The mission of The Center for International Performance and Exhibition (CIPEX) is to expose audiences to a wide range of cultural expression, to encourage respect of our ethnic diversity, and to promote a greater understanding of differing artistic traditions and perspectives.

As Founder and Executive Director of The Center and International Performance and Exhibition, I have dedicated myself for over twenty years to building this organization from an idea into an internationally renowned non-profit cultural institution.

As has been publicly announced elsewhere, this July, I was suspended from my position as Executive Director and banned from the premises of HotHouse, Further my staff has been visited by the board chair and informed of this fact while I was away attending a board approved Executive Program for Non-Profit Leaders in the Arts at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. This irony has not been lost on the many concerned supporters that read that I have been suspended for not accepting a demotion to “artistic director and fundraiser”

At no time have I been given any specific list of grievances in my performance as Executive Director, or any opportunity to address or cure the same before I was suspended as would be accorded to anyone else in my position, let alone the founder of the organization on whose Board these trustees now serve.

During two decades of public service I have fostered the growth of CIPEX by initiating the non-profit structure under which we operate, and thereby starting the board of directors and inviting onto that Board persons who could serve to duly exercise their responsibilities as Board members in accordance with the bylaws of the organization, the charter of the State of Illinois and to help and support the mission and purpose of CIPEX.

In those many years there have been hundreds of staff, board members, committee members, volunteers, members, donors, patrons, artists and collaborators who have made the institution what it is today. As a community, we have come together to create one of the most beloved grassroots cultural centers on the planet and served over 1 million people who have attended over 7,000 events since 1987- when we began.

We built HotHouse on a shoe string without much money, with volunteer labor, with second hand furnishings, donated art work and plenty of spirit and love.

In each chapter of growth as well as the adversity known to all small businesses – the public came together to lend support, expertise, a turn at the wheel and extend an outstretched hand to get us to the next level. When HotHouse took the lead in raising money last year for musicians affected by Katrina - relief came in from our colleagues around the world. It has been this interconnectedness to our global community that has been our hallmark and success.

Yet sadly, in the past four months, four members of the board of directors have presumed to speak for this extended family and assume the dictate and direction of the organization. They have made a series of uncorroborated allegations of personal misconduct in my role as Executive Director, made serious unsubstantiated allegations that I have misappropriated company funds for personal use which have been shown to be false, and most recently released to the public a memorandum that states that as a result of a “thoughtful, lengthy and deliberate discussion of issues ranging from the financial, structural, and legal issues that HotHouse faces …I have been suspended from my position indefinitely without pay. While they state that this serious motion was carried by a unanimous vote, indeed it was not.

In fact, in response to the Board’s decision to suspend me, a fellow board member Bruce Robbins wrote a strongly worded protest letter to the board requesting: that I be reinstated in my position, and that an open facilitated meeting be held immediately. His request that was enjoined by three other board members was rejected.

This letter was then followed by a letter written to the entire board by key stakeholders in the organization, including many of the major donors and long term supporters and delivered by messenger to the July 13 board meeting. This letter was initially ignored then responded to publicly in the memorandum cited above which moved to ambiguously remove me from my post. Further the memorandum states that “we were disappointed to learn that, in fact there have been closed meetings and conversations facilitated by you the existence of which has been kept from the majority of the board”

On the contrary, board members Angela Spinazze and Luis Diaz Perez have frequently objected to the both the time and place of past meetings that have prevented their participation and together all four of us have been an advocate of a democratic and transparent process that repeatedly sought an open facilitation process that would salve the current tensions and indeed prevent the current crisis.

Further we have many unanswered concerns around issues of board governance including: an apparent conflict of interest with the board chair that also is the organizations legal advisor and the lack of elections or regard for term limits for the directors and the way one long time member was removed as director. In spite of these numerous written and verbal objections, this group of four has acted blithely deflected every attempt to democratize the board and has persisted to pretend it is speaking for the public when indeed it has only speaking for a considered minority.

While publicly the board chair and a faction of the board has indicted in a recent article in the Chicago Tribune that this debate simply revolves around a question of hiring a business manager and rewriting my job title and responsibilities, it does not.

I have been proactively developing the organization from its inception and have sought every opportunity to professionalize the institution. In fact earlier this year I developed a program with the Kelly School of Business at University of Indiana and hired an MBA student interim business manager who was tasked to integrate the newly created position into the culture of the organization and make the transition to a fulltime hire by the fall. While proactively advocating for a split in responsibilities I have also maintained that I am more than capable to continue as the chief executive officer that would supervise this newly created position and moreover that I am more equipped to do that than a board that has zero experience in this business.

I am able to substantiate that qualification by pointing to my tenure as director where I have stewarded the phenomenal growth of this business which currently is at an annual average of 8% a year. HotHouse operates with an annual budget of +1.8 million dollars, 85% is derived from earned income revenues in an industry where 50%-60% is standard, and in an industry where returns are flat or negative.

While the institution has never been supported by any capital investments (except the furnishings and other material assets I brought to it), and I have been the principal development officer in addition to my many other duties, I have been able to produce net income the last several years, retire substantial start up debts, reduce liabilities year over year, grow the organization from 1 paid full time staff person to 8, and generally outperform the industry and local competitors in the field.

I have recruited and mentored all of the seven senior staff, creating a dynamic team, all of whom were recruited because of their zeal for the mission and my discernment of their inherent creative talent. In addition to my duties I have dedicated significant time to training and mentoring this staff that had little expertise in the field prior to their work at the center. And in this regard I chose to make a substantial contribution to building and cultivating the next generation of arts leaders.

Together we have over the years and under my leadership developed a reputation for award winning quality and innovative programming, and a city wide audience of diverse demographic and socio-economic range that reflects the mission.

This personal dedication has earned me some of the highest awards and accolades bestowed to persons working in this field including the Excellence in Arts Management Award, numerous Best of Chicago awards, and Chicagoan of the Year. I am indeed respected around the world in the arts community as a leader in this industry.

As the leading and often only fundraiser in the organization, I have marshaled personal contacts to host successful gala events and been the sole author of the numerous applications to philanthropic donors, responsible for increasing contributions from this sector on average of 8%, again the average when a development professional is not employed, growth is anticipated at less than 5%. Last year in addition to my duties, I raised over $200,000 in unearned income while the board contributed a total of $300 dollars even though there is in place “give or get” policy.

And while the current board has contributed an enormous contribution of time and sweat equity including many thousands of dollars in pro bono legal services, it has failed to organize any fundraising activities or successfully incorporate the talent of the many dozens of volunteers that have expressed a persistent desire to either join the board or join a volunteer committee. In fact this small group had dwindled down to just 4 board members at the beginning year in spite of the efforts by the public to become active.

Next year HotHouse will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Throughout the past months I have been an ardent proponent of organizing a series of events to commemorate that historic watershed moment.

As of August 11, Brady Meisenhelder, the back of house manager and Adam Rees, the interim business manager will have resigned, and there will be no effective leadership at HotHouse nor any plan to run the organization except by the continued rule and instruction of four board members who have no experience in running this complex organization. This does not have the appearance of a sound business strategy or course of action.

It is in the best interests of HotHouse and CIPEX that the Board immediately seek a facilitator with considered experience in non-profit organizational development/arts to help resolve the differences that have lead to this critical situation and that the Board immediately reinstate me retroactive to the date of suspension as Executive Director under the job description I have operated under. Further it is crucial that the stakeholders who have made considerable investment throughout the development of the organization be allowed to return to a position of trusteeship and replace the members whose terms have expired. These steps are essential if we are to restore public confidence in the institution and move forward in a constructive way to continue the valuable work of HotHouse.

Sincerely;
Marguerite Horberg
HotHouse Founder and Executive Director