Last weekend, Andrea Wagner was fired by the board of Giant Magnet, after 13 years as the artistic director of the global children’s festival (that adults seemed to like, too).
She’s just sent out a statement of, well, confusion as to why she was let go. And appreciation for her fellow workers in the arts trenches.
November 6, 2009
Statement from Andrea Wagner
I am offering this statement, which is accompanied by my heartfelt and sincere best wishes for Giant Magnet and the people involved. It has been reviewed by the Board and staff of Giant Magnet. The length of time it has taken to issue stems from the need in these circumstances to dot one’s ‘i’s and cross one’s ‘t’s.
On Friday, October 30, the President and Treasurer of the Board of Directors of Giant Magnet asked for my resignation. The reason I was given for the Board’s request is that they believe it is the best course for the future of the organization. I was told the decision was ratified by a vote of the Board. No performance related issues were cited. Much as I have tried, I can think of no reason why this course of action was chosen.
I am extremely grateful for the outpouring of support I am receiving from colleagues in the arts, media and funding communities both in the Northwest and around the world. I deeply appreciate the high regard they are expressing for my work in this field for the past 30 years.
I celebrate the Giant Magnet staff, both current and past, full-time and seasonal, and the thousands of volunteers, including Board members, whose hard work has resulted in 13 years of incomparable, globally focused programming. I offer my appreciation to the funders who have supported this work. I applaud the organization’s audience, especially the teachers who bravely overcome the obstacles of school funding, transportation and competing school demands to bring their classes to the festival.
I must especially credit the work of Giant Magnet Producing Director Brian Faker with whom I have collaborated throughout my tenure with the organization. His sharp curatorial vision and passion for artists are the primary reason for the organization’s track record of high quality, adventurous programming. While it is difficult to put into words, our relationship can perhaps best be described as that of any two people who have known each other for 13 years, who work together and have 30,000 to 35,000 children once a year.
I am proud of my stewardship and fiscal management of Giant Magnet, in hard times and in good. I hope that my leadership in undertakings ranging from national and international tours to securing funding from regional, national and international sources including the soon-to-be-completed three year Allen Foundation capacity building grant; of recently celebrating the 10th anniversary of the festival in Tacoma and re-branding of the organization; of helping to found the Asian Pacific Producers, Presenters and Promoters Network; to my longstanding relationship with the Seattle Center; the teacher education programs and the International Arts Consortium partnership with Seattle Public Schools International magnet programs which bring artist residences and other resources to students and teachers; of collaborations with other community organizations, and to the commissioning program established to provide opportunities for artists and elevate the field of performing arts for young audiences, speaks for itself. Just as I hope you forgive that run-on sentence.
I hope what will continue to shine is the legacy of the artists whose work the organization has presented. Programming that has thoughtfully and honestly showcased diverse contemporary and traditional art forms and cultures from around the globe, many rarely or never before seen before in the United States. Performances that have delighted hundreds of thousands of children and the adults who are daring enough to avail themselves of the offerings of a children’s festival now known as Giant Magnet.
This situation seems kinda sad and inexplicable… can someone tell us what’s actually going on? I invite your unfounded speculation.
(Full disclosure: I worked for Giant Magnet during the 2009 festival and have known Andrea Wagner for years as a colleague. I have the utmost respect for her.)
I believe that any employer has the right to make hiring decisions. But employers also have the responsibility to treat employees with respect. The board of Giant Magnet failed at the second point. Knowing some of the board members, I am extremely disappointed.
Andrea Wagner is a seasoned professional. Had the board approached her with their decision regarding a need for new leadership in a more open way, I have no doubt that she would have risen to the occasion and helped create a transition plan that ensured the best outcome for the organization.
I have the (perhaps underserved) hope that not-for-profit organizations can work toward the best of organizations – to both fulfill a mission and create a respectful, honest workplace. This is not the first time I have been disappointed by a not-for-profit board’s actions regarding a leadership change (the how – not the why) and I am, sad to say, not expecting it to be the last.
I think the Board may be on “Consolidated Works” territory here. Like Matt Richter at Con Works, I think that Giant Magnet and the Children’s Festival will be forever associated with Andrea’s face and name. Maybe they had good reason to fire her and maybe they didn’t, but I’ll be surprised if Giant Magnet ever really recovers from this.
I thought Andrea’s letter was wonderful. I wish I’d been able to write one like it four years ago.
And @1, now you’re into an area we call “defamation by implication,” and it’s against the law.
Having worked in the arts for many years, I’m confident that the lack of a profitable bottom line was the driving force here. Someone’s got to take the fall for shortfalls in sales – happens all the time. Doesn’t matter how good of a person you are, either.
#4: “I’ll be surprised if Giant Magnet ever really recovers from this.”
I’ll be surprised if Giant Magnet ever really recovers from being named “Giant Magnet.”
@6, it sounds like the arts organizations you’ve worked in were for-profit corporations, like T-Mobile. When T-Mobile meets its mission but fails to make a profit, that’s a failure. When a nonprofit corporation makes a profit but does not meet its mission, that’s a failure.
Giant Magnet, actually, succeeding on both fronts, is what we in the arts call a “success.”
Giant Magnet is going to have a hell of time trying to make their festival run without the support and goodwill of all the “little” Seattle Center connections that make it possible.
Very poor, very cowardly, very “clueless board of directors with ex-starbucks management loser” type of decision.
And the way it was handled: no class. For shame.
Another giant (no pun intended) red flag: a story in the Seattle Times reports that “Giant Magnet is temporarily being run by board member Steven Havas.” Yes, that’s worked out well for other arts organizations…not.
Also, that one board member has resigned over this situation.
The outcome’s pathetically predictable if the board doesn’t reverse its decision (and, hopefully, resign): the funders will back out, the festival will lose community support, its stellar international reputation will plummet.