Nigeria Content Online

The Public Affairs
section of the United States Consulate hosted an arts management
training seminar in Lagos on February 7. Two international fellows
undergoing training at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington D.C. were also among the organisers. Michael .M. Kaiser,
President of the Kennedy Center, was the speaker at the event. The
one-day event was attended by members of the arts community, including
dancers, visual artists, actors, film producers, art collectors and
musicians.

The seminar was
part of Kaiser’s five-country African tour to lead arts management
seminars on behalf of the De Vos Institute of Arts Management at the
Kennedy Centre. Kaiser, who has been president of the centre since
2001, is responsible for expanding the educational and artistic
programme for performing arts in America; and has overseen a major
transformation of various art groups in and outside America. He has
travelled to countries including Argentina, China, Croatia, Czech
Republic, Egypt, France, Israel, Palestine and Mexico to train art
managers.

Kaiser took the
time to navigate the audience through the Lagos seminar, affirming that
it was not a lecture but an interactive session. His first point of
call in the discussion was finding out the problems faced by art
practitioners, but not before sharing his own thoughts on the issue and
the philosophy that guides his job. “This is my first trip to Nigeria,
it is indeed a beautiful country. My life’s purpose is to work with
artists so that they can do their best work,” he stated. He blamed
artists for some of their challenges, observing that people in the arts
do not know how to manage success. He suggested that the inability to
manage success is a result of art’s intangibility, a theory, TV and
stage icon Taiwo Ajai-Lycett concurred with.

Kaiser continued,“I
don’t think we are taken seriously. When I tell people I run the art
centre, the first question they ask me is, ‘What is your real job?’ I
don’t think we have done enough to explain what we do. Most people see
us as a luxury on the side. We are living in an economy that thrives on
creativity, so we have a great role to play in society.” He also cited
religion and culture as some of the factors working against the arts.
“Even big countries are cutting art support. Britain cut theirs by 30
percent,” he noted.

Managing creativity

He advised the
audience to help the artist feel good, because it brings out the best
in the person. “I believe that one of the major problems in the arts is
that art managers tend to say ‘No’ too much. The artist is like a
naughty child and the manager is like the angry parent that always says
no. Director of Communication For Change, Sandra Obiago, added to the
list of things that don’t work for the arts community, touching on the
tension between art managers and business.

Kaiser drew a chart
of how art organisations should be run and took time to explain his
theories. “It starts with making good art. I am a strong believer in a
transformational project, something big and exciting that people cannot
forget. This is crucial to an art organisation, but it is not enough.
You have to do a good job of marketing it,” he said.

He went on to
discuss two major marketing strategies. The first, programmatic
marketing, is used to get people to come for the event, like selling
tickets and sending out fliers. The second, institutional marketing,
deals with marketing the organisation to the public; a strategy that
came highly recommended by the Kaiser. “We don’t have a lot of
institutional marketing, and that is the problem. Few art organisations
around the world do a good job of this. When you do good art and good
marketing, you build a strong family including the ticket buyers,
volunteers, donors and members of the board,” he said, scribbling on
the board.

Artistic planning

“How many of you
plan at least six months in advance?” he asked at the beginning of the
second session, eliciting many raised hands. The number of hands kept
reducing as he called out longer periods, by the time he reached three
years, only one hand was still up. He advised his listeners to plan at
least three years ahead, in order to have a strong project that comes
out well. He gave examples with the work he did, organising an Arab
Festival in the centre. “It took me five years to plan and make the
money I needed for the festival. It was expensive,” he said. “It took
me time to teach my audience what they would see. It took me time to
build relationships with people.” He also advised that it is better to
have a list of projects for the donor to choose from. “If you plan
based on budget, you will never plan for more. Have a big dream, and
plan for more. Have a big dream and plan for many years,” he declared.

Kaiser talked in
detail about two art companies he has helped turn around: the Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theatre and The Market Theatre in South Africa. He
took Alvin Ailey from the famous Donahue Show to a spotlight at the
Clinton Inauguration. The street where the theatre was located was
renamed after Alvin Ailey; and by the end of the year, the group had
doubled its income.

Fundraising

Before rounding off
his seminar Kaiser gave a list to help the audience raise funds. “No
one owes you a donation. The key to good fund raising is listening,” he
declared. He canvassed that organisations should always tell donors
about the good things happening for them. “Fundraising is not begging,
it’s a two way street. You have to be clear about what you are giving
them. One happy donor begets another.” His parting shot was, “I hope to
do more work in Africa. I hope to be come back. I really hope to see
you all again.”