On July 6 the board of directors at HotHouse suspended founder and executive director Marguerite Horberg without pay. Horberg says the board didn’t tell her why, and the board is limited in its ability to comment publicly on personnel matters. But the bone of contention was clearly the venue’s impending transition to a dual-leadership structure–Horberg was to remain executive director, handling programming and fund-raising, and a newly appointed business director was to take over other day-to-day operations.
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Horberg herself calls the suspension a “coup d’etat” by board president Martin Bishop and his supporters, and says it’s jeopardizing the club’s artistic identity and fund-raising ability. The board, for its part, was trying to address that very problem–that Horberg’s departure could cripple HotHouse–by spreading some of her duties around. Horberg has lawyered up, but the board maintains it was within its rights to suspend her–it’s unclear on what grounds she’ll fight.
Ironically, the idea to hire a business director originally came from Horberg. And Bishop, a senior counsel with Foley & Lardner, joined the board as president three years ago at Horberg’s request–it was part of her effort to strengthen the organization after HotHouse was briefly closed by city officials in 2003 for licensing violations. (Bishop’s firm has also acted as a pro bono legal resource for the venue.) Horberg’s relationship with the board didn’t begin to erode till January, when serious talks began about the restructuring of her job. “Her reaction once the board had committed to the dual-leadership concept is sort of baffling to everybody,” says Bishop.
Horberg is also convinced that the board can’t keep the soul of HotHouse alive without her. “Ultimately it’s a question of mission,” she says. “Is having a Dutch avant-garde cellist playing for an audience of 12 people going to be OK with the board? Is it going to be OK to have Hamid Drake and Fred Anderson play for 40 people? Or are they only going to be looking to book blockbuster shows?”
Horberg says the only way she’d consider returning would be if Bishop and those who’ve sided with him were to resign from the board. “Otherwise, I don’t see how it works. I just don’t see how you have two visions for an organization.”
