I'll confess to being a metaphor man. I'm always seeking and assessing different ways of describing the world that help me understand and explore it better, and help me describe and discuss that world with students and colleagues. But when it comes to describing the part of that world I serve -- the arts and culture industries, either narrowly or broadly defined -- I've usually come up flummoxed.
A colleague describes the network of arts and culture organizations as 'a multi-national corporation with thousands of branch offices and no headquarters.' That metaphor tends to draw affirming nods and laughs from a room. But like most metaphors, it comes bundled with assumptions, in this case, that there should be a headquarters (which I don't believe is probable or even desirable).
So, here's what I'm thinking lately: The arts and culture organizational infrastructure is a power grid, a loose-knit collection of utility companies that discover, refine, and distribute a unique and essential form of energy.
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