Michael M. Kaiser, Kennedy Center President, to Visit Albany April 27

ALBANY, NY (04/22/2010)(readMedia)-- Michael M. Kaiser, President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, will visit Albany as part of the Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative 50 State Tour.

WHEN: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM

WHERE: THE LINDA, WAMC'S PERFORMING ARTS STUDIO 339 Central Avenue, Albany, NY

TO ATTEND: RSVP Call: 518.465.5233. x145

(This event is FREE and open to the public.)

Kennedy Center President, Michael M. Kaiser will engage in an interview format discussion with President and CEO of WAMC Northeast Public Radio, Alan Chartock, with an audience Q&A session to follow.

Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative is a response to the emergency facing arts organizations throughout the United States. The program, open to non-profit 501(c)(3) performing arts organizations, provides free and confidential planning assistance in areas pertinent to maintaining a vital performing arts organization during a troubled economy. The program is currently working with almost 500 organizations in 40 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. More than 120 experienced arts leaders from across the country are volunteering their time to serve as mentors to organizations in need. Additional information is available at www.artsincrisis.org

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is taking part in a national tour for Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative. Kennedy Center President, Michael M. Kaiser travels to all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia to lead arts management symposia. At each event, hosted by a local arts organization, Kaiser will address the challenges facing non-profit performing arts organizations today through such areas as fundraising, building more effective Boards of Trustees, budgeting, and marketing.

Since the initiative's launch in February 2009, the Kennedy Center has hosted symposia and arts community conversations in major cities across the country, including Boston, Chicago, San Diego, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Baltimore, Detroit, Cleveland, New York City, Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, Charlotte, Seattle, Grand Rapids, St. Louis, Kansas City, Houston, Dallas, Orlando, Miami, and Washington, D.C. Upcoming tour dates will include 31 cities in 28 states, including Atlanta, Bismarck, Phoenix, Santa Fe, Albany, Lincoln, Pierre, Portland, Anchorage, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Boise to extend his arts management expertise and personal support throughout the nation. A complete listing may be found on the following page.

"Each locality is dealing with its own unique and specific challenges, and there is no better way to understand each region than through in-person visits," said Kaiser. "Communicating in person allows us to be more effective in advising organizations in need."

Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative also enables senior arts managers across the United States to volunteer to serve as mentors to other arts organizations. "There are many talented arts administrators around the country, and we encourage them to lend their expertise," said Michael Kaiser. "If all of us work together, we can turn a time of crisis into a time of opportunity." Non-profit performing arts organizations who would like to participate in the program should visit www.artsincrisis.org to submit an online request. The Kennedy Center will quickly match organizations in need with a member of the Kennedy Center executive staff or a volunteer mentor in their local area. Since 2001, Michael M. Kaiser and his executive staff have shaped numerous arts leaders through the Kennedy Center Institute for Arts Management. The Institute provides a wide variety of training and support for arts management, including a capacity building program for culturally specific arts organizations; a program to train board members of arts organizations throughout the United States; international capacity building programs for arts organizations in 60 nations; a capacity building program for over 280 arts organizations in New York City; and artsmanager.org, an interactive web resource for arts management professionals. The Kennedy Center also offers internship and fellowship programs, exposing arts professionals to various facets of arts management.

Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative is funded by Helen Lee Henderson and Adrienne Arsht.