AMS Planning & Research Corp

AMS Planning & Research Corp AMS Planning & Research is committed to the role of the arts, culture and entertainment in our commu

Applications are open for AMS's Lynette A. Turner Pathways to Consulting Fellowship — a paid, 12-week opportunity for pe...
09/15/2026

Applications are open for AMS's Lynette A. Turner Pathways to Consulting Fellowship — a paid, 12-week opportunity for people historically underrepresented in arts consulting to gain real, hands-on experience.

Fellows work full-time and fully remote, alongside our team on actual consulting projects. The placement runs Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the fellow's own time zone. It pays $720 per week and includes a laptop for the duration. We're currently accepting applications for Winter 2027 placements.

If you're a student, recent graduate, or emerging professional building skills in research, analysis, or strategy for arts and culture organizations, we'd love for you to apply. If you're faculty, an administrator, or just know someone who should see this, please share it with them.

Learn more: https://www.ams-planning.com/opportunity-ams-expanding-pathways-to-consulting-fellowship-4/
Apply: https://amspnr.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eK8hK1zRPKBQ28K

Some buildings carry more than square footage.The Eng Homestead is one of the last intact single-family homes in Seattle...
09/08/2026

Some buildings carry more than square footage.

The Eng Homestead is one of the last intact single-family homes in Seattle's Chinatown-International District. Wing Luke Museum acquired it in 2021. Before any financial modeling started, that history already shaped which uses were on the table.

AMS worked with the Museum to model realistic financial scenarios for the site, while weighing what the building meant to the neighborhood around it.

What came out of it wasn't a single answer. It was a clearer view of the tradeoffs, financial and otherwise, that come with reimagining a historic space.

How do you balance mission and history against financial pragmatism when planning for a space like this?

Read the full case study on our website: https://www.ams-planning.com/case_studies/wing-luke-museum-eng-homestead-site/

What does it take to make a renovated cultural facility work for the community it serves, not just financially, but in w...
09/01/2026

What does it take to make a renovated cultural facility work for the community it serves, not just financially, but in who actually gets to walk through the door?

That was the question at the center of AMS's engagement work with the City of Savannah on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center and Johnny Mercer Theatre redevelopment.

29 stakeholder interviews. Direct outreach to prospective users. And a clear finding: most organizations interested in the renovated space were smaller not-for-profits, many on budgets under $1 million.

That's what drove the plan. Discounted rental rates for local not-for-profits. A formal City-use access policy. A facility built to stay affordable for the groups who depend on it most.

The result is a redevelopment plan shaped by what Savannah's arts organizations and residents actually asked for: expanded access, restored cultural prominence, and a sustainable path forward.

How does your community balance access and sustainability in shared cultural spaces?

Read the full case study here on our website here: https://www.ams-planning.com/case_studies/city-of-savannah-key-stakeholder-community-engagement-for-...

New cultural facilities almost never break even on day one — and that's not a flaw in the plan, it's the plan.We're prou...
08/25/2026

New cultural facilities almost never break even on day one — and that's not a flaw in the plan, it's the plan.

We're proud to have supported the feasibility study for the Lincoln Clay Arts Center, which is turning a beautifully restored 1909 Carnegie Library in Lincoln, California into a new home for ceramic arts, education, and community programming.

Like most new arts organizations, LCAC expects an early operating gap while it builds its audience, programs, and revenue. Instead of hiding that, their team is telling funders and community partners upfront — here's what it actually takes to build something that lasts.

We've seen this again and again. Organizations that are honest about their early-stage realities build stronger, longer-term community support than those promising instant sustainability.

When did transparency about early costs help you build stronger donor trust?

Parks & Recreation departments are increasingly being asked to lead arts and culture initiatives — even without dedicate...
08/18/2026

Parks & Recreation departments are increasingly being asked to lead arts and culture initiatives — even without dedicated arts infrastructure to support them.

It's a growing reality across the country, and it's one AMS has been supporting for years. From Mammoth Lakes, CA to Las Vegas to Vancouver, WA, we work alongside Parks & Rec leaders to help them navigate the intersection of public recreation and arts strategy.

The communities driving this work deserve thoughtful planning. That's what we show up to do.

On August 15, Northlight Theatre celebrates the grand opening of their new building in Evanston, Illinois.AMS is proud t...
08/11/2026

On August 15, Northlight Theatre celebrates the grand opening of their new building in Evanston, Illinois.

AMS is proud to have served as owner's counsel through construction of this project. Watching it come to life is a reminder of why thoughtful planning matters.

Congratulations to everyone who made this possible.

A standing-room-only crowd showed up this week for a conversation about something a lot of historic theatres are quietly...
08/04/2026

A standing-room-only crowd showed up this week for a conversation about something a lot of historic theatres are quietly navigating: what it means to serve two missions at once.

Meg Friedman (Knowledge Manager & Senior Project Leader) and Yuwen Shen (Senior Analyst) represented AMS at this year's League of Historic American Theatres conference. Their session on navigating "dual missions" in historic theatres drew that crowd.

At the Gettysburg Majestic, that means balancing the academic mission of parent organization Gettysburg College with its role as the public heart of a small community. At the Shubert in New Haven, it means answering to an engaged local board as well as CAPA, the organization's parent company.

Different structures, same underlying challenge: staying accountable to more than one mission without losing sight of the community in front of you.

Elsewhere at the conference, Yuwen noticed a related dynamic surfacing around AI, particularly in grant writing, evaluation, and copyright, where gaining efficiency can come at the cost of the human creativity at the center of the work.

Is your organization navigating more than one mission right now? What does that balance actually look like?

On July 31st, the Women's Leadership Center in Williams Bay, Wisconsin opens its doors — and we couldn't be prouder to h...
07/28/2026

On July 31st, the Women's Leadership Center in Williams Bay, Wisconsin opens its doors — and we couldn't be prouder to have played a role in the planning behind it.

Designed by Studio Gang, this extraordinary space was built to bring women leaders together across disciplines to collaborate, innovate, and create lasting impact.

Congratulations to everyone who made this possible.

Yuwen Shen and Meg Friedman from AMS are heading to Indianapolis this week for the League of Historic American Theatres ...
07/13/2026

Yuwen Shen and Meg Friedman from AMS are heading to Indianapolis this week for the League of Historic American Theatres annual conference.

They'll be facilitating a panel on "Navigating Dual Missions in Historic Theatres" — a topic close to our work and one that raises real, layered questions for organizations trying to honor their history while building their future.

If you're at LHAT this week, we'd love to connect.

Jon Faris and Nora Fleury from AMS are in New York City this week for a round of studio tours and office visits with arc...
07/08/2026

Jon Faris and Nora Fleury from AMS are in New York City this week for a round of studio tours and office visits with architecture and design colleagues.

Arts and culture planning works best when it's collaborative — and staying connected with peers doing great work across the field is how we keep bringing fresh thinking to every project.

This is the kind of week that reminds us why staying connected matters.

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