Alex Sarian — Relevance and Leadership in the Arts

Send us Fan MailJoin us as we sit down with Alex Sarian, bestselling author of The Audacity of Relevance and President and CEO of Calgary's Arts Commons. Sarian’s innovative approach to cultural leadership has not only transformed Calgary’s Arts Commons but also unlocked over $500 million in funding, reshaping cultural leadership across Canada. This marks the largest cultural infrastructure project in Canadian history.In this episode, Sarian shares how he leads Arts Commons with a focus on community engagement and a service-oriented leadership model. Learn how his visionary approach has aligned Arts Commons’ success with Calgary’s civic ambitions, reducing government dependency through a social enterprise model.Sarian also challenges conventional thinking on audience development, arguing that programming relevance must come before ticket price adjustments to truly build value. He reveals how arts organizations can achieve both relevance and financial sustainability by focusing on the needs of their communities.Throughout the conversation, one key question emerges as central to Sarian’s success: “What does the world need right now that we are uniquely positioned to do?” Discover how this guiding principle has transformed fundraising, programming, and the cultural landscape at Arts Commons.*Correction: Lizzie says in the video introduction that Sarian is a New York Times bestselling author — while we think he should be, he's a nationally bestselling author. So, here she is manifesting...so, go buy his book!photo credit: Jeremy FokkensAll episodes are also available in video form on our YouTube and Spotify Channels. All episodes are hosted by Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bowman. Don’t forget to subscribe, share the love, and leave us a review to show your support—it means a lot to us!Don't hesitate to reach out to us with guest ideas, information you'd like covered, or any ideas you might have—the hope is for this to be a continuous resource and dialogue with our listeners.Visit TheSceneRoom.com for more information.