On October 27, 2012, Diane Ragsdale addressed fellows of the 2012 Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders with a keynote address entitled, “Holding Up the Arts: Can we sustain what we’ve created? Should we?” Ms. Ragsdale’s speech examined the meaning and implications of sustainability for the arts and culture field and the life cycle of organizations, including the idea that death is a necessary part of the arts ecosystem. She discussed the role of the arts organization and the importance of mattering to one’s community, warning against current tendencies towards market-driven tactics, exclusivity and becoming “nonprofit arts zombies.”
