Evolve & Vocalize: A Spotlight on Next Generation Arts Leadership

On April 11, SFBAEAP hosted its first public event, titled “Evolve & Vocalize: A Spotlight on Next Generation Arts Leadership.” Our first series of blog posts on this site show some of the results from the day, work resulting from the remarkable collaboration of approximately 80 participants, representing a cross-section of artists, arts organizations, funders, educators, administrators, and advocates, from the San Francisco Bay Area community.

There is a wealth of information, which has been divided as follows:

Basic info

Question 1: Broad Trends and Implications

Question 2: What can we do now?

Stickies Snapshot (brief summaries of emerging discussion topics)

Overview

In addition, we’ve created pages reflecting what were identified as the most critical topics, with lists that smaller groups generated of what our community could do to address our concerns, or make progress on that particular issue. Follow the links in the right sidebar or at the top of this blog to read those results.

We hope you’ll share your feedback, and get involved! As the “Evolve & Vocalize” participants concluded, “We can act now to make a positive and powerful impact.”

Evolve & Vocalize: What can we do now?

Change in trickled down funding

Offering micro-grants

Identifying a different business model

Find a way to get more money for the independent artist

Assign someone under 30 on the board

Advocacy, Becoming knowledgeable about legislation that affects the arts

Funders round table

Education for both artists and founders

Continue to nourish opportunities for potential collaborations and networking

Arts + political involvement

Identifying and funding artists healthcare as well as sustainable survival

Giving money for program development and process not just product

Identifying/Creating Space, like Red Ink Studios in Hunters Point

Collect best practices + finance information to share with emerging artists / organizations

Develop internships for arts advocacy to support knowledge and action of/on legislation

Support the work of SF BAEAP

Build cross disciplinary programs to support shared goals

Identify symbiotic relationships between institutions

Mentorship programs for administrators of artists run spaces and community arts organizations

Plugging into existing communities i.e. critique groups, artist run spaces, etc

Networking – hearing other people stories

Resist the desire to be all things to all people

Make friends who have insight (explore need for partnerships)

Clarifying our mission

Forums, networks building bridges

Foster connections

Create a website for people to interact

Offer professional development opportunities

Offer a space for people to barter services (on website)

Create book clubs

Exchange of art and non art sectors

Partnerships – match making

Create Professional mentorship programs

Create an advisory board – with specific roles

Emphasize work/life balance

Offer organizational support towards personal art practice, professional development and social benefits

Opportunity to interact as artists not just “arts professionals”

Professional mentorship opportunities

Build philosophy of continued learning/development built into job description or mission

Creativity model: TED.COM

A collective voice to share our outcomes as artist to broad communities.

Share outcome with other cross-disciplinary artists as well

Meaningful collaborations across diverse platforms for showcasing one another, a more social (more arts, less production work) sustainable and fun.

Meeting model: Meet-up.com (people sharing what they are working on, while having fun.

Stride towards a tangible connection between arts thinking and street level / community level contexts.

Provide a dedicated space (arts center with housing)

Offer a portal for how for-profits/non profits can work with one another

Our community – Artistic + design thinking

Increase the bottom up input model (communities, artist, bottom level workers)

Offer entrepreneurial programs

Offer creative workshops, services for corporations

Help individual artists navigate while positioning themselves in a capitalist workforce (diversify their offerings)

Online/off line networking opportunities

Bridging gaps between generations

Advocating for a new model – the Obama Model

How to run a self sustainable organization with low funds

Mentorship program to share skills between emerging and established art professionals

Set a bulleting board for members interaction

Facilitate a barter system

Time to get together to identify specific topics “Support Groups” Meet-up.com

Artistic administrative counseling on communication (organizational coach)

Helping to identify a career trajectory and leveraging skills

Educating current leaders about resources within community – how can it benefit the organization?

Meet more

Identify issues

Organize workshops

Get to know our community challenges /solutions

Share resources

Find allies

Find common goals

Work on different strategies

How do we articulate our strengths? Capitalize on creativity.

Prevent burnout / artist isolation

Fund research and advocate on impact of the arts – How can we bring this perspective into our organizations?

Increase collaborations and partnerships

Get more funds for office operations and administrative costs

Help create giving circles

When resources are scarce, how do organizations/artists make time, think about new approaches/models

Transfer of knowledge inter-organization – communication is key

Affect career centers at universities

Recognizing your own value as an artist

Offer an avenue for community to vent (network affiliation)

Or vent by redefining roles – owning craft, making your own community

Value yourself / confidence / worth (skills)

Understand options (+/-) for sustainability

Make real world solutions available and transferable

Offer training in writing a business plan

Knowing your worth instead of seeking external validation for $

What IS the next step?

Teach Teamwork vs. corporate models

Block / protect soul sucking

Teach how one can balance methods for making a living

o How to maintain fiscal sustainability

A culture of service – education/theater/health, science, food/nutrition

Tap into the diversity

Definition of community – Regional vs. local

Arts advocacy and economic development

Recognize that competition for funding discouraging alliances

Translate policy language

Fund arts administration degrees

Stop recreating the wheel!

Experimentation – art as research

Teach people to become their own advocates

Help people develop the language they need

Develop a culture of natural mentorship

Building learning communities

Cross pollinate ideas/programs/people

Create a mentorship blueprint

Offer career path counseling

Can BEAEAP be the repository or information source or cleaning house for case studies of art career paths

What already exists – opportunities, life styles, communities, +/- attributes framework

Act as a resource radar and transparency

Information sharing about opportunities for professional development

Emphasizing importance skills value or artists in professional sector

Keep asking questions, infuse new ideas

Key: grass roots, volunteer and DYI environments

Distilling the many opportunities within the bay area

Evolve & Vocalize: Overview

Overview

We can act now to make a positive, powerful impact

1. Provide opportunities to connect

  • a. share resources
  • b. technology
  • c. life

2. Entrepreneurial training

  • a. business plan marketing, branding
  • b. grant writing

3. Don’t want to be redundant

  • a. use technology

4. Mentorship

  • a. help those that are lost
  • b. career map

5. Partnership

  • a. Co-produce
  • b. Know what we’re up to

6. Leverage out current knowledge

  • a. Market our process
  • b. Position ourselves as consultants

7. Making the case

  • a. Broader societies view of us

8. Founders do roundtables

  • a. listen to our ideas

9. Founders create residencies for artists
10. Founders giving money to artists

  • a. addressing process and not just product

11. Virtual arts organizations
12. Influence what’s already out there

  • a. Jumping on a train that’s already going

13. more attention to sharing resources

  • a. Forums
  • b. Share ideas
  • c. Regional sharing
  • d. Different people getting involved

14. Paradox= work is not valued vs. people staying forever
15. Smart people in this room
16. Ok to be more profit and business oriented
17. Non-profits can look to small businesses
18. Use of volunteers
19. Political involvement

  • a. Recruiting for boards
  • b. Everyone should be an arts advocate
  • c. Share responsibility
  • d. local advocacy
  • e. Groom yourself for these roles
  • f. What’s happening in Washington

20. Value system

  • a. Language is shifting
  • b. Help us figure out what to do!

21. Relocation of resources

  • a. Schools doing research

22. Adapting

  • a. Artists and orgs being resourceful
  • b. Staying positive

Evolve & Vocalize: Stickies snapshot

– Technology: inexpensive/efficient
– communication/resources/audience participation, knowing where to invest your time.
– Teaching older generation how to use new tech requires investment
– Technology allows for direct access. Allows random individuals access to people with similar ideas / activities “you like ducks? Me too!”
– Is snail mail still cool?
– Is tweeter elitist?
– Clarifying the role of the artist
– More innovative ideas by orgs and artist to get founding
– Economic realities (collaboration, creative thinking, sharing)
– Board members becoming younger in order to stay relevant with youth
– Developing more sophisticated grass roots tactics
– Creative / innovating technology
– Experiential learning
– Sustaining job personal and creative integrity and balance
– Career counseling
– Looking outside traditional 501c3 model, non profit/for profit collaborations; entrepreneurship
– Alternative spaces, redefining how people participate, experience art.
– Technology (social networking, collaboration, self production, inexpensive)
– Update the trend / notion of the starving artists or impoverish non profit on the bring of collapse
– Demand for professional development
– Accessible professional development
– Collaboration
– New media. Leadership empower, organizations sector
– The emerging arts sector has been evolving along with new media, towards higher level of interaction and democracy
– Economy forcing more collaboration between arts orgs (sharing resources)
– Technology playing a larger role in marketing/out reach
– Should we away from starting with models and towards context and contact driven ways of working in our organization
– Education and participation leads to appreciation of art
– Flexibility – not NPO, psychically and geographically
– More accessibility to: different view points, online galleries, marketing to new audiences
– Instant gratification in an ADD culture

– Middle sized and middle management squeeze
– Shifting from movements and organizations as primarily autocracies and some democracies to being democratic adhocracies. Not leading down as primary, but also leading across and leading up. Steppping up and stepping back as needed.
– Information and opportunity overload
– Evolving media, creating space for poli/mesh art (theater, animation, film, dance, DJ’s, sculptors, etc under one umbrella.
– Collaborations: how do we choose our partners, what are the impacts of these collaborations.
– Identity: communicating who we are / what we do. Addressing gap between how we identify ourselves and how others identify us.
– Need for more sophisticated used of technology/tools by all generations.
– More collaboration, less one leader oriented.
– Virtual arts organizations (back office)
– Turnover doesn’t equal sustainability
– Lack of accessibility: to new media in certain US communities and to cultural institutions that lack a lot of money.
– Fragmentation of: audience, founders, and creative/artists through over saturation of diverse media forms.
– Innovation (renewed value of)
– Adapting, changing, evolving expanding.
– Burnout of arts administrator (short tenures)
– Need for mediation between generations of arts professionals
– Shared leadership: everyone in the organization has leadership roles
– More festivals, more disciplines come together
– New tech/media outlets to build outlets (ex. Facebook, Twitter)
– Coming onto a crossroads: point at which an artist has to stay or go from the field. Where do you go? If you can stay, what do you need in order to stay?
– Grad school (safe environment to transition)
– Arts advocacy
– Seeking + identifying right match for collaborators and partners
– Company-based art to project-based
– Fostering a leader – full group sharing leadership
– Forums, networks, bridge building
– Use of technology to collaborate and market
– Hope
– Career trajectory for emerging and established professionals

– What are the new implications of new media? On emerging/start up organizations, on established organizations and the interaction of both
– Burn out/work and life balance: the dichotomy of life vs. work (how to blend them), lack of career path, sense of martyrdom is not sustainable
– Explore new models: non-profits should look to small businesses for ways to address some of their issues. Non-profit/for-profit hybrids. Incorporate/recruit/develop skilled volunteers
– Crossroads – broad trend among many present today. Feeling that it may be time to change, but stay within the field
– Crosspollination: as artists/teaching artists/administrators/board members etc. to talk and share experiences
– Disconnect between established artists and arts administrators, established organizations and younger entrepreneurial efforts
– Artists working as art administrators: over taxed and neglecting their craft/artwork
– One must move to new organizations to grow
– Risk aversion for older more established art organizations
– Encourage risk taking but not at the expense of tried and true

Evolve & Vocalize: Broad Trends and Implications (Question 1)

Q1 What broad trends do you see in the emerging arts sector and what are the implications of those trends on your work?

– How to interact with next technological generation –
– Help people create momentum
– Organization bouncing roles
– Navigating bay area’s art scene
– Who’s who?, how to find help and partnership
– Multitasking – finding dedicated co-workers
– Dealing with older generation of administrators
– Hosting artist from outside the bay area
– Introducing them to community
– Environment – art
– Distribution of resources
– Knowing when to say no
– Mutually constructive
– Public interaction – re-textualize
– Volunteer vs. money
– Individual artistic career v s $ (Hard to help distinguish what it is)
– Arts programming under a different umbrella (artist residence at earth day)
– It’s a challenge to distill the message – getting the word out (telling people we exist)
– How to find those with similar missions
– The transfer of knowledge –
– Partner organizations
– If your pace is too fast, if you are doing too much, close mind / ego
– Best practices professionally
– Ecology and the arts
– Bringing arts into existing urban public and community contexts
– City as ecosystem (garden building and art)
– More human centered
– Challenge: doing a little of everything
– Getting the lay of the land of the art sector
– A map – who’s missing is like ours, finding the right match
– Collaboration
– Social networking
– Technology = freedom
– Audience expectations
– Tweeting
– Staff experience devalued vs. artists experience devalued
– Funders are older and more traditional
– Programmers and more diverse ideas are mixed
– Hard to reconcile publicly or internally
– Push for innovation and collaboration
– Funding down means
– Partners need to come up with their own resources
– Emerging arts technology
– Individual artists rely on community
– Large theaters cant take risks
– 99 seat theaters RND match up emerging and established artist
– Entrepreneurial spirits – independent
– 70’s mode of non-profit has become old guard
– Institutional memory maintained by boards
– Different leadership styles – change for organizations and boards
– New tools to reach out to audiences
– Light structure to organizing and arts presentation
– Older companies don’t understand new technologies at work. Misperception of their purpose and use.
– The young vs. the old audiences – attracting both
– Barriers between emerging and independent artists and mainstream companies
– Direct access thru technology
– More collaborations
– Less one leader oriented
– Interactive
– Passions evolving media – poli-creative events – films arts dance music in one space – mesh art
– Arts organizations and artists
– Changing ways to get noticed
– Innovation as way groups are distinguishing themselves
– Shift in rural vs. metropolitan funding locations
– Difficult because of lots of demand vs. no competition in small places
– Different needs with mediums – with dance space is key, music can be created anywhere, visual artists?
– Lots of administration use do it yourself model (historically)
– Emerging trends might be more supportive organizations support sustainable do it yourself projects
– Artists turned administrators is a growing class of art allies
– Founders starting to realize the importance of supporting arts administrators, not just arts or arts organizations
– Founders also start to realize fiscal sponsor as an effective role
– To support financial stability via education (sustainable career paths)
– Funding return to schooling – carrier change, transition with the arts
– Demographics specific – 40 to 55 focus
– Arts administration getting recognized for their key roles
– No help with operational support
– Too project based in money distribution
– Non recognition of volunteer coordinators as a valid paid position
– Volunteers are a liability and or need a more effective integration
– Use collaboration to attract audiences
– Audience – differences based upon demographics
– Established organization vs. Web2.0 movements
– Established museums and organizations getting feedback from emerging arts professionals
– Social networking managers
– Syncing – update all of your social networks
– Variant marketing tactics
– Professional vs. grassroots
– Grassroots has a new connotation
– Obama Model will hopefully translate to small non-profits
– Artists as visionaries – problem solving
– Environment social awareness
– Connection to science works dealing with…
– Over saturating our audience with media
– Changing and dividing our audience
– Working at a newspaper but not reading newspapers and getting content online
– Technology is still expensive and sometimes hard to learn (changes every 3 or 4 years)
– Lots of old money wanting to fund old projects
– Emergence of new technologies as a means of sharing work with communities
– Professional vs. do it yourself as a means of presenting information to the public
– Accessibility of public/free
– Accessibility pricing / free sometimes
– Innovate to draw a crowd – to build a new audience.
– Education has move from paper to new technologies
– Artist as entrepreneur
– Founders interest in funding innovative new model for operations visitors experience
– Fragmentation across/between generations – making connections with the past
– Easy to fill a room with people who like each other, filling up a room with people of different ideas / ages / interests is very difficult
– Experimentation in new media in galleries exhibition or presentation
– Critical financial situation changes organization to seek creative solutions to make it accessible
– Art in alternative spaces, free admission for certain things
– Our organizational cutbacks (adversity) means that if we want to host a highly attended event we need to partner with people who already have a strong following in arts
– Effort to please – sustain – what is there to build upon?
– Instant gratification
– Technological divide
– Make it internet accessible to all (internet cafes)
– Silos; fragmentation
– Merging?
– Remote collaboration on the back office
– Survival/focus on own programs rather than partnering
– Transitions/reinventing the wheel
– Lateral promotion
– Project based collaborations is ok
– Challenge of bringing together multiple discipline in non-profits or for-profits
– A struggle between wanting to be creative and having stability
– Moving up in professional work = management/administration
– Lack of connection to arts sector
– Struggle to continue own art practice
– Lack of inter-organizational communication/collaboration
– Opportunities + compensation + turn-over doesn’t equal sustainability
– Cultural equity grants
– Fiscal sponsorship
– Compensation = opportunities + education + experience
– Balance to finding long term collaboration
– Broad trends: artists wanting flexibility/not staying in one field or one non-profit
– Crossroads
– Corporate vs. school vs. art?
– Many people at cross roads of deceptions (even before recession!)
– Average lifespan of art administration – 2 to 3 years?, Revolving door
– The attitude = art administrator are not a people, but a function
– Issues: no freedom to be artists, money, benefits, staffing, professional development, mentorship
– Administrators have a sense of martyrdom, not sustainable
– Partner with other orgs to offer attendance privilege to employees
– Hybrid profit;/non profit model to fund community projects
– Look to for profits (small businesses) as examples
– What models currently exists to support the labor force of the non profit industry
– Focus funders and advocacy
– What’s on the other side of emerging?
– Emerging? Yes always, art making is a constant process
– As former E.D. didn’t meet personal goals
– The way we teach – always inventing, learning, emerging, and evolving!
– Burnout: ED (former), No time for your art anymore, dichotomy of art vs. work (can they blend)
– MODELS: CCA offers free art classes, CTS (visual thinking strategies) – a product incorporated into own organization
– Media tech
– Work / life balance
– Collaborations
– Competition
– Professional development.
– Fluidity
– Renewed value of innovation
– Large companies; Record Labels, Movies, Newspapers
– Smaller groups are making it happen, less time on 9 to 5, more like 2 to 6
– Artist are back at the forefront
– Blur boundaries across disciplines
– Project based, less company based.
– Technology: retain human aspect
– Community focus
– Freedom, empowerment, participation, interactive art, artists taking place in society, information and opportunity overload, heighten identity of arts, valuing information and time, creative business models, green art,
– 501C3 business model
– Flexibility
– Artist supporting artists
– Art as a movement
– Education opportunity to redefine arts in society
– Indigenous knowledge, less professionalization
– Keep utopia in artwork
– Political awareness
– Emerging ideas
– Collaborating between sectors, artists equal channels
– Information overload with technology
– Identifying / owning “artists”
– Collaboration: fluidity and cross pollination
– Away from 9 to 5 = flexibility
– Different working styles
– Trend away for nonprofits and umbrella trend for physical sponsorships
– Passion
– Sharing energy. Connecting energy
– Need are seen more than actualized – a new thing needs to happen.
– Technology = freedom
– Collaborative mash ups
– Interactive artwork (public art)
– French trend – people participate
– Diverse voices
– Diverse audiences
– Interactivity
– Need to reinvent the model
– Artists working as arts administrators providing outward support and neglecting inward resources
– Does not seem to be an organized sector
– Limited points of access
– Cross pollination of non profit and for profits
– More entrepreneurial approach
– Sustainability of career
– Limited middle management
– No clear career path to move up or move out
– Were do the leaders have to go in their careers after being directors
– Question of the long-term viability of the 501c3 model and emerging art sector – hybrid model?
– Health care? Activate short attention spans
– Copycats – dance, demand of professional development
– Figuring out how to be relevant institutions
– Stimulus package for arts education redefinition of beginning / were arts ed begins
– Sadness for no provision for individuals
– Demand for arts yet training is limited
– Professionalization of language
– Arts vs. folk traditions
– Folkloric work is vital
– Trend, intuit as common denominator
– Moving away from instutionally defined art
– Guerilla art 2.0
– Political engagement
– Collaborations – interactive arts, social exchange
– Sharing and exchange of energy
– Co-presentations, exchange of ideas, political documentaries and awareness
– Keep utopia
– Start from scratch vs. fix the old/ current
– Changing models or arts education
– Current 501c3 model is not sustainable
– Outdates trends of the struggling artists or empowered non profit on the brink of collapse
– Sustainable job/personal/creative integrity and balance
– Innovate: creating alternatives
– Exited by mission by sometimes it interferes with personal passion
– Old vs. new, analog vs. new media
– Frightening but necessary
– Don’t Sacrifice analog
– Establish organizations vs. forging new paths
– Don’t exploit self
– Truth to self vs. commercial success
– Utilizing and taking advantage of grass roots
– Expectation of sacrifice – dedication does not equal success
– How to sustain? Energy/ time / money
– Work for pay but no satisfaction
– Is there a way to keep parallel carriers
– Work for little pay by satisfaction
– Support from others: family and spouse
– Opportunities arise, accept and adapt vs. change the status quo
– Movement access more support outside org than inside orgs
– 501c3 not sustainable
– Creating new models online, garage, not institutions
– Not fall into starving artist, be business savvy
– Organizations gives space and capacity to evolve
– Out of necessity people adapt
– Negative ones? Positive ones?
– Room for growth: cross pollination, DIY, web video, visibility, start mentality used by others, young tech experts – bringing up based on skills
– Pre conceived notions – self defined: struggling arts organization, starving artists, generation but also age/time spend in carrier path relative to organization.
– Changing education frameworks, experimental vs. didactic
– Old growth, new growth, transplant
– Big fish, little pond, little fish big pond
– Must change job / org to grow career
– Orgs are very structured. If you want to have fun you have to accept making less money. This sucks. DYI may change this. DYI writers publishing their own blogs, etc. actors making their own videos.
– Alternative outreach.

Evolve & Vocalize: Basic Info

EVOLVE AND VOCALIZE

A Spotlight on Next generation
Arts Leadership

Saturday April 11, 2009
9:30am to 2:30pm

SomaArts
934 Brannan St.
San Francisco, CA

Methodology:

The World Cafe Principles

* encourage everyone’s contributions
* Listen together for insights
* Cross pollination of ideas
* Connect diverse perspectives
* Share collective discoveries

“Why this? Why now?”

* Innovative Thinking- tapping collective intelligence, knowledge and wisdom.
* Fostering commitment and engagement through meaningful conversations.
* Strengthening relationships-exploring questions that matter

World Cafe Etiquette

“Focusing on what matters”

* Contribute your thinking experience
* Listen for Patters and deeper questions
* Listen to understand perspectives
* Have fun!
* (play)
* (draw)
* (doodle)

Q1 What broad trends do you see in the emerging arts sector and what are the implications of those trends on your work?

Q2 Given the picture you’ve just identified, what could we enact now that will make a positive, powerful impact on your art practice or arts sector career in the future?

Q3 (in Affinity group) What would it take to move forward in this area?