From its inception ARTS Action Research has been committed to advancing an arts culture that is led and directed by arts professionals and supportive and respectful of their work and expertise. Twenty years ago, at an earlier time of recession and retrenchment in this country, AAR began asking questions about the vulnerability and viability of the traditional, not-for-profit, legal and operating structure that had been the prescribed model for arts organizations for a number of years.

The fact is, arts professionals in growing numbers have steadily become aware of the dysfunctions of the accepted model and, at least in sites we have observed through AAR’s consortia and initiatives, have enacted changes informed and led by the arts professionals themselves. We have been simultaneously heartened by the resourcefulness and responsibility that these arts professionals are taking on their own behalf, and discouraged by how little the prevailing dialogue in the larger arts community acknowledges their actions.

The simple (rather than simplistic) fact is, that the arts must lead their own change. While others have been obsessing over the problems, many in the field have been writing new narratives grounded in the realities and priorities of the arts professionals themselves and fully cognizant of the enormous challenges facing the arts today. They are keenly aware of the radically changed and changing cultural, political, technological, and resource landscape that accompanies these challenges; and they see new opportunities embedded and emerging as fast as the landscape is changing. These new narratives are by and about a generation of arts professionals more intrigued by the opportunities than intimidated by the challenges; agile and adept in using new technologies and forging new relationships; working horizontally and laterally rather than vertically and hierarchically; and seeking like-minded partners while rejecting conventions of the past.

This series, inspired by our work with Theatres Leading Change New York (TLC New York) offers our insights and evolving understanding about how arts professionals are quietly but decidedly leading change. It confirms for us once again that it is the arts professionals and the field itself that will find the way forward, working from the inside out and assuming responsibility as artists have done for millennia.