my brain hurts
June 21st, 2008 at 06:24am Anne Katz
It’s the end of the first full day of the conference and my brain is already overflowing with ideas, thoughts, models, best practices gleaned from my colleagues in the field. It’s exhilarating! My one on one conversations with colleagues and the larger sessions I’ve attended have been full of the language of the arts in the 21st century creative economy, community development, community vitality, investment in the arts and arts education, capacity-building, sustainability, creative capital, authentic and unique, hand-made and home-grown. And, as an activist for the arts, I’ve attended sessions and had conversations about hardball advocacy for the arts, political organizing, strategic alliances, and building relationships. Those are also part of the language of the arts in the 21st century.
I appreciated the political nature of the luncheon presentations today, since it shows how far we’ve come in terms of infusing the arts into the civic conversation. The savvy support of politicians like Mayor Nutter and Donna Brazile keeps us on our toes. I also really appreciated the session on “creative economy models” from the state of Louisiana, Santa Monica, and San Antonio—three great examples of strategic planning, policy and legislation, political organizing, and enlightened leadership with impressive results.
Can’t wait ’til tomorrow to keep filling my brain with ideas and inspiration.
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