20UNDER40

[From the Introduction]: The purpose of 20UNDER40: Re-Inventing the Arts and Arts Education for the 21st Century is simple: to give voice to young arts leaders by serving as a soundboard for their thoughts and ideas about the future of the field. In its initial call for chapter proposals, the anthology announced that its goal was to address the impending generational shift in arts leadership by publishing twenty essays about the future of the arts and arts education as envisioned by young arts leaders under the age of forty. By doing so, 20UNDER40 brings the thoughts and ideas of young arts leaders out of the margins and into the forefront of our cultural dialogue. Prospective authors were challenged with the task of either identifying problems in the field and suggesting innovative solutions; highlighting needs and articulating new visions, or; debunking longstanding theories and posing new models and frameworks for the future.… At the close of the submission deadline 20UNDER40 had received 304 chapter proposals written by 319 self-identified young arts leaders—all under the age of forty. Only twenty of these proposals were fleshed out as the full chapters in this book. With an acceptance rate of less than 10%, this made being published in 20UNDER40 more competitive than being accepted into the nation’s most selective universities.… The chapters presented herein represent some of the most innovative ideas about the future of the arts articulated by a devoted cadre of authors whom I have been most privileged to have worked with over the course of the past few months. Amongst these individuals are dancers, filmmakers, musicians, singers, video-artists, students, educators, administrators, researchers, business owners—even television show hosts. As their impressive biography notes reveal, these individuals have long been arts leaders and agents of change. The chapters these authors have written intelligently tackle the challenges we now face in the arts while offering bold solutions and renewed hope for the future. Several authors have even gone so far as to present exciting new theories, models, or frameworks for practice emanating from their astute observations of the field, their years of experience in the arts, and their unencumbered visions for what’s possible.