ARTSblog

Connectivity from Lex Leifheit on Vimeo.

In my role as Vice Chair of the Emerging Leaders Council of Americans for the Arts, I spend a lot of time thinking about the “big picture” role of leadership and professional development in the arts, but a significant part of my day-to-day work at the Green Street Arts Center involves grassroots leadership—connecting and collaborating with underserved artists who have great ideas, but need Green Street’s assistance to realize them. These two hats (not mutually exclusive) brought me to  this morning’s Leadership and Connectivity session. Read the rest of this entry »

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Lively hoots and hollers accompanied the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) panel introduction when Lynn Tuttle, Director of Arts Education with the Arizona Department of Education, led 120+ national arts education professionals in a 20-minute overview of everything you ever wanted to know about NCLB and the arts.

She offered “NCLB BINGO” as the framework for sharing the plain-language facts about this legislation and the controversies that surround it. The dubious prizes included tomes on navigating titled programs, and other stimulating education legislation. Read the rest of this entry »

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Yesterday Dewey Schott and I co-presented the advance workshop “Personal Evolution: Peer Coaching Circles” attended by 12 inspirational arts managers from across the country. Dawn Ellis, one of the attendees, noted that Personal Evolution was a nice parallel to American Evolution, the theme of this year’s convention. For the workshop attendees we witnessed many personal evolutions. It was an excellent way to launch the convention—getting in touch with our own development—both personal and professional.

Coaching is a fantastic resource for the arts. Learn more by stopping by the Career 360 on Saturday.

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• Plus 1 for getting early check-in at the hotel after arriving in on the red eye at o’ dark thirty.
• Minus 1 for somebody else’s dirty sheets in my bed.
• Plus 1 for the extra blanket in the closet that led to the fully clothed nap.
• Minus 1 for sleeping a little longer than expected…oops.
• Plus 1 for the grand entrance to the morning session just as my colleague was describing all the incredible work we do at LA Stage Alliance.
• Minus 1 for us not actually being an arts and business council, or a bva, or a uaf. What is it exactly that we’re doing here again?
• Plus 2 for a lady of a certain age getting really excited about their organization having a “myface, or whatever it is that we have, but we’ve got it now and it’s cool. It’s great to have interns.”
• Plus 1 for ganking ideas from other regions as we consider what our model of an arts and business council might look like in a market as ginormous as ours. Read the rest of this entry »

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I always look forward to Convention, but this is especially interesting because of the host city—Philadelphia. Last year I applied to a several graduate programs in urban planning, urban design, and historic preservation. Among my primary criteria was the opportunity to live in a city that could serve as an interesting urban lab, one that was experiencing a great cultural renaissance and recognized the value of art and culture within their urban infrastructure. It’s no surprise that I spent a good portion of the year highly considering life in Philadelphia. Read the rest of this entry »

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I arrived in Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon to be sure that I was well rested for the 8:30 Council meetings on Thursday morning. I wanted to see as much of the city as I can so when I arrived at the train station I decided to walk to the hotel, all the while scoping out the public art along the way. As I rounded the corner of 17th Street and JFK Boulevard, a Jonathan Borofsky in the Comcast building lobby caught my eye so I went to investigate. While admiring the sculptures overhead, the wood-paneled wall behind me came alive with images and sounds. What I thought was wood is actually “the world’s largest 4mm LED wall.” For the next few minutes I, and about 20 other people, were entertained by video, poetry, and 3D animation in what I considered to be a beautiful marriage of art, architecture, and technology. It is indeed a fitting start to a conference about “Art in the New Civic Life.”

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Tuesday, June 16: I leave on Thursday for the conference and I am so excited.

Lots of interesting and exciting activites going on and I’m volunteering at the conference so my schedule is NUTS!

I’ve been checking and double checking my schedule to make sure everything is accounted for. One thing we have done is to tag team the conference (my co-workers are also attending, Alicia Oddi and Bryan Knicely) so we get to bring back the most we can from the presentations.

I’m super excited about the Career 360 session I’ll be hosting with Jennifer Wijangco on Saturday—Resume Review/Interview tips from the for-profit perspective. Having spent some time in corporate community relations and human resources, then migrating to the nonprofit arts sector has given me a unique perspective on the dynamics between the two. It’s been culture shock to say the least.

Has anyone else come to the arts by way of the for-profit world? How have you coped with the differences?

Would love to have folks say HI, so make sure to sign up for the dine-around on Friday night—I’ll be hosting Nodding Head Brew Pub. The Eemerging Leaders Council are a friendly and dynamic bunch, so make sure to introduce yourself. Mitch Menchaca and I are hosting a dialogue on Creative Conversations and networking at the local level on Saturday morning for you early birds.

See you at conference!! Safe Travels!!

Ruby Classen

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Arts professionals are using survey software to traverse distances and harvest data to validate the work of art in our left-brain society. As a result, we are now able to make a few claims about what the arts provide, what the arts need, and what the arts can do next.

I am looking for answers and connections when I come to a conference, and this year I am heading into the Americans for the Arts Arts Education sessions with some very specific questions based on a bundle of surveys that have been completed this past year about teaching artistry.

A comprehensive table of these surveys will be shared in the next few days, so we will circulate it after the conference. But, a sneak preview of the questions that are bubbling up is offered here. I reference ideas from Judith Tannenbaum in 2007 when she left the Anericans for the Arts conference and wrote “What Have We Got to Lose? Preserving the Important Qualities of the Teaching Artist Profession, While Still Moving Ahead with Its Professionalism.”

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Podcast: Download (14.7MB)

Lex Leifheit is the Vice Chair of the Emerging Leader Council and she runs a weekly radio show on 88.1FM, WESU Radio in Middletown, CT, called “The Art Agenda.” Since Lex is going to be in Philadelphia, she pre-recorded her show to air this weekend. In this podcast, Lex sits down with Rebecca Borden, manager of professional development, to talk about this week’s convention activities as well as theme for next year’s convention in Seattle, June 18-20, 2009.  If you want a behind the scenes peak into why program leads at Americans for the Arts design the Annual Convention the way they do, this  approximately 30 minute interview will give you some new insights into how one staff member prepares for one of our biggest art gatherings of the year and how she tries to find that elusive work-life balance along the way (and, yes workouts were skipped to get this post up!).

The following interview is an excerpt from “The Art Agenda” with Lex Leifhiet, broadcast weekly on 88.1FM, WESU Radio in Middletown, CT. For other Art Agenda podcasts, visit http://www.lexleifheit.com.

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I’ve just spent a few minutes recalling the NALAA/Americans for the Arts conferences I have attended, and I think the grand total is—good heavens—15! I’m having a bit of trouble with putting together the correct places and dates, though—I’ll have to check around the website and see if there’s a list so I can refresh my memory.

You’d think that after all these conferences, I might be less than enthusiastic about attending yet another one, but that’s not at all true. The convention is one of the highlights of my professional year. I reconnect with the friends I have made over my 20+ year career in community arts, I absorb great information and ideas from other places, and I get to be right in the thick of the national “conversation” about the essential importance of the arts in our society. Those contacts, that information, and that participation are invaluable tools for me to use every day in my work. I look forward to the annual convention with great anticipation and gusto, and always want to stay just a little longer so I can soak it all in.

I recently talked with a colleague here in Madison who is new to the community arts world and about to attend her first convention. She wanted to get some idea about how to get the most out of the convention—who the leaders were, what aspects of the conference were most important, what kinds of sessions to attend. Talking with her, I remembered my excitement and nervousness when I arrived at my first NALAA conference (Washington, 1986), and the thrill I felt as I began to realize that here were people I could talk to and learn from.

I still feel that thrill, and it’s why I’m so looking forward to Philadelphia. See you there!

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This is my fourth convention (Austin, Milwaukee, Vegas and now Philly) and in preparation for each I take time to set out my goals.

Questions I ask myself:

• Why am I attending and how will I know it was a successful convention for me?
• Who do I hope to meet and how can I grow my network?
• How do I introduce myself since I always have on three hats?

I’m interested in hearing how other folks prepare.

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Convention is right around the corner and I can taste the anticipation in the air! I am hearing from so many people about how excited they are to see each other, to attend sessions and just be in the same room together. Yes, I oversee two program tracks (Leadership and Career360) and I will be working throughout the three+ days. But my convention experience is more than my job. It reconnects me with why I do the work that I do. Sometimes I attend other national convenings and it takes energy away from me. The people at our convention fill me with energy; they feed my soul. I can’t wait.

We have invited some attendees to blog their convention experience and I’d like to take a moment to introduce them now. Read the rest of this entry »

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Career 360 is a new, innovative dimension of our Annual Convention. So far,
the feedback we have been receiving confirms that lots of people are really
excited about participating in a full menu of discussions, appointments
and sessions.

At Career 360 Clinics, we have the best consultants in the country at your feet.
Looking for advice on your organization’s strategic, fundraising or marketing
plan? What about your community’s cultural policy plan or your local creative
economy initiative? Ask questions about public art master plans. Meet with
some coaches. Talk to arts administration faculty.

To make the most
of this opportunity, come prepared with specific questions, issues and topics.
You will only have 30-minutes – !use it wisely! – but you will get pointed
in the right direction for next steps.

The consultants
listed below will be available for 30-minute appointments. Sign up will be
available at CenterStage on first come, first serve basis. Read the rest of this entry »

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