David Snider’s Managing Arts Organizations is a timely and relevant resource for both aspiring and emerging arts leaders. Framed in the real-world, David shares with the reader his zeal for tackling tough issues facing arts organizations in the 21st Century, and he does so with keen insight and compassion. David’s common-sense approach to problem-solving is woven throughout the text and his case studies are as intuitive as they are thought-provoking. Managing Arts Organizations is the culmination of years of experience and lessons learned by a dynamic and inspiring arts leader who I am honored to consider a trusted colleague and friend.
— David Howson, senior teaching professor and Arthur Zankel Executive Director of Arts Administration, Skidmore College
Managing Arts Organizations is a must-read for artists who want to create, manage, and produce the arts.
— Carl Cofield, chair of the NYU graduate acting program, Tisch School of the Arts
Managing Arts Organizations is a must have for students, educators, professionals, and artists alike. With case studies and interviews, David Snider’s astute book is practical and insightful about building programs, creating partnerships, deepening funding relationships and managing arts organizations in big cities and small towns. Most importantly of all, it offers better-practice arts management principles to develop sustainable adaptive strategies for new and challenging contexts.
— Jocelyn Clarke, senior dramaturg at Arena Stage and former theatre adviser with the Arts Council of Ireland
'Big city or tiny town, rural or urban,’ Snider acknowledges that the status quo arts and cultural world continues to undergo tectonic shifts. Not only does Snider provide visibility in this new world but he creates much-needed stratification to the old host of terms allowing for more space to understand distinct challenges for individual organizations. Snider confirms that there is not a one size fits all solution for governance, relationship-building, and management.
— Nancy Yao Maasbach, president of the Museum of Chinese in America, lecturer, David Geffen School of Drama at Yale
Drawing on decades of personal experience as a successful arts manager, as well as several years supporting the development and learning of those aspiring to be arts administrators, David Snider has written a guidebook covering the fundamentals of arts management. With each chapter serving as a valuable primer to a single topic, this resource is well-suited to less experienced staffers and board members, those pursuing a post-secondary degree, aspiring professionals, and others who are unfamiliar with the key features of the arts management terrain and seeking an overview of the typical structures, practices, and processes of the field.
— Diane Ragsdale, director of cultural leadership at Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, Canada, arts writer, speaker, and consultant, based in the Netherlands
His readable and engaging text should prove invaluable to students and professionals alike, but also for artists looking to better understand the field and board members faced with the countless challenges of guiding a nonprofit
— Times Union