Editor’s Note: You don’t need anyone telling you this year has been a steady diet of challenge coated challenges with challenge flavored filling, but we’re not about to let that get us down. In fact, it’s time to show some gratitude so to that end, I asked our ArtsHackers to share a few of the things they are grateful for as arts administrators during this Thanksgiving season.
I am grateful that for every time I had an experience this past year that made me grumble about people being too bound to tradition and formula, I got to interact and work with energetic people who were ready to move full speed ahead on some creative endeavor.
The stuff these energized folks were doing might not have been the most refined, but they invested a lot of thought and planning into their projects. A common refrain of those that participated in the events went something like, “I wouldn’t normally do this sort of thing, but I had a lot of fun.”
The fact that some of these people were saying that for the second/third/fourth time was evidence that something constructive was happening for them.
Ceci Dadisman
I’m thankful for data. Because of data, I can run more targeted marketing and fundraising campaigns that save money and are more successful. Never before have we had such easy access to data at such a low (or free!) cost. I’m also thankful for wine.
Jonathan Eifert
This Thanksgiving season I’m thankful for music that provides a sense of peace in today’s ever-growing chaotic world. Here are three music videos I’m loving.
Drew McManus
On one hand, 2017 was a year of getting more out of tools that make each day a little easier, like Google Keep, Slack, and LastPass. I don’t think an hour of each work day passed without using one or more of those tools.
Having said that, the little things don’t distract from the downpour of negativity that are the renewed culture wars.
At times, managing the deluge feels like implementing water management on a flood zone armed with nothing more than a spork. But then I cross paths with a colleague and that interaction often serves to brighten the day.
Sometimes, it’s their nothing more than a cheerful attitude while others, competence or shared accomplishment serve to make things better. In the end, those connections help turn my own perceptions around and help me spend more time thinking about how I can pay things forward and be the source for making someone’s day better.
Perhaps that’s the best way to sum up gratitude for 2017: it’s a team effort.
