Monthly Archives: July 2009

The Show Must Go On

Posted on July 27, 2009 by | Leave a comment

by Dejen Tesfagiorgis

I just read an article about mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato fracturing her leg during a performance of Rossini’s “Barbiere di Siviglia,”at the Royal Opera House. Read the article from the New York Times Here.

Ms. DiDanto finished the Saturday night performance on crutches, and spent 4 hours in an emergency room thereafter. For the performance following (a Tuesday), she performed in a wheelchair.

I must say, this is a great representation of dedication to one’s craft. Be passionate in everything that you do.

You can read more on Joyce DiDonato’s blog, Yankee Diva (yankeediva.blogspot.com).

Someday the understudy will get a shot…

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Posted in Music, Performance

Artists in the Workforce

Posted on July 20, 2009 by | Leave a comment

by Dejen Tesfagiorgis

I was browsing the National Endowment for the Arts News Archives, and I happened to find an interesting article about their Picture 26Artists in the Workforce Survey. People considering (or already in) a career in the Arts Click Here to go to the article.

From the report:

The Artist’s in the Workforce Study uses United States census occupation data to analyze artists’ demographic and employment patterns. It represents the first comprehensive look at the nation’s working artists in the new century.

If you look on the right hand side of the article you’ll see links to download the 8 page summary, or the 151 page full report.  Here are some sweet nothing facts as of the research release date (June 22, 2008):

  1. 1.4% of the US Labor Force, ~2M American workers, describe an artist occupation as their primary job
  2. An additional 300,000  Americans have secondary artist employment
  3. More than 20% of American artists live in LA, Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., or Boston
  4. Artists are 3.5 times more likely than other workers to be self-employed.

Read and enjoy!

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Posted in All Arts Disciplines, Entrepreneurship, Government