I know that my blog entries are usually pretty tightly focused on issues of professional interest, around arts, culture and creative economy. But as many readers of my blog may know, on August 27th I also became the father of a new baby daughter, and that has gotten me thinking...

The new Census numbers for Philadelphia are in, and the city managed to actually record a population increase, the first in 50 years. And while the increase was tiny -- 8,456 residents, which represents a .6% increase to 1,536,006 -- the reversal of the decades-long decline is huge. Many older...

The Broadway Theatre has been called "the fabulous invalid" for decades as a result of the periodic reports of its imminent demise, but of course it has continued to survive, albeit with challenges and mutations.

Now we have a similar debate around the symphony orchestra. Andrew Taylor recently shared some...

A number of recent articles and threads of exploration have gotten me thinking about the importance of the role of the arts and design in transforming our everyday life. I think we are moving toward an era where the traditional enjoyment of art (performing or visual) in a passive way...

Senators Tom Coburn and John McCain have issued their third list of what they present as misuse of stimulus dollars: Summertime Blues, "100 stimulus projects that give taxpayers the blues." Once again they have given arts projects a starring role. Jared Bernstein already wrote a piece...

With all the financial challenges arts workers are facing these days -- struggling to balance the budgets of their organizations or dealing with salary and benefit cuts on compensation that was modest to begin with -- it is easy to view the sacrifices people make to work in this field...