Last week PCMI hosted a group of arts administrators in Philadelphia for its latest Reading Group, the focus of which was "Practically Radical: not-so-crazy ways to transform your company, shake up your industry, and challenge yourself" by William C. Taylor, the co-founder of Fast Company magazine. The book takes case studies of successful businesses and organizations in all fields and uses them as the basis for a discussion of how others should use those examples and think outside the box to create positive change within a company.

The Asian Arts Initiative recently celebrated a ribbon-cutting, opening its new Multi-Tenant Arts Facility space at 1219 Vine Street in the Chinatown North neighborhood.  Forced to move from their former home by the expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Asian Arts found an opportunity to buy a new space for their organization, as well as space they could use for artists and arts organizations to work and practice. The new space aims to become “a hub for a diversity of artists and organizations who exemplify and share our interest in experimenting with new forms of contemporary art social practice.”

Last week we were so happy to see one of our grantees, the Fairmount Park Art Association, featured in USA Today Travel as one of the "10 great sculpture gardens across the USA." This was pretty exciting news, especially considering how much competition there is throughout the whole country. We were particularly pleased to note that USA Today made mention of FPAA’s Museum Without Walls project, which received support from the Center’s Heritage Philadelphia Program. Find out what USA Today had to say about FPAA after the jump.

California’s James Irvine foundation recently released a new report, authored by the consulting firm Wolf Brown Associates, called Getting In on the Act: How Arts Groups are Creating Opportunities for Active Participation. The report begins with the premise that we are watching a seismic change happen in the arts world—people increasingly demand participation in the arts over just passive consumption. The report goes on to define different levels of participation and engagement, as well as giving examples of new participatory practices from around the country.

We think a lot about artistic engagement here, and we are always looking out for new projects that give audiences more opportunities to connect to performances and exhibitions. We were particularly proud to see a PCMI-supported project featured in the Irvine report: New Paradise Laboratories' FRAME.

Last week, the Cultural Management Initiative held its most recent reading group, the focus of which was ReWork by 37Signals founders David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried. 37Signals is a company that, in case you don't know, "develops simple web-based software products with individuals and small businesses in mind." Most people know them as the creators of Basecamp. The book was written with a for-profit, entrepreneurial spirit, and our challenge was to 'rework' the contents and suggestions in the book to make them relevant to the cultural nonprofit sector and our experiences within it.