Practicalities and Planning

In order to bring this dancing vision to life, there are several practical elements to consider. Even the simplest performances require a production team and logistical planning. Additionally, a weeklong festival is ambitious and relies on the artists having rehearsal space and some form of compensation. Potential financial solutions could be endowing an arts fund for the museum, crowdsourcing funding, petitioning the government and Smithsonian Institution to allot some funding for artistic performances in the museum budget, or encouraging people to donate or become members to support free performances.

On example is the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, which has provided free performances since 1996. Then board chairman Jim Johnson established the free programming to make the performing arts venue more inviting to local residents and tour groups who do not attend ticketed shows. He and his then wife, Maxine Isaacs, funded the entire first year of programming to emphasize their personal investment in the new programme. This funding helps offset "staffing, marketing, and production costs and modest artist honorariums" (Bernstein, 2003). The Millennium Stage endowment began in 1999 to help fund the performances, and the Kennedy Center relies on fundraising to cover the majority of costs. The Center's annual fund covers the difference.

Although integrating performances into busy museum spaces can be daunting, other museums have been demonstrating how to for years. My dad was a trumpeter in the United States Air Force Band for 26 years, and I remember going to the Air and Space Museum to watch him perform with his brass quintet. It was an unusual yet beautiful way to blend the arts with American air and space innovation, bringing new audiences to classical music and highlighting the artistry within the nation's military branches. The band was able to successfully perform with minimal production needs - they rehearsed on base in Anacostia and drove to the National Mall with their instruments, chairs, and music stands. They were even able to organise flash mobs for several years, hiding musicians among the crowds.

The Air Force Band had the privilege of using their own facilities and having access to state of the art technology for their own artistic seasons. How can the National Asian Pacific American Museum support artists and youth groups who do not have these resources? One potential solution is partnering with the Kennedy Center and local arts organisations to provide studio space for larger productions. The Kennedy Center opened the expansion of their studio spaces, The Reach, in 2019, and this space has the potential to host several collaborations and open rehearsals to give the public another perspective into the performers' creative processes.