How to earn the trust of your board? How to find a presenter? How to secure funding? How to attract audience? What do other people want from you?

While the job of an artist is to create the work of art, an administrator is responsible for creating and sustaining the resources necessary to facilitate the work of the artist. The job of an administrator thus revolves primarily around a few groups of people or constituencies: (apart from the artists)

• the board of directors
• presenters
• funders
• audience

Since there is no good measure for the "effectiveness" and "quality" of your product, the above constituencies rely on you to tell them that you are worth supporting. First of all, you have to know who you are, what your vision is and what you have to offer to the various constituencies. It is important that you have a sound track record, both financial and artistic, to bolster your credibility. Without going into details, the following are some "basic necessities":

• A good profile of the group that includes a well-written biography, very good visuals (photos and possibly audio- or video-promos), reviews, etc.
• Comprehensive documentation of all performances and projects. This may include all printed matters (e.g. leaflets, posters, house programmes), media coverage, reviews, photos, audio- and visual-recordings, etc.
• Always invite critics, journalists and potential presenters to your performances. Don't just send out an invitation, but also call them up and send them background information.
• Adequate accounting procedures for the preparation of financial reports. For example, your bank account should have a custodian (usually a board member) other than your book-keeper, all payments and reimbursements must be accompanied by official invoices or receipts.
• An evaluation mechanism to check out whether the artistic and the administrative/financial goals are achieved.
• It is also helpful to have a charismatic spokesperson for the group - the artistic director is an ideal candidate. His/her public presence in the community and a good relationship with the different constituencies would be a great asset to the group.

A reminder: administrative issues aside, the core of an arts organisation is represented by the artists and the arts. Any administrative efforts without a quality artistic product would only prove futile in the long run. The bulk of your resources should be spent on the creation of this quality artistic product.

Lee Ho-yee
General Manager
Hong Kong Sinfonietta
Printed on March 2001