I am adding a new category, “Advance Notice,” to document some of my San Francisco exploration. While it’s in no means a guarantee, it is definitely an indicator of places I’ll be in the week ahead. If you see me, say hi;)

Thursday, Nov 20, 8pm
Brava! Theater’s production of Friends, by Kobo Abe

Friday, Nov 21, 7pm
Rebel Reading Series at The Knockout, 3223 Mission (at Valencia)

Saturday, Nov 22, 11am
World’s Smallest Postal Service at The Curiosity Shoppe, 855 Valencia

Sunday, Nov 23, 7pm
Industry Night for Magic Theatre’s production of Evie’s Waltz, by Carter W. Lewis

I’ve committed the cardinal sin of blogging by disappearing for weeks with no warning, but for good reason. Since October 20, I’ve been hard at work as the new Executive Director of SomArts Cultural Center. SomArts had a lot going on this month—a Day of the Dead exhibition with more than 40 altars, followed by an exhibition of avatars and virtual realities in the main gallery and on Second Life.

SomArts staff member and artist Katie Gilmartin hosted the Chrysalis Printmaking Studio Show (see video here), and Rene Yanez—who oversees special projects at SomArts and curated our Day of the Dead show with his son Rio—was honored at the annual Day of the Dead procession in the Mission. Carlos Loarca and Betsie Miller-Kusz, two other artists on our staff, joined Katie, Rene and Rio to participate in ArtSpan’s Open Studios.

SomArts’s own exhibitions only made up a part of the center’s activity this month—because we have some of the most affordable “big space” in town, we are home to many benefits and fundraisers. This month is no exception … Visual Aid’s Big Deal was here last week, and tonight was NaNoWriMo’s Write-a-Thon.

All the SomArts activity hasn’t prevented me from exploring some of San Francisco’s many galleries and performance spaces, including the African American Cultural Complex, Intersection for the Arts, Galeria de la Raza, the Red Poppy Art House, the SFAC Gallery, Yerba Buena, SFMoMA, 826 Valencia, the Garage, 111 Minna and Chronicle Books. I am trying to carry a video or still camera around to catch some of the action as I discover SomArts and also the community it serves. The photo above was taken during Open Studios at SomArts and is posted on the SomArts Flickr group. We are also on Facebook.

Since this is my personal blog, I’ll probably continue reporting on SomArts discoveries through the organization’s website, perhaps even set up a blog there. For now, the best way to get in touch with me about SomArts is by calling or stopping by (rather than posting here on this blog).

And … now that I’m settling in, I’ll try to get back to updating this with interesting articles, arts policy news and short posts about the people, organizations and ideas that inspire me. Thanks for checking in!

Yesterday I read in the Middletown Press that Terry’s father, Terry Woolard Sr., just released a CD with a title track inspired by his son’s writing. Black President debuted on WPKN in Bridgeport, Connecticut and was engineered by David Davis, a Green Street teaching artist and one of my former neighbors at the North End Artist Cooperative (aka MAC650).

You can listen to tracks from Black President, including one featuring Terry Jr., at cdbaby.com.

Going in the reverse direction, I made one of my favorite literary discoveries in recent memory at City Lights, when I happened to pick up a copy of Magic for Beginners by Northampton writer Kelly Link. You can get a signed copy for only $14 at this website.

Last year, I interviewed some Connecticut authors participating in National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo), a movement that started in the Bay Area. At press time, it looked like their website was undergoing some maintenance, but I hope to attend some write-ins where it all started!

That is, after 3,000 miles of American landscape. I’m also seeking out good driving music. Any suggestions?

A listserv post by John Abodeely of Americans for the Arts tapped into a subject that has been on my mind lately. Namely, how to navigate job decisions as part of a dual-career couple. Abodeely linked to a post on GeekDad about a nonprofit arts couple who made the decision to move to Kansas, only to see the wife’s job fall through, leaving the couple with limited options that could satisfy their mortgage obligations. Small towns are more affordable, but big cities (as Richard Florida points out in his latest book) offer the long-term security of suitable employers for both people in a relationship, even when something doesn’t work out as expected.

Navigating a dual-career relationship is particularly challenging for women, who are still more likely to be the trailing spouse. A report by Laurie McNeil and Marc Sher, though it focuses on dual-career physicists, brings up a number of alarming questions about discrimination in a “buyers market” for employers.

Last Sunday’s NY Times included an article highlighting spouse vetting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s director search. It is astounding to read, if only to discover that there are nonprofit arts jobs out there that include perks such as a 12,000-square-foot residence and a decorating budget for a design-inclined spouse. Here’s hoping Robert Reich doesn’t read the Style section. 

For those of you making dual-career decisions with fewer perks and more questions, here’s a short article of practical tips, created by staff and faculty at the University of Michigan. The bottom line is that despite the tough decisions (and sometimes the sacrifices), those of us in good relationships are lucky, lucky, lucky to have love in our lives.

Happy hunting!

The Vineyard Theatre, where “Wig Out” is taking place, supports artists in many ways, including the Vineyard Community of Artists. Do any of you blog readers have an advisory committee or “community of artists” you draw on for support ideas and programming? I’d be curious to hear about your ideas and experiences.

The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp is part of Newman’s legacy, as is the Newman’s Own Foundation, which issued a statement this morning.

Big picture aside, Paul Newman was simply … inspiring. Back in 2000 I directed a production of Richard Greenberg’s “Three Days of Rain.” The production had a shoestring budget in a storefront theater but was still very well received … so when Woodward directed it at Westport Country Playhouse we took a road trip to see what big money and star power could bring to the experience.

I was not expecting the very charming, “country” feel of the Playhouse (despite the name), or the sight of Newman leaning on the outside railing. He spoke to us briefly about acting … I cannot recall what he said, but I do remember that our evening at the Playhouse play held many discoveries and inspired lively conversation on the late-night drive back to New London.

Newman’s generosity—to the Playhouse, Hole in the Wall and so many other organizations doing good works, will be remembered.

A few examples:

Here is a link to Tipton’s 2008 installation at Rensallaer Polytechnic Institute.

Here is a link to the Google image search for Jenny Holzer’s truisms. (The MassMoca video is pretty great, too.)

Here is a link to Doug Aitken’s “Sleepwalkers,” a collaboration between the Museum of Modern Art and Creative Time.

I can’t seem to find the MTV2 artist competition/online show that gave the winners control of a Times Square billboard … does anyone know more about that?

A cursory romp through the website shows that this is something I could get excited about. The homepage links to a guide for strategic planning, and the Resource Center includes an interactive documents library. Documents already available include: a case study of the Penumbra Theatre in Minneapolis as well as point-by-point guidelines for press, fundraising and creating institutional identity.

The documents library, in particular, is a resource that has been requested by emerging leaders I know who are interested in both learning and contributing.

My only problem with the website occurred when I tried to add an rss feed for Michael M. Kaiser’s blog into my online rss reader. I use Netvibes, and I could not load the artsmanager feed onto the site. Possibly that is because artsmanager requires a free account and password, or perhaps the technical difficulties are on my end.

Blog difficulties aside, this is a site I can see myself returning to again and again.