So this is an experiment in my real time thoughts during internet advocacy leader Matthew Gross.
Former head of the Howard Dean campaign’s online activities. He changed the game. He’s sharing his rule book with us. As Nina said in the intro – He’s creating the landscape we’ll be walking through. Read the rest of this entry »
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With a title theme like RISK AND REWARD, I can tell that the convention has really challenged administrators to move out of their comfort levels and challenge the “norm.” Rha Goddess‘ inspirational speech on identifying and sustaining emerging leadership was no exception. I’ve been pretty faithful to the Leadership Track but in my interest in attending some other non-Leadership sessions on the program schedule, I almost missed Rha Goddess. I’m so glad I didn’t. Her ideas really resonated with my post on cultural leadership. She stated that “If your art is not your center, leadership IS NOT happening” and challenged us to handle ourselves and “hold space.”
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After considerable Vegas stimulation and conference information overload, I’m still thinking about yesterday’s Arts Education Innovator and Culminating Forum session with Sir Ken Robinson. I first saw him speak in Lisbon, Portugal at the UNESCO World Conference on Arts Education and then lucked out months later by catching his address to the National Governor’s Association on C-Span late one night.
Sir Ken Robinson is an excellent storyteller. He’s witty, concise and manges to expose deeper meaning through simple narrative. (Check out his new book: “Out of Our Minds“). He makes a strong case for the potential of arts education to address global economic changes and the growing antagonisms between international cultural groups. His discussion yesterday of a ”climate crisis in human resources” struck a particular note since some colleagues and I had experienced a related phemenonon at lunch the day before.
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Although I can feel convention fatigue setting in, as I write this at 12:33 am on Sunday morning (some of that has to do with the relentless assault of Las Vegas on the mind, body and spirit), I am enthusiastic about the overall “feel” and mindset of the conference. We are a field that is coming together with a common message and call to action, one that resonates with a broad and ever-changing diversity and spectrum of audiences.
There were some wonderful presentations today that captured the essence of big picture thinking and action for the arts:
–Sir Ken Robinson, a visionary with a great sense of humor. His conversation, and the panel discussion that followed this afternoon, was all about the essential importance of the arts in education. It has resonated around the world and is starting to be appreciated in this country. I especially liked his interaction with a panel member at the MetLife session, Burns Hargis of Oklahoma, about the new “Oklahoma Creativity” initiative.
– Ann Markusen, professor at University of Minnesota, and her research and ideas about investing in the arts at the grassroots level, and in the people involved in the arts. She very succinctly takes the discussion back to the artist and the community, to remind us all that this is where it starts, and this is where we must begin our focus.
I’m really looking forward to Mathew Gross’ Public Advocacy Innovator session tomorrow, as we wind down the conference.
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” Art is not a drug like penicillin it’s a drug like cocaine, just makes you want more”
David Hickey
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It all started yesterday morning on my way to the Centerstage Welcoming activities. Halfway up the double escalators I took a whiff of what I thought was cake. My sweet tooth thought, “Hmm, maybe there is something to this Vegas experience”. To my bewilderment, it wasn’t cake exactly but the beginnings of an installation/performance by local artist Wendy Kveck. On one side of the El Dorado foyer stood a red-skirted table surrounded on three sides by a food-incrusted red wall. Most of the “food” was identifiable – cheetos, icing, marshmallows, those delicious sugar cookies with the red jelly in the middle, meat, etc. The table displayed three iced sculptures; one of which was vibrating and a meat cake sculpture was set on the corner. The vibrating sculpture drew the most attention as conference attendees filed through to register, network and mingle in the El Dorado Ballroom.
After a short but sweet introduction by AFTA’s President and CEO Bob Lynch, the Gastro-performance, “How Much Do You Really Need”, began. Four maidens – Cheeto Maiden, Lettuce Maiden, Marshmallow Maiden and my favorite, Meat Maiden – all sat at the table and were being served a three-course meal by two servers. The artist is nearby periodically whispering instructions. The maidens, one of whom owns a well-known local restaurant, show prim and proper table etiquette (except for the food masks they wore). The Food Eaters each took a bite, chewed a bit; just enough to get the taste, then spit the contents of their mouths into a communal bowl. Some of the gathering onlookers gasped, others laughed, someone sounded like she was about to loose her cookies. While most of the Maidens discreetly used the bowl, Cheeto Maiden made sure you saw what was coming out her mouth. This ritual went on for about 15 minutes with similar performances throughout the day. This performance obviously made people feel uncomfortable. A few grimaced and quickly walked away; one person quietly questioned its artistic merit. This it set the tone of the conference for me.
Let me check out “Pushing the Boundaries of Public Art”
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Feeling faithful…stuck to private sector tract.
Trends in corporate giving and Arts giving from small business. Corporations: volunteer program is the largest growing segment. Good news for cities and regions with BVA programs.
Members of the Corporate Volunteer Council in Los Angeles informed me that creating individual volunteer opportunities for their employees are difficult. It’s much easier to sign up 500 people for an AIDS walk. It falls to us to make it easy for the HR departments to tap into their most important asset knowledge capital , allowing us to leverage their knowledge, advice and expertise into stronger, better run arts organizations. However give this a read before you take advice from a corporate type.
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After listening to Lyn Heward’s keynote address The Spark: Igniting the Creative Fire That Lives Within Us All, I was completely hooked. (Any job openings for a recent Masters grad?) A quick Google search for her name brings up an astounding 16,800 hits – she’s a rockstar of the creative industries. And rightfully so – Heward is able to clearly and eloquently convey her passion for all of the creative arts while also inviting and inspiring others to join her on the creative path. Heward recently collaborated on a book about her creative journey with Cirque, and in the keynote address she shared the seven steps to unlocking our creative potential. (Click here for an excerpt.)
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I’m Anne Katz, Director of Arts Wisconsin, Wisconsin’s arts service, advocacy and development organization, and your official blogger for the “Public Advocacy” track at the 2007 Americans for the Arts conference, and I have a confession to make: I didn’t actually attend any of the “Public Advocacy” sessions at the conference today.
I particfipated in the Putting Cultural Assets to Work: Strategies for Communities session in the morning, then had a private meeting about advocacy issues (so, ok, I did focus on advocacy, at least) with another conference attendee, and spent the final session of the afternoon participating in the “Arts Environmental Scan” discussion about AFTA’s planning process. I know that the final session of the day, The State Fiscal Landscape in Transition, was led by Stan Rosenberg, a great arts advocate and political leader from Massachusetts, so I’m sorry to have missed that. I know that tomorrow I will get to at least one of the sessions I am officially supposed to cover, so will be able to report on what I learn from that.
My feeling, though, is that all of the sessions at the conference are concerned with advocacy in some way, since it’s all about speaking up for and leading in the arts arena. No matter what session you attend, throughout the conference you, and all of us, are learning more about moving our local agendas, and the national agenda, forward.
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“You can’t solve a problem with the same consciousness that created it”
~ Albert Einstein
During Jerry Yositomi‘s (Meaning Matters, LLC) Leading with Limited Authority session on Friday afternoon, over 60 people reflected upon a time when we independently made an intentional change in ourselves or a project. In our positions, how do we maneuver leading those with authority that supersedes are own?
When people don’t know what to do, those charged to make changes in leadership are often resistant to innovation. We question our competency (is designing such a program financially feasible or are we educated enough about the decision at hand to make an informed decision?), capacity (is it realistic for us to challenge our leadership or is it even worth it?), values (both personal and professional/organizational), and confidence (although we want or need something to change, do we have the assurance that we’ll be willing to take responsibility for the outcome, whatever the case?).
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If we arts administrators thought we had a herculean task before us, imagine the plight of the placard-carrying savior seeking to shepherd the lost to atone for their sins as we walked along the Freemont Street Experience tonight. Little did she know we (and by we I mean me) were quietly judging the Barbara Krueger-esque (minus the art) aesthetic of her sign as we craned our necks to watch the specially commissioned Jenny Holzer truisms live on the biggest screen on the globe (self proclaimed.) As a jaded, ex-New Yorker who now lives in LA it takes a lot to impress me and a multiple block long LED light display filled with a few minutes worth of Holzer’s truisms above head as the drunken gamblers stumbled along was just this side of transcendent. Thank you to all the Sinners who made that series of moments possible for me and the unwashed masses with their to-go cups.
Vegas, baby! Sin city, I wish her luck. Makes my work seem a little easier.
Meanwhile…back on The Strip…day one at the Flamingo, or really inside the flamingo. Read the rest of this entry »
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The 2007 conference kicked off with a bang. Opening night activities included a reception at the Clark County government center and a visit to the Fremont Street Experience, where vintage Vegas neon meets high-tech entertainment. The centerpiece of Fremont Street is the overhead canopy with more than 12 million LEDs — this is the world’s largest video display, which is used to project a variety of video productions each night.
Friday night’s video art included The Drop, where a single drop of water is a portal to a fantastical underwater realm filled with colorful fish, mermaids, manta rays, and even showgirls made from flowers. In addition to The Drop, conference attendees were treated to a special installation by the conceptual artist Jenny Holzer. Holzer’s work For Las Vegas included her characteristic use of words and phrases and a special message for AFTA members.
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It’s the first day of the 2007 Americans for the Arts Convention! It’s hot in Las Vegas and although the Flamingo Hotel can be a little confusing, we’ve all managed to navigate our ways through the casinos, crowds, and mirrored hallways (they all look the same and seem to take you back to where you started!) to our respective sessions. Speaking of navigating through challenges and obstacles, I’ll be checking-in frequently to report back on my musings and reflections from Leadership Track sessions over the course of convention weekend. I’d like to share some thoughts on today’s Cultural Leadership session… Read the rest of this entry »
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So I decided to return to my hotel room to blog from bed. Vegas is nothing if not exhausting, and I’ve already seen more fake bodies and drunken frat boys than one San Franciscan can handle. I suppose it’s fitting since rumor has it Vegas IS the new Hollywood. This rumor might also explain the trash items found by one of my colleagues underneath her bed at the Flamingo. Fortunately for me, the Flamingo and Harrah’s were booked by the time I got my act together to make a reservation so I’m reaping the benefits of a great Hotels.com deal at the Signature at MGM Grand. Just a tip for your next trip to Vegas…
Anyhow, Risk and Reward is definitely the right theme for this conference. It’s risky enough just negotiating the Flamingo casino floor to get to your workshop of choice. But all and all, it’s the best kind of environment for an arts conference – chaotic, loud, unruly, fast, wildly varied in temperature, and challenging to navigate. It makes you pay attention to where you are going (or staying) which is a fitting metaphor for the state of arts education (in case you haven’t had the opportunity to hear Eric Booth so eloquently speak to this yet).
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Alec Baldwin and Nigel Lythgoe talk about the state of the arts in America at Arts Advocacy Day 2012. The acclaimed actor and famed producer discuss arts education and what inspires them.
