Emerging Arts Professionals/SFBA 2012-13 Fellowship Application

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2012-13 FellowshipBy Michael DeLong, Managing Editor

It’s that time of year, folks! After two already-stellar runs, the Emerging Arts Professionals / SFBA Fellowship enters its lucky charm third year. And we want you to be a part of it.

Applications are open through July 6. Read on to see if this exciting opportunity is for you.

And don’t miss our three informational sessions to learn more.

Tuesday, June 26
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Red Poppy Art House
(2698 Folsom Street @ 23rd)

Wednesday, June 27
12:15 – 1:30 p.m. at
Intersection for the Arts
(925 Mission Street @ 5th)

Thursday, June 28
5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at
Rock Paper Scissors Collective
(2278 Telegraph Avenue @ 23rd, Oakland)

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Are you results oriented? Do you have a commitment to advancing the Bay Area’s arts and culture sector? Are you committed to personal and professional growth?

If so, YOU are invited to bring your best ideas.

The EAP Fellowship program provides an alternative model for professional development that balances traditional structure with increased creativity, collaboration, and experimentation.

Leading in today’s arts sector requires new competencies, and skills and sensitivities that are adaptive, engaging, and relevant. In this spirit the Emerging Arts Professionals / San Francisco Bay Area (EAP) is pleased to continue its Fellowship Program for a third year.

Over the course of nine months, the Fellowship enriches and expands the capacities of emerging and mid-level arts and culture workers in the Bay Area. Approximately 15 Fellows will bring together their diverse insights, energy, and expertise to build their ability to realize their career and life aspirations in arts and culture.

Components and Structure
General Participant Criteria
Application Process, Time Commitment, Key Dates
FAQ

Apply Now– deadline 11:59pm, Friday, July 6, 2012

 

Emergence Recap: Independence and the Future of Arts Entrepreneurship

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Arts EntrepreneurshipBy Brien Henderson

Entrepreneurship, hustle, problem-solving, creativity: call it what you will. Maintaining a career as an independent artist is hard work, demanding just as much time and energy as the art itself, but it is necessary to survive. This was the consensus among the panelists at the discussion on June 4 as part of Emerging Arts Professional’s annual convening, Emergence, which included some other helpful bits of wisdom for cultivating your career as an independent artist.

Three Vs: Vision, values, value ($)

Vision: At the heart of a viable career as an independent artist is a vision. You have to understand what you’re all about as an artist and be confident in that. Don’t let the allure of a gig let you stray from your core vision as an artist. It may happen that your vision expands as your professional endeavors expand, but this is not the same thing. So, how do you articulate this vision?

In the case of Anthem Salgado, one of the panelists, unemployment led him to articulate his vision. After a long stretch of few interviews and no results, he asked himself what sort of arts programs would he advocate if he were working in an organization, and then he took it upon himself to advocate those programs independently. Out of that, two programs emerged. One failed and one succeeded. The latter is Art of Hustle, a website dedicated to doing away with starving artist culture and empowering artists to succeed with an entrepreneurial spirit, and sharing knowledge to that end.

Values: Maintain your personal values. Supporting yourself and developing your career are hard enough as it is. Don’t add to that the dismay of working on a project or with people who violate your principles.

Value ($):  Understand your monetary value. As artists, we’re engaged in this pursuit because we care about something, but it can be all too easy to let our caring allow us to do something for far less than we’re worth. Develop an understanding of the current marketplace, really know how much you’re worth, and don’t sell yourself short.

We all need to live and sustain ourselves. Unless you believe that doing a particular gig for free or at a loss would be a good investment in greater future compensation, don’t do it. It may be a hard decision, but it will be worth it in the long run

You are a brand

Out of the three Vs comes you, the artist, as a brand. Amy Kweskin, the discussion’s moderator, explains that with that brand comes a brand promise. You want people to know abour your vision, understand your values, and respect the monetary value of what you do. You want them to know what they can expect from you and be able to dliver on that.

It may be difficult to think of yourself as a business, but if you’re an independent artist you have to think that way. That isn’t to say that your brand as an artist is your identity, but it’s necessary to maintain clarity in the vision of your career.

Be willing to negotiate 

Salgado emphasized the idea of consultative selling, wherein whatever artistic project you’re trying to sell to someone must be at least somewhat negotiable. Sit down with that person you’re trying to sell this idea to and listen to their interests and concerns. You can’t simply walk in and lay out a menu of what you can do for them and walk away if they aren’t interested or unable to fund it all. Listen to what they want to do, what they can do, and see if you can’t come to a compromise within your vision and values (of course).

Develop a network

Julie Lazar, director of the International Contemporary Arts Network, discussed the importance of having a strong network of people. Bringing any artistic pursuit to fruition is rarely a personal endeavor. It requires collaboration among people of different strengths.

Many of us artists are not the hustling type, at least not when it comes to the business side of things. If this describes you,  then building a network of people around you who are good at the hustle and who believe in what you do can be extremely helpful. Don’t take unfair advantage of them, but don’t be afraid to try to connect with them as well.

Profit vs. nonprofit

While the panelists shared a few helpful tidbits, the general recommendation is that you do your research on the difference between for-profit and nonprofit activities, and consult a tax professional to understand how anything you do fits in with those distinctions.

Various participants in the discussion mentioned some other helpful resources for handling the business end of your independent artistry.

Brien Henderson is a composer in San Francisco. He is developing the San Francisco Composers Guild, a music presenting organization dedicated to the growth and development of young composers through ongoing realtionships with talented ensembles and master composers.

Emergence Recap: Decentralized Leadership and Managing Creativity

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decentralized leadershipBy Brien Henderson

Models of arts leadership and organization will naturally fall somewhere on a spectrum from heavily centralized to markedly diffuse. This discussion on June 4, 2012 at the Emerging Arts Professional’s annual convening, Emergence,  focused on organizations closer to the latter. Of course, nothing starts out that way.

What is the process of taking an organization towards a more decentralized form of leadership and what are the benefits and concerns of such a model? The discussion engaged two leaders who have done it.

Todd Brown of Red Poppy Art House and Charith Premawardhana of Classical Revolution founded and direct their respective organizations. At first, each took a lot of work and individual effort, but now various levels of responsibility exist in both.

Clear vision, clear mission

After having done the hard work of bringing an idea to realization comes the moment when that idea is maintained through the continuing efforts of other individuals. When that moment comes, both Brown and Premawardhana cautioned that anyone to whom you give that responsibility has to be clear on the vision and mission of the organization, and they have to be on board with it. As leadership diffuses, keep an eye on the progress of the organization, making sure that all activities stay mission-focused.

Classical Revolution began as a weekly event in San Francisco, whose mission is to bring classical music into unconventional venues to serve the community in the places they go, rather than trying to bring them to a concert hall. After five years, there are chapters operating under the Classical Revolution banner all over the world. Each chapter’s activities are completely self-contained, but no matter where you go the mission remains clear.

In founding the Red Poppy Art House, Brown’s vision was to alter the context of the creation and reception of art, rather than the conventional artist’s focus on the content of art. It began as a project fueled only by Brown and, later, an all-volunteer staff. Since then, it has grown into a thriving organization with a staff receiving stipends who make programming decisions independently.

Managing risk

Like the growth of any venture, you must be careful as to who you entrust with shepherding your vision into the future. Premawardhana pointed out that Classical Revolution, previously always operating on trust, has had to begin putting things in writing more. This is one of the drawbacks of continued growth in a decentralized model, but at some point it becomes the best move forward.

On that point, Brown articulated a multi-tier model of responsibility at Red Poppy, where he draws several layers of decision-making from low-risk to high-risk, and delegates respnsibilities to the volunteers and staff accordingly. Some he keeps for himself.

Drawing by Todd Berman

Drawing by Todd Berman

A fertile ecosystem of ideas

While there are certainly risks and concerns, along with that can come great innovation. Premawardhana noted that many people involved with Classical Revolution will sometimes be working on similar projects, but they won’t be communicating with each other. While inefficient, what comes from that may be a particularly interesting thread with a lot of people already attached to it. This can generate and lead to more successful side-projects.

The Mission Arts Performance Project (MAPP) is just such an example. The initial idea was to create, as Brown put it, an ecosystem for things to emerge. You may not be able to predict the result, but as long as you’re comfortable with that, great things can come out of it. A satellite project out of Red Poppy, the MAPP promotes street-level curating of performances and installations. It now runs on a regular basis with no central leadership of any sort. The only centrality to speak of in the MAPP is one of information, connecting those who are looking for space with those who have space to use.

Measuring success

In such a diffused environment, what sorts of benchmarks can be put in place to learn and grow with a project? In the case of the MAPP, the various venues, or at least those who are more invested in continuing the project, measure their own success from one event to the next, trying to improve each time. In the case of Classical Revolution, this same process unfolds at the chapter level.

About Brien Henderson

Brien Henderson is a composer in San Francisco. He is developing the San Francisco Composers Guild, a music presenting organization dedicated to the growth and development of young composers through ongoing realtionships with talented ensembles and master composers.

Todd Berman’s work can be found at The Art Don’t Stop.

Emergence Recap: The Working Process of Innovation in the Arts

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Innovation in the ArtsBy Dania J. Wright

Pathways toward innovation

Being labeled an innovator is earned through extensive exploration and a bit of chance. “Collect programs and projects, learn some things, do it again,” recommends Marc Vogl, Executive Director of the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) during the panel discussion on June 4, 2012, as part of Emerging Arts Professional’s annual convening, Emergence. His journey began upon founding Killing My Lobster (KML), with a collective of performing artists.

Following his immersion in the arts, Vogl transitioned and found opportunities in the technology sector. Working in startup environments, his entrepreneurial skills formed. Vogl credits much of what he learned in the private sector to his success in arts administration.

“Innovation is in the marketing,” Vogl states. He found that categorizing KML by the genres it encompassed (comedy and theatre) affected its engagement with media, funding partners, and patrons. This presented a publicity barrier. However, as Vogl’s marketing skills developed, he learned to think less about labels, and more about what KML wanted people to experience. It was then that he began to find success.

Passion and the courage to challenge the status quo are key characteristics of innovation, notes Cynthia Taylor, Assistant Director, Public Programs, Oakland Museum of California (OMCA). Similar to Vogl, Taylor credits the robustness of her arts administration skill set to exploration of a multitude of job functions and organizational settings.

She has contributed to the sector as an administrative assistant, an executive director, and almost every imaginable role in between. Focusing on the experience versus the title, Taylor learned the inner workings of the nonprofit arts organization — from the ground up. Regardless of the role, she advises emerging arts leaders: “Do your homework. Come with a plan, and be prepared to back it up with information. Put yourself in a position to be in that conversation, and give people a chance to join you.”

Taylor continues, “As a ‘changemaker,’ I was nothing without a posse. Everyone needs a team to navigate through this industry.” Recognizing the value of collaboration among internal and external stakeholders leads to success. Impact-driven work is work that is most gratifying. An innovator in arts administration must ask: What does a visitor/patron want? What will compel them to come to my institution? What will they gain from engagement with my institution and vice versa? Answering these questions creates a state of constant discovery, and community building.

Drawing by Todd Berman

Drawing by Todd Berman

The significance of innovation and the ideal environments in which it can flourish

The need and desire to remain relevant prompts arts organizations to foster innovation. On an individual arts administrator basis, Vogl shares: “We are all in this field because we want to create something that didn’t exist before.” Some ideal conditions needed to usher innovation include

  • Intent to change
  • Proactivity toward changes in the field
  • Time to reflect on the work
  • Transparency
  • Feedback from external perspectives
  • Flexibility in ideas and work allocation
  • Stakeholder buy-in

Vogl reminds arts administrators that there are times during which complete redesign is unnecessary. “Don’t change for the sake of changing,” he expresses. Organizations may feel pressured to repair things that aren’t broken, due to industry trends, obligations to funding partners, or even promising opportunities that present themselves.

Managing opposing ideas and rejection

Reflection on the work is important, as it is part of the creative process. However, many funders operate differently, making the project timeline much more rigid. This dynamic can be better managed by setting the tone at the start of collaboration. Vogl states that organizations should ask, “Is our project in alignment with that of our funders?” The project could possibly stray from its original mission, in order to meet funding guidelines. There should be an assessment of what an organization is willing to forego in the name of maintaining the partnership.

Crowdsourcing, although far from new, has become increasingly popular with the aid of social media. Vogl notes that many organizations utilize this resource to reach a wider audience in their fundraising efforts. This is the result of decreased success via traditional means of development (e.g. grant programs). Organizations should also explore opportunities in social entrepreneurship. Diverse revenue streams (admission/ticket sales, tuition, etc.) supplement operating and program costs. When considering profit-driven activities, Vogl advises to “find what you’re good at and what people would value.”

Goal setting and measuring success

QuestionBridge, a Black male identity transmedia project, is currently on exhibition at OMCA. Taylor recognized that QuestionBridge’s presence at the museum could positively impact one of Oakland’s largest at-risk populations, young Black men, as well as the larger community. Taylor exclaims, “I knew this idea was innovative because it was hard to fund!” However, as word about the project spread, the museum began attracting partners (including BAVC) to aid in bringing the exhibit to Oakland. These partnerships led to curriculum design in Oakland Unified School District, and the establishment of Black male achievement programs, panels, and community meetings, mirroring the outcome that Taylor originally envisioned. She notes that the museum as a whole made a conscious decision to create social change, and that was a major contributor to its success.

When developing organizational aims, consider the following:

  • How does cultural innovation address society’s value changes?
  • What happens when galleries and museums finally become inclusive?
  • How can your programs be more accessible to people?
  • What experiences are you creating for people?
  • How do you empower people?

In closing, innovation can be fostered in a multitude of ways. However, arts administrators should be conscious of when to practice innovation versus iteration. Perhaps a simple tweak is necessary instead of a total program reconstruction, Vogl remarks. There must also be balance in the exploration of projects. Vogl warns, “Don’t be a hoarder.” When it comes to arts administration, some projects must be dropped in order to strengthen those that have the greatest potential. The purposeful innovator constantly asks, “How can we make it better, and how can we get other parties in the conversation?” To which Taylor responds, “If you do it well, people will come.”

About Dania J. Wright

Dania J. Wright is a San Francisco Bay Area-bred artist. She is a Loyola Marymount University School of Film & Television alumna; having earned a BA in Animation, and Studio Arts minor. Wright’s professional experience ranges from art direction to visual art instruction. She previously interned for The Clorox Company, BET Networks, and MTV Networks. As a freelance artist, her clients include: Stanford University, Keetsa Mattress Company, and Loyola Marymount University. Wright also taught visual arts in K-12 schools, and a host of community-based organizations. Currently, she works in communications and development at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and serves as Art & Education Program Co-Chair for the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) Vanguard. Wright is pursuing her Master of Public Administration degree at the University of San Francisco, and will graduate on December 13, 2013 (woo hoo!). She enjoys discovering and creating new methods of fusing the arts, education, technology, and community development.

Todd Berman’s work can be found at The Art Don’t Stop.

Emergence Recap: Equity in Placemaking

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Equity in PlacemakingBy Tyese M. Wortham

What is placemaking?

Emerging Arts Professionals (EAP) 2011-12 Fellow Katie Fahey opened the Equity in Placemaking session at the Emergence annual convening on June 4, 2012, by explaining that there is a consensus surrounding the term placemaking. In my mind, I’m thinking, “A general consensus among whom?’ By the end of the session it was clear that placemaking was still trying to find its “place” in the disparate worlds of arts and urban planning. Even after the question and answer period, it was apparent that each of us has our own understanding of the meaning of placemaking.

As co-moderator with EAP Fellow Katherine Canton Titus, Fahey’s initial questions to guest panelists Karen Chapple of the Center for Community Innovation and Michele Rabkin (sitting in for Shannon Jackson) of the Arts Research Center included the following:

  1. Where does cultural competency fit into placemaking?
  2. What are the demands and roles of artists in placemaking?
  3. How do community revitalization and nonprofit efforts relate to placemaking?

To be an artist is a privileged PLACE

When questioned about her experience as an administrator with Pro Arts and Rock Paper Scissors Collective, Canton Titus exposed our relationship to art and place. You have to have the time, the money, and the space/place to create art, which is a privilege.

As one audience member sought understanding, she shared with us Wikipedia’s version of cultural competency. She further added that race and class seem to be the underlying issues of placemaking.

Audience member (and keynote panelist of another session) Ann Markusen passionately explained that her understanding of the session revolved around the inequity in placemaking for community arts organizations. Markusen sparked a brewing conversation specific to gentrification, privilege, race, and class.

Why do we arts professionals continuously forget to include privilege in the conversation? How do we discuss placemaking, neighborhood revitalization, or community development without understanding cultural competency and first addressing race and class?

Whose perspective? The urban planner vs. the artist

With her background in community and economic development, Karen Chapple clearly laid out three examples of the varied perspectives and values of the artist and planner. Considering outcomes, Chapple asks how equitable are these models, whom do they (really) serve, and are they sustainable?

  1. She calls the Berkeley Arts District the “trickle down” equity model. The hope? The benefits of building an arts district would eventually “trickle down” to artists.
  2.  The “equitable moment” model exemplifies Oakland’s Uptown/Art Murmur. Though the neighborhood/arts district is thriving culturally, artistically, and economically at this moment, over time sustainability is a concern.
  3. With built in equitable mechanisms and community benefits in place, Chapple considers the Mid-Market Arts District of San Francisco as the “equity-for-the-few” model. Businesses, artists, and community arts organizations seem to be at the mercy of the City Administrator, still creating winners and losers.

Though Chapple questions who is really being served, it is clear that the focus of this session is limited to the relationship between the planner and the artist. Is it not our responsibility as administrators to include our neighborhoods and local residents in the conversation of placemaking as equal partners?

The seven recurring puzzles

The Arts Research Center shared its “Seven Recurring Puzzles.” These questions surfaced as part of Shannon Jackson and the Art + Neighborhood Research Group’s investigation on placemaking’s various artistic stakeholders. Jackson’s blog, ARC Muse, has a complete listing of these puzzles. In the meantime, here are a few puzzles that piqued my interest:

  • Can a city planning language on the role of the arts in urban vitalization be joined to an artistic language of social engagement in the arts?
  • As more artists begin to identify themselves as “research-based” artists, how can urban planning research be conducted as part of the art process itself?
  • Can the Creative Class discourse think more about class difference?
  • How can equity in ‘placemaking’ also mean equity among arts organizations?

I see the importance of forming a common language and validating the artistic process as “research.” Can we also address the accessibility of the discourse? How can we create language that is inclusive for all stakeholders?

Impact, measurement, and community benefit
How are arts districts being evaluated? Culturally? Economically?
Which metrics are being used to measure outcomes?
Who benefits from placemaking?
Which communities are being served?
What is the role of neighborhoods in placemaking?

All of these questions were touched upon in some form throughout the session. I appreciated Chapple’s suggestion of using Northern California Community Loan Fund as a resource. She said it was important to think about shared spaces, such as schools and churches, to generate revenue for neighborhood-based spaces and to create natural collaborations.

What is equity in placemaking to you?

It is possible that this session has left us all with many unanswered questions. Placemaking is a new concept for study and exploration but has been occurring for years. Several conversations are taking place and considering the various viewpoints of placemaking as well as each individual’s PLACE in privilege. For me, you cannot speak of placemaking without addressing the challenging issues of race, class, and culture. Is placemaking not a new, fancy, PC, feel-good term for neighborhood revitalization, gentrification, and community development?

You tell me. How do you define placemaking? Where is placemaking taking place in your city or town? What are the costs and benefits of placemaking? Where is your PLACE in privilege?

About Tyese M. Wortham

As a passionate and community-based administrator, artist, and teacher, Tyese M. Wortham aspires to accomplish two goals as part of her lifework: First, she strives to advance the presentation, preservation, and innovation of local artists’ traditions and art forms. Secondly, Tyese strives to increase the presence of arts administrators of color. She has acquired over 20 years of dance experience from hip-hop to modern, from West African to Afro-Cuban. Currently, Tyese is a principal dancer with Emesè: Messengers of the African Diaspora and De Rompe Y Raja Cultural Association. She has had the pleasure and honor of working closely with her teachers and mentors: José Francisco Barroso, Carlos Carvajal, Teresita Dome-Pérez, CK Ladzekpo, and Gabriela Shiroma. Tyese has served as a program manager, panelist, consultant, facilitator, and committee member for various Bay Area arts organizations including San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Arts Council Silicon Valley, San Francisco Carnaval, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Dance Discourse Project, Black Choreographers Festival, and the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards.

Emergence Recap: Collaborations in Situ

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collaborations in situBy Leora Lutz

Talk is, in fact, not “cheap” as they say: it gets ideas going. When the mission statement loses its voice that is the time to start walking again – to walk the walk. And that is what the three panelists at the Collaborations in Situ discussion at the Emergence Conference on June 4, 2012, have been doing.

At the round table were Renee Baldocchi, Curator of the de Young Museum’s Artist Fellows Program; Lex Leifheit of SOMArts; and Ernesto Sopprani of The *OFFCENTER. Moderated by Julie Potter, EAP Fellow, the panel casually yet passionately discussed the objectives, achievements, and challenges of creating and sustaining a residency program in the City.

Urban residencies stimulate collaboration

Stepping outside of the comfort zone and taking risk became a starting point that each speaker mentioned when reviewing their various program models. New thinking is the key to a residency, from a curatorial standpoint as well as for the artist who will be the resident. Symbiotic to the process of collaboration is creating innovative, engaging, and important experiences for not only the artists but for the public, too.

One particular model of an artist residency is the retreat, or the intensive workshop. Many of them are pastoral retreats, where the artist resides on site in the company of others of like-mind. The residencies range from one month to longer, and are designed for the artists to make work without the distractions of daily life that would normally take away from their studio practices.The residencies in discussion on this day are not pastoral retreats. They are in the heart of San Francisco, and are geared toward not only an extended period of time for intensive art making, but also involve a commitment to engage with the pubic in compelling and innovative ways. All three of the programs support interdisciplinary models of making, incorporating social practice, performance, and exhibitions.

In a sense, the residency helps propel the artist from the solitary position as maker and into the active role of engagement with audiences in innovative ways. The innovation is two-fold as the projects grow between the curators and the resident artists, but also often becomes multifold depending on the additional artists or collaborators that the artist may invite to join them and expand their ideas.

Collaborations in Situ drawing by Todd Berman

Drawing by Todd Berman

Taking it beyond

A key to innovation with all three of the panelists’ programming is the balance between experimentation and developing a final outcome through rigorous (and fun) exploration and incubation of new ideas. Activating space is part of the final outcome goal in order to impart cultural learning, and to question the role of institutions and their “obligation” to the public.

Through a reciprocal sharing platform, the programs can become sustainable, and be resilient engines for taking risk and being spontaneous. The artist is the centralized idea-generator and the institution or organization works closely with them to develop their concept and bring it to full fruition for the public. Because of the interdisciplinary structure of the work, and the malleability of performative works, the projects can travel – decentralizing the static position of the institution. It gives flexibility to literally drop the art at any location, even exploring new modes of exhibition through the internet, and thus removing the preciousness of site-specificity.

As the round-table continued, new topics came up as the discussion morphed into its own version of a professional performance. One of these nuggets of collective genius brainstorming was the topic of a “Road Map” for artists. In asking themselves out-loud, one has to wonder about the countless other artists that are not being represented or being accepted into their programming. There is not enough funding to include every artist, so how could they help the ones who are left out? The passion and concern to do more is there…what exactly that is will have to happen over more discussions.

Collaborations in Situ photo by Robbie Sweeny

Photo by Robbie Sweeny

Collaboration in situ: it’s meta!

An ongoing challenge of the programs was to address traditional definitions head-on and find solutions every time the word “no” comes up from partnering or governing entities. Reaching out and constantly bringing new people into the mix allows for fresh voices and new perspectives to achieving goals. This drive also creates a dynamic ripple effect throughout the community. It is a continuous learning process – one that requires constant reassessment, revisiting, changing and adjusting with each passing year as the economy changes, and as the artists’ desires change, and the wants of the public changes.

Keeping artists in the forefront of the creative environment and supporting them is the basis for keeping change fluid and vital. Collaborations are an exciting, rewarding business and social model that empowers everyone involved and ultimately extends passion and vitality to the public and the greater community – it is win/win. Seek out mentors, get hands-on, dig in and don’t wait for funding to get started – find a way to do it, and most importantly talk to others.

About Leora Lutz

Leora Lutz is an interdisciplinary artist with an extensive history as a curator, gallerist, and art administrator. Her practice in all aspects grabs onto historical context, alters it, and re-presents it as a way to shift previous understanding into flux. Her work has shown at galleries, institutions, and museums, including MOCA, Palm Springs Museum of Art, UCR Sweeney Gallery, Riverside Art Museum, and the Henry Project Space in Seattle. Her art and professional bibliography includes numerous critiques and profiles from The Los Angeles Times, NBC news, White Hot Magazine and LA Weekly to name a few.

Todd Berman’s work can be found at The Art Don’t Stop. Robbie Sweeny’s photography can be found at In Gutters and Stars.

Arts Management Tweet Chat on June 22 with Bea Dominguez

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By Michael DeLong, Managing Editor

The role artists play in creating vibrant cities seems to be the conversation du jour, inspiring lively events, provocative blog posts, and no small flurry of foundation interest. (And, perhaps most controversially for those word nerds among us, an as-yet-not-fully-recognized closed compound neologism in placemaking.)

What better time to hop on a tweet chat to discuss this very issue (that of artists as placemakers, not that of the adoption of the term) with fellow workers in the arts and culture sector?

Since April 2012, Arts Management Chat (#artsmgtchat) has been convening a community of knowledgeable, opinionated arts managers around topics such as engaging boards, emerging leaders, and social media for arts organizations. The chats happen twice a month on Fridays at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time.

On Friday, June 22, our own communications director Bea Dominguez will be hosting the tweet chat, focusing on the topic of Art and its Role in Urban Renewal. This promises to be an interesting conversation: a great way to learn more about the topic and add your own voice.

Here are just a few of the questions that Bea will be asking the tweeps:

  • Are arts the precursors of vibrant cities or are they the outcome?
  • Does your city value creative labor? In what ways can it value it more?
  • What does it mean to you to transform a neighborhood?

See all of the questions and Bea’s inspiration for the topic on the Arts Management Chat blog.

Here’s how to participate:

  • Follow the hashtag #artsmgtchat from 11:00 a.m. – noon Pacific time on Friday, June 22
  • Join the TweetChat room directly for easy participation
  • Spread the word to your own networks
  • Ask questions and share resources ahead of the chat using the hashtag or by tweeting to @trichetriche

Never joined a tweet chat before? Don’t miss this how-to in TechSoup’s Nonprofit Social Media 101 wiki, and watch the video below.

 

Image: Adapted from a photo by Erik Berndt