Arts Unscripted with Monica Holt

For Ming Min Hui, there's no single "right" path to arts leadership—only the one you build through curiosity, courage, and a willingness to evolve. Her career began far from the stage, in finance and corporate strategy on Wall Street. Today, as Executive Director of Boston Ballet, she sees that wide-ranging experience not as a detour but as the engine behind her leadership. In this episode, Ming r...

For Alex Sarian, relevance isn't a buzzword. It's a mandate for the future of the arts. As President and CEO of the Werklund Centre in Calgary, he's leading the largest cultural infrastructure project in Canadian history, a transformation that will soon make the organization the country's largest performing arts campus. But Alex is quick to point out that bricks and mortar aren't the real story. T...

The future of arts and culture depends on leaders who can innovate, adapt, and inspire—and Deborah Rutter has been doing it at the highest levels. With five decades of experience leading premier cultural institutions across the United States, she knows what it takes to drive meaningful change while keeping artists and audiences at the center.  In this live episode from Boot Camp 2025, the former P...

It's Boot Camp week! In this special mini episode, Capacity's President Christopher Williams joins host Monica Holt to pull back the curtain on Boot Camp, the leading conference for arts and culture professionals. They dive into how this year's program came together, the sessions they're most excited about, and how courage and curiosity are the keys to a stronger sector. LINKS: Boot Camp 2025

Shanta Thake sees artistic curation as a practice rooted in curiosity and community connection. As the Ehrenkranz Chief Artistic Officer at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Shanta is helping redefine what one of the world's most storied institutions can be. Since joining in 2021, she's helped usher in an era of experimentation and access to ensure the arts remain central to New York City's...

For Rachel S. Moore, the arts aren't just a mirror for society. They're a means of shaping it. As President and CEO of The Music Center in Los Angeles, she oversees one of the largest performing arts centers in North America, stewarding $3 billion in county assets and programming that reaches hundreds of thousands of Angelenos each year. A former professional dancer with American Ballet Theatre (s...

Reimagining a centuries-old art form takes more than talent; it takes courage, curiosity, and a deep belief that tradition can evolve. Few embody that spirit like Babatunde Akinboboye. A classically trained baritone and viral "hip hopera" artist, Babatunde is redefining what opera can sound like—and who it's for. His mashups of rap and arias have captivated millions online, and garnered attention...

Can a performing arts center change the identity of a city? Tom Gabbard has spent more than two decades proving it can as CEO of Blumenthal Arts in Charlotte, NC. Under his leadership, Blumenthal has grown from a regional performing arts center into a national force. Charlotte now ranks among North America's Top 10 markets for touring Broadway shows, and the organization also fosters experimental...

How do you bring audiences along as you expand their definition of an art form? That's the question Jane Raleigh has grappled with throughout her career.  As the former Director of Dance Programming at the Kennedy Center, she spent more than a decade transforming the institution's siloed approach to dance into a continuum that celebrates both classical works and contemporary voices. Now, as the fo...

Audiences don't just want to watch theater; they want to step inside it. Few people understand that better than casting director Kate Lumpkin. Kate has become a go-to voice in immersive performance, shaping productions that dissolve the line between stage and audience. Her latest project? Masquerade NYC : an immersive Phantom of the Opera revival now running Off Broadway.  For Kate, immersive work...

Arts and culture don't thrive in isolation. They thrive when artists, institutions, and policymakers work in concert. Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director of Mass Cultural Council, is making that bridge his life's work, showing how government and the arts can partner to create healthier, stronger, more sustainable communities. From his early days as a performer and choreographer to his current r...

How do you invite new audiences into the symphony in a way that feels fresh, joyful, and unforgettable? Macy Schmidt has been asking that question with every project she takes on. As the founder of The Sinfonietta and CEO of Overture Global Entertainment, she's not just producing concerts—she's designing live experiences that feel transformative for new audiences. In this episode, Macy reflects on...

Few leaders expect their first months on the job to coincide with a fight for the future of the arts in America. For Erin Harkey, that became the reality when she stepped in as CEO of Americans for the Arts earlier this year—just as the federal government proposed eliminating national arts funding. In this episode, Erin reflects on her career journey, from shaping cultural policy in Chicago to ste...

What turns a live event into a cultural moment people never forget? David Jammy has some answers. As Executive Producer at Done+Dusted, he's helped shape global broadcasts from the Emmys and Kennedy Center Honors to the Global Citizen Festival and the Mark Twain Prize. In this conversation, David traces his path from student activist in apartheid-era South Africa to producing events that capture h...

AI is changing how we work. What does that mean for arts and culture? Jen Taylor, Capacity Interactive's Director of AI Strategy and Integration, shares what her research with over 100 arts leaders and administrators reveals about where the field really stands with AI: a mix of curiosity, caution, and untapped opportunity. In this episode, Jen and Monica unpack how AI can save time for under-resou...

What happens when a cultural district leads a city's revival? As President and CEO of Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Kendra Whitlock Ingram is leading the cultural district through a new era of civic transformation—building public spaces, breaking down barriers to access, and reimagining what a cultural district can be. In this episode, Kendra and Monica Holt explore what it takes to lead complex inst...

Can legacy arts institutions innovate like start-ups? Clive Chang thinks so. As President and CEO of YoungArts, he's reimagining how a 40-year-old organization can support today's multi-disciplinary artists—by questioning everything, embracing experimentation, and making space for creative risk. In this conversation, Clive and host Monica Holt unpack how to disrupt old habits, build a culture of c...

A bold new chapter. A brilliant new voice. CI's President Christopher Williams kicks off a new season of CI to Eye by welcoming Monica Holt, this season's host and Senior Advisor to Capacity Interactive. Monica reflects on her 16-year journey at the Kennedy Center, the passion that's driven her work, and all things Evita —plus what to expect from upcoming episodes. ---- LINKS: New York Times | 'Ju...

Marketing and development teams in arts and cultural organizations work toward the same goals: generating revenue, deepening relationships, and advancing the mission. But too often, they're doing that work in silos—on separate timelines, using different tools, and speaking to the same audiences in different ways. The result? Missed opportunities and diminished impact. In this episode, Cincinnati S...

Recent political developments in the U.S.—from executive orders to proposed agency closures and evolving federal funding guidelines—have placed cultural organizations at the center of a national conversation about how institutions uphold their values and navigate their role in a rapidly changing America.  In this episode, Brett Egan of the DeVos Institute of Arts and Nonprofit Management breaks do...

Great experiences don't happen by accident—they're designed with intention. From the first click on a website to the moment a visitor steps through your door to engagement after they leave, every interaction shapes how people feel about an organization. So what does it take to create a truly exceptional guest experience? Emily O'Hara, Senior Director of Guest Experience at the Detroit Zoological S...

As we face growing political tensions in the U.S. and unprecedented government interference in arts and culture programming, sustaining our commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and accessibility (DEIBA) is more critical than ever. Recent executive actions have limited resources for our industry and further silenced historically excluded voices in our field. As these challenges m...

In this episode, we revisit some of the most powerful insights from last year's guests to inspire and guide the year ahead. This isn't just a look back—it's a call to action for our industry. Listen as fourteen cultural leaders remind us why the arts matter and how we can continue to push boundaries, build connections, and lead with purpose.

The end of the year is a busy time for arts administrators, packed with holiday campaigns and fundraising deadlines. With so much happening, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. So today we're taking a moment to pause, reflect, and reconnect with our "why."  In this episode, we revisit a popular Boot Camp 2024 conversation with CI President Priya Iyer Doshi and Terri Freeman, President o...

In today's post-pandemic world, keeping our audiences engaged and organizations financially healthy can feel like an uphill battle. Changing audience behaviors have disrupted traditional marketing strategies, and high churn rates among first-time visitors, subscribers, and donors are slowing revenue growth. But what if there's a way forward that breaks from the traditional playbook? In this episod...