events
Local Host Tool Kit
This Local Host Tool Kit will help you organize a successful Creative Conversation in your community. It contains 7 Steps to help you think through and plan your event.
Ready to go, right now?
Download the Creative Conversations Local Host Agreement (doc) and e-mail it to Rebecca Borden at rborden@artsusa.org.
- Step 1: Think of a good topic and engaging format for a Creative Conversation.
- Step 2: Think of a good partner to co-host your Creative Conversation
(optional). - Step 3: Arrange and confirm all logistics.
- Step 4: Send in your Creative Conversations Local Host Agreement.
- Step 5: Promote. Market. Get the Word Out.
- Step 6: Host your Creative Conversation.
- Step 7: Find ways to sustain the momentum.
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Step 1: Think of a good topic and engaging format for a Creative Conversation.
Creative Conversations come in all shapes and sizes. There is no set format or mandatory content. During the past few years, Creative Conversations have taken many forms, including:- Brown-bag lunches with peers and colleagues to discuss local arts issues and building a career in arts administration.
- Professional development workshops on work-life balance, advocacy, audience development, fundraising, etc.
- Panel sessions and moderated interviews with politicians, funders, and local arts leaders.
- Full-day symposia with keynote speakers, professional development workshops, networking sessions, and more.
Begin by planning backwards. What do you want to get out of this Creative Conversation and why? What would a successful Creative Conversation look like?
Additional Resources:
- Read the Local Host Welcome Letter (pdf)
- See the topics and formats from past Creative Conversations
- Review hot tips in How to Spice It Up (pdf)
- Review archived featured articles for content and ideas
- See Sample Agendas (pdf) to see what a Creative Conversation can look like
- Review the Advocacy Overview (pdf) and learn How to Talk to Elected Officials (pdf)
Step 2: Think of a good partner to co-host your Creative Conversation (optional)
Think strategically about how to use partner(s) to help you plan and promote a Creative Conversation. Can you use this opportunity to either establish or solidify a professional collaboration? What ways can you design your Creative Conversation so it is a mutually beneficial event? Successful partnerships leverage existing resources well (meeting space, in-kind contributions, promotional materials, institutional reputation, etc). You don’t need to go it alone.
Step 3: Arrange and confirm all logistics
Good planning and preparation produce the most successful Creative Conversations. Whether hosting the event as a brown-bag lunch or as a seminar, each event requires coordination and oversight. We have found that minimum amount of time it takes to plan and host a creative conversation is about two weeks. October 15 is the deadline for signing up to host a Creative Conversation.Want additional support? Talk through your ideas with Rebecca Borden or any veterans at hosting Creative Conversations.
- Mitch Menchaca—Arizona Commission on the Arts, Phoenix, AZ
- Marialaura Leslie—Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Miami, FL
- David Dombrosky—Southern Arts Federation, Atlanta, GA
Step 4: Send in your Creative Conversations Local Host Agreement
This form articulates what you as the host and what Americans for the Arts will do around Creative Conversations. Content from this form will be used to promote your Creative Conversation on this website. Information on this form will be used by members of the Emerging Leader Council and Americans for the Arts staff to help coordinate Creative Conversations during National Arts & Humanities Month. All hosts will be invited to participate in conference calls before your Creative Conversations to help you prepare and get feedback on your format and after your Creative Conversations to talk about how everything went and some possible next steps.Download the Creative Conversations Local Host Agreement (doc) save, complete it, and e-mail it to Rebecca Borden at rborden@artsusa.org.
Deadline: After October 15, no new Creative Conversations events will be accepted.
Step 5: Promote. Market. Get the Word Out
Members of the Emerging Leader Council have developed these templates to help you promote your event locally. Americans for the Arts will promote your event nationally.- Download our new Creative Conversation logos for print and for web
- Use our Swiss Cheese Press Release (doc) to send to alert the media
- Create a promotional flyer to hang on community bulletin boards in coffee shops, community centers, local colleges and universities, grocery stores, etc.
- Use our Customizable Marketing Letter (doc) to e-mail information to your listservs and constituent groups, and post your cc in the local free community paper
- Use our Marketing Tips (pdf) to get the word out in your community
- Tell you friends to tell their friends to tell their friends!
- Send everyone to this website and get them to register now!
Step 6: Host your Creative Conversation
All the details are in place. You are ready to go. Americans for the Arts will send you a final registration list the day before your Creative Conversation, but be prepared for people to show up at the door. Americans for the Arts will also send you additional resource materials like bookstore flyers and Emerging Leader Network Brochures. You are going to be great and don’t forget to have fun.Additional Resources:
- Call your local art reporter and remind them about your Creative Conversation event. Fax over your press release again.
- At the end, hand out the Participant Evaluation Form (pdf). These forms are feedback for you, as host, on how well the event went.
- Don’t forget to take pictures!
Step 7: Find ways to sustain the momentum
So, you did it. You hosted a great Creative Conversation. There was a good turnout and lots of energy. Now what? Share what you discussed on the Emerging Leader listserv and see if it resonates with other people around the country. Find ways to get connected and stay connected. Write a blog post. Set up other meetings and events. Perhaps you had enough interest to start a local Emerging Leader Network in your community. Maybe the Creative Conversation was a transformational experience for you. Talk with your supervisor about ways you can implement some of the ideas generated from your event – put them into your performance evaluation. Attend other national events like National Arts Marketing Project, Arts Advocacy Day, and the Annual Convention to meet more emerging leaders. Don't forget to send in your photos and summary back into Americans for the Arts. In November, Americans for the Arts will be sending out a Host Survey to collect data on the impact and effectiveness of this national program.
These Creative Conversations have been consistently successful in connecting emerging arts leaders who want to make a dynamic difference in their lives and communities, just like you! Thank you again for volunteering your time, energy, and creativity to plan an Emerging Leader Creative Conversation in your community. If you need any additional information or ideas, please e-mail Rebecca Borden, manager of professional development at Americans for the Arts at rborden@artsusa.org, or call 202.371.2830.
October is National Arts and Humanities Month.
Celebrate by convening emerging arts leaders in your community and connecting to the national network at Americans for the Arts.
