesday" we say thank you.

Be well

Stephen

Underway

After literally years of planning, beginning with a referendum on the ballot in 2010 through designs by Wight & Company Architecture and plans by Mortenson Construction, the McAninch Arts Center is being renovated. In the mainstage the seats are gone, the wall paneling removed and the carpet pulled up leaving bare concrete. Next will come scaffolding  to the roof to remove the ceiling and the old heating/ cooling duct work. All this in preparation for a fantastic face lift.

We too in the front office are preparing for a transition. Asking ourselves how we may better serve the cultural needs of the many communities we serve. Whether that is as a center for arts education, a venue for community groups to use, as a curator of arts experiences, a producer of classical music and repertory theatre or something we have yet to imagine; we are not sure yet.

We would love it if our audience joined in the discussion. Simply tell us, in recent history, what was the best moment you have had at the MAC and what perhaps you would like to experience new in the future. Comment here on the blog or email me cummins@cod.edu.

be well
Stephen

Sustainability v Relevance

If I lived in a perfect world I would be in Austria at the Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders co sponsored by National Arts Strategies and Salzburg Global Seminar. There I would be with fellow arts colleagues exploring the hard questions cultural non-profit organizations around the world are wrestling with. But thanks to blogs and You Tube I can be an observer if not a participant.

The McAninch Arts Center is struggling with this idea of sustainability and Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow Diane Ragsdale has been writing and speaking on the topic in her blog Jumper and in Salzburg. If you have 10 minutes I highly recommend you watch this You Tube interview with Diane at the seminar.

I saw Diane speak several years ago at the annual Arts Alliance Illinois convening. Ra Joy had the good sense to bring Diane to Illinois who at the time was with the Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Her presentation (link to 2010 speech) focused on surviving the cultural change and was profound for me. She reminded me that art and arts organizations live in relation to audience and that while we strive for sustainability we lose sight of relevance. That we should focus less on selling better and more on seeing better. Her thinking on sustainability and relevance has continued to evolve as she has pursued a PhD in the Netherlands. Her ideas in this most recent interview raised several questions for me and for the McAninch Arts Center.

Diane references the work of scholar Alexey Voinov in her idea that sustainability is an unnatural state. In the life cycle of an organization or any living being there is first Emergence followed by Growth that comes to a Plateau and then inevitably begins a period of Decline, which can either lead to New Growth or Death. The point being it is a cycle. Sustainability seeks to pause the cycle at the Plateau and hold the organization at a certain level. Voinov and Ragsdale would suggest that to live and thrive we must allow for death. Their analogy is of the forest fire. Without the death that the fire brings the forest would not be as healthy or able to thrive in the future.

Diane points out that striving for sustainability may have several pitfalls. In order to be sustainable we either drive our organization more towards the market putting greater emphasis on box office revenue and return on investment, or we turn to wealthy donors and away from the middle class patron. Worst of all we artistically settle for mediocrity and live in a sustainable “walking dead state”.

Questions I will be asking…

What should be our purpose? Are we looking out for the best interests of the organization, the artist or for the community at large? What are we trying to sustain that might otherwise be dying or need to die At the expense of what else?

What is our relevance?

Would love to hear your thoughts – comment or email cummins@cod.edu

Be well

Stephen

Why Are We Here? Part II

In the Mike Nichols' movie Primary Colors Kathy Bates’ character admires a beautiful full moon and muses to her friend that they are like the moon, that they can shine and be beautiful but they need the light and energy of their friend the sun (Travolta's Clinton) to do so. A performing and visual arts center can use the same metaphor, without artists and patrons we are but a cold, dark space useless until we are filled with others’ energy. Probably not the best film metaphor as Kathy’s character kills herself in the next scene. But my point is we are facilitators, we are the middle-man in an intimate transaction that connects audience with artists and vice versa. 

That audience member takes on many visages and to me is why we are here.

• There is the smart married couple in their early fifties, no kids or kids in college, that enjoy good food and an eclectic mix of music. They come to the MAC once a month tonight it’s jazz, next month folk music, and maybe the next classical. I enjoy talking to them in the lobby – they tell me what they are reading, share a good restaurant they have recently dined at, ask me if I have heard a particular musician – they soak up the total experience.

• Then there is the middle-school kid who has never been to the MAC. His family is working hard to pay the mortgage and support the family and honestly arts participation is coming in low on their critical needs list. Somewhere in his being he knows that art (a song, a sunset, spoken words) have the power to move him. But his life does not allow for many opportunities to experience art until one day a musician and a visual artist walk into his school and life may never be quite the same. A person and an organization had to facilitate that experience.

• A small bus pulls up, the doors open and brimming with anticipation a dozen people assisted by walkers, canes or the hand of a friend or loved one make their way through our front door. They are spending their active twilight years with a community of older adults and the MAC is a convenient and affordable night out on the town. Now and then when they cannot come to the MAC we manage to bring an arts experience to this most appreciative and deserving audience.

• For me one of the most joyous moments I get to experience is holding the door open for a stream of buzzing, wide-eyed 6 year olds. “Did you see when the dancer…, The purple moon was…, It was funny when the mouse…, That was so cool.” Following this trail of energy is a smiling teacher, proud of her class, who graciously thanks us for bringing a theatre company all the way from Nova Scotia to perform for her 1^st graders. It was our pleasure.

We’re here to provide arts experiences to people young and old, students and community members; regardless of your station in life or your ability to access or afford. We’re the bella luna reflecting the life giving light of the artist in the dark night.

be well

Stephen

Why Are We Here?

COD Concert Choir

This week on the Yahoo Answers site Amanda asks, “Does College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, IL, live up to its hype? It is supposedly one of the best community colleges in the country, but is it anything more than just a pretty campus? How is the quality of education?” I would tell Amanda if you were considering study in the Fine and Applied Arts (FAA) look at two things. First, our faculty, I’ve never seen a community college with the breadth and depth of talent that College of DuPage (COD) has. Our full and part time faculty have MFA and Doctoral degrees from top tier schools (Universities of Illinois, Texas, Pittsburgh, Penn State, Iowa, Northwestern University, the School of the Art Institute...). Many COD FAA faculty are working artists exhibiting, performing, designing, composing and creating work professionally. Secondly look at the work our students produce. Attend a theatre production, a portfolio night, a film screening, or a concert and you’ll see work on par with any undergraduate institution. I realize these are qualitative and subjective measures and our society and administrations want quantifiable proof. In the business of academia the success of a program is measured in enrollment, completion, transfer and employment data. It’s hard to put something as complex as art making into a simple box. The measure of an artist is not whether they completed a program its whether their web-design communicates well for their client or if their music moves the listener. Amanda, I would tell you to talk to people and look at the work and you’ll see a school that is better than hype.

Most community members never see the important work we do and the primary reason we are here, but this next two weeks it will be on display. The MAC will present the Faculty Recital, Community Band concert, Mid-term Student Music Concert, Community Jazz Ensemble Dance, Chamber Orchestra Concert, and open College Theatre’s production of The Nerd and a student gallery art exhibit. College of DuPage is an academic institution first and the people who are the McAninch Arts Center work tirelessly to support the students and faculty in Fine and Applied Arts. Students see that in a warmly lit stage set with chairs and music stands, scenery and costumes for their production, a professionally exhibited gallery show, a program and a ticket for the concert and a welcoming theatre for friends, family and community to support their work.

Many of the students enrolled here will use their time at College of DuPage to spring themselves into further study in the arts. After performing on our stages and studying and creating in our studios and classrooms many go on to places like Roosevelt University, Illinois State University, Elmhurst College, School of the Arts Institute Chicago and many others. But what use is an arts degree? I frequently get this question, sometimes from fellow educators and administrators. It’s a fair question, should a student receive federally funded Pell grants to pursue an education in the arts and should this education be provided at a community college?  My three-part answer, first, community colleges are the most democratic educational institutions ever conceived of, thank you William Rainey Harper (1856-1906). Whatever your place in our society, whatever your previous educational successes or failures, and whatever your financial circumstances our doors are open to you. What better place to affordably explore a challenging career and life choice like the arts.

Secondly, our students go on to success in higher ed and professionally. Examples:

• I can point to dozens of working theatre technicians across Chicago that started at COD and earn the industry hourly rate of between $15 and $25.
• Two recent COD grads in music and theatre received Jeff Awards, Chicago’s more inclusive equivalent to New York’s Tony award.
•  Graphic Design students work for Chicago design firms, educational software companies, as independent web-designer,...
• You can tune in to Fox on Tuesdays at 8pm and watch Lamorne Morris, COD alum, on New Girl.
• Artist and COD alum Vincent Glielmi’s photographs are on exhibit right now in the College’s Wings Gallery.

This success is often down-played as only a few anecdotal stories. It’s true that the arts are a tough road to take. I spent the first five years of my post college life as a working actor and frankly I did not have the fortitude to gut out a life on the stage and screen. In 1992 I transitioned to arts administration and arts education. Whether study in the performing and visual arts leads to a career in the arts is irrelevant  My final point would be that what arts experiences and arts education do produce are creative thinkers and a more socially responsible citizens. I have known this in my gut since I toured rural Arkansas in 1987 performing Shakespeare for kids who had never seen the Bard on stage. A recent study coming out of the University of Illinois and published in Science Daily indicates that participation in the arts (attending and creating) leads to,  “predicated civic engagement, tolerance and altruism.” Frankly, those are qualities I want in my community.

At the recent Midwest Arts Conference the Keynote Address by Russell Willis Taylor President and CEO of National Arts Strategies was wonderfully instructive and if you have time it’s a good read too. One take away anecdote for me was the story of the non-profit arts organization that complains that their arts education programs do not receive the kind of recognition they should from foundations and grantors. A consultant to the organization asks what percentage of your operating budget goes to educational activities? The numbers do not lie and the arts organization’s own budget revealed they spent less then 1% on arts education. They wanted to be recognized for something that clearly was not a priority of the organization. That’s okay. But it should have been a wake up call that they were a symphony orchestra or a theatre company first. So I have to ask the MAC and the College the same question – what do you spend on the arts?

In a previous post (Show Me The Money) the MAC budget was discussed. The break down of the $3.1 million is 35% goes to arts education and 65% to arts presenting. So at least 35% of MAC staff time and 35% of the MAC budget goes to supporting student learning and faculty instruction through performance, exhibition and opportunities to engage with resident/ visiting artists. The College of DuPage has committed $35 million to the renovation of the 165,000 square foot McAninch Arts Center. This year COD funded arts instruction to the tune of approximately $6 million dollars. All of these numbers go to Russell’s point and demonstrate the College can and should be recognized for its support of arts education.

I believe that is an appropriate level of funding for the kind of broad and specialized arts education we provide. Could the programs in Fine and Applied Arts use more dollars, probably. They most assuredly should not be cut. We are here because our community needs creative, socially engaged citizens whether they make their living from the arts or not. You and I want good music, good performance, good design, and good quality of life for ourselves and for our neighbors. That is what art and artists do for us everyday and why I believe a community college should provide this kind of education for the community it serves. What we do beyond educating students is the question addressed in the next post.

Be well
Stephen

Next: Why are we here? Part II

Show Me The Money!

Where Does the Money Come From?

Ticket sales, grants, individual donors, the college, corporate sponsorships, tax dollars, student fees, government arts agency, concession and merchandise sales, foundations, and any stone left un-turned.

The McAninch Arts Center (MAC) is considered a medium sized performing arts center based on the metrics used in the Urban Institute analysis of U.S. arts presenters The Capacity of Performing Arts Presenting Organizations. For fiscal year 2012 the MAC operated a $3.1 million budget. For the purposes of accounting and this discussion we split that number into Educational Arts Support ($1.09 million) and Arts Presenting  ($2.02 million). The former represents our support for student productions, concerts and exhibits in Music, Theatre, Dance and Visual Art, the latter is our public face, work we create (symphony and theatre ensemble) and work we present (artist series, art gallery, school series, community engagement work), all for our community. The support for student work in the arts is supported by academic mission of the college and funded through tuition, student fees and tax dollars. Our challenge is to make the other side of the coin work – what the college calls an auxiliary function of the institution.

So how does this subsidiary of the college operate? In fiscal year 2012 the MAC spent $2.02 million on the non-academic side. This number is split $1.49 million of earned revenue and $530,000 of subsidy from the College of DuPage. 

MAC 2012 Revenue

Add that $530K the College provided the auxiliary side of the MAC to the $1.09 million the College puts out to support student performance and exhibition in Theatre, Music, Dance and Art and COD spent $1.62 million on arts and culture last year. Absent from these numbers are facility and utility support (custodial, grounds, engineering, heating, cooling, electricity and water). For the mid-sized, community college-based performing arts center there are three primary sources of revenue 1) earned income (ticket sales and alternate earned income sources), 2) contributed income (fundraising, grant, endowment), and 3) support from the host institution. The MAC breakdown is 64% - 10% - 26%.

How do we manage if the College subsidy goes away? Reduce costs, increase revenues, grow audience, change programming, develop alternative revenue sources,… the list goes on and every arts administrator can recite it. Keeping with our theme, where does the money come from, we can easily answer where it does not come from. Reports from Kelly Barsdate, Steve Lawrence, Reina Mukai and Holly Sidford respectively in Grantmakers in the Arts: GIA Reader and National Center for Responsive Philanthropy: Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change left me with these points:

1.      Grant dollars for the performing and visual arts have steadily decreased over recent years.

2.      Median grant size ($25,000) has remained unchanged since 1993. When adjusted for inflation the median grant has decreased.

3.      State and local arts funding has decreased in recent years precipitously, minus 39% and 20% respectively. The MAC has seen a 70% decrease in Illinois Arts Council support.

4.      Small to medium sized arts organizations receive dis-proportionally fewer dollars than large arts organizations, 2% of organizations have budgets greater than $5 million but they receive 55% of dollars donated and granted.

If we’re waiting for foundations, grantors, the government or big corporate donors to come to the aid of medium to small performing arts centers we should not hold our collective breath.

Community colleges are late to the philanthropic table. While our counterparts at four-year universities have been raising money for decades our little arts organization just began making an organized annual appeal for donations six years ago. Our center does not have a fundraiser on staff nor does it have an advisory board with give/get mandate. We do not have a strategic planned giving program for the arts. We have never really asked our patrons to step up in a big way. We always assumed that the institution would take care of us. They always have. We historically ran deficits that were annually excused until three years ago when the College added the number up and it totaled $2.2 million accumulated over approximately a dozen years. That is a sobering number. If the MAC had to ask its patrons to make up a $500,000 annual shortfall it would mean increasing our annual giving by almost 800%.

We’re pretty good at generating dollars through ticket sales ($1 million plus annually). We manage to provide an eclectic mix of music, theatre, dance and visual arts experiences that our community is willing to pay for; however, if we had to survive totally on generated revenue what would that mean? There is art we put on the stage and in the gallery that without subsidy in some form would never see the limelight. Our Dance Series, New Philharmonic, and Buffalo Theatre Ensemble are three examples. Should the free market determine what art is available to a community or should it be part of the mission of a community college to provide its constituents with arts experiences they otherwise could not provide for themselves?

This leads us next to mission and programming. If you have questions, answers or disagree with something I've said, I hope you’ll comment. I promise to engage with you respectfully.

Be well,

Stephen