US - Museums and Arts groups brainstorm survival strategies

Aldrich Contemporary Arts Museum - They've paid at least $150 to get in, and most are going to spend at least another $350 for one of more than 250 paintings by artists whose names they won't know until after they've made their purchase. It's a fund-raiser called "Aldrich Undercover." All the works were created on identical 9-by-12 paper canvases and donated by the artists, all of whom are known (some more than others) in contemporary art circles.

Janet Durrans for The New York Times (New York Times)

Orange County - Besides sharing ideas on marketing and other strategies, Stein said, the 14 top executives who participated agreed that they need to join forces to raise the profile of local arts programs and venues as a whole. "The arts community needs to do a better job of communicating its value," Stein said. "There is a select number of usual suspects in every community who are the most generous and passionate" about donating to the arts.

Orange County arts groups brainstorm survival strategies during ... (LA Times)