Spring Schedule

Spring 2014 Arts Leadership Digital Classroom - Virtual field education for arts leaders in all phases of their career

The Arts Leadership Digital Classroom is a four-month, topic-based virtual leadership development series that provides an opportunity for local arts leaders to master foundational concepts and build skills in particular core subjects necessary to succeeding in local arts and community development.

Arts Leaders as Community Leaders

Our communities’ vitality depends on the health and accessibility of local arts. The health and accessibility of local arts depends on knowledgeable and skilled arts managers leading their communities.

How does an arts leader become a community leader? What are the specific skills, knowledge and abilities required to successfully engage and lead your community? Why should arts leaders be community leaders? As an arts leader concerned with ensuring the sustainability of your organization and the well-being of your community, you will understand that the two go hand-in-hand.

This four-part digital classroom series will cover in depth the steps required to successfully lead your community: analyzing the environment, building relationships and partnerships, community planning and developing mutually beneficial objectives, and leading communities and plans. You will build skills in community analysis, networking, case-making, project planning and management, and leadership all to give you the skills and knowledge to make you a community leader.

Orientation and Welcome

Webinar: Thursday, March 13, 2014 2:45pm (EST)

This orientation will cover course objectives, basic technology, and introduce you to some of your peers.

Session Leaders:

  • Abe Flores, Field Education and Leadership Programs Manager, Americans for the Arts

The Healthy Arts Ecosystem:  Understanding the Building Blocks for Thriving Arts Communities

Webinar: Thursday, March 13, 2014 3pm - 4pm (EST)
Discussion: Thursday, March 20, 2014 3pm - 4pm (EST)

Session Leaders:

  • Terrence McFarland, Executive Director, LA Stage Alliance
  • Barbara Schaffer-Bacon, Co-Director, Animating Democracy

The creation of a thriving arts community does not occur in isolation. Rather, it requires an array of individuals and organizations to generate, consume, and support the arts as well as effective and innovative collaboration within and outside the arts ecosystem. Before engaging your community, you must understand it as best as possible. As the innovative and intrepid Arts Leader wearing business attire with paint splats on your shoes, you must be able to navigate through various systems (political, economic, educational etc.) and fluctuating environments (demographic, technological, cultural etc.) in order to maintain a steady supply of and demand for the arts.

This class will discuss the roles of the players within the arts ecosystem, the need for arts ambassadors to align efforts within and outside the arts ecosystem, and the various models for supporting the arts. You will explore systems thinking, needs assessment, and asset mapping all to help you build a sustainable and thriving arts community at home.

Making Community Connections: Advocating, Building Support and Breaking-Down Silos for the Arts

Webinar: Thursday, April 10, 2014 3pm - 4pm (EST)
Discussion: Thursday, April 17, 2014 3pm - 4pm (EST)

Session Leaders:

  • Tamara Alvarado, Executive Director, School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza
  • Gregory Burbidge, Senior Program Specialist, Government Services at Atlanta Regional Commission

As soon as you understand your local arts ecosystem it is time to go out into the community to build support for your art and find out how your art can supports your community. The arts captivate us, increase our empathy, develop 21st century skills, create healthy communities and stimulate the economy. Artists partner with schools, planners, organizers, government and hospitals to meet mutually beneficial goals.  What is the role of the arts in our communities? How do you build public value & will for the arts? Well, it’s not by yelling and bludgeoning. As an arts ambassador you must be able to translate the impact and value of the arts to reflect the values and goals of your audience, build wide support, as well as create campaigns and projects that reflect the current environment and meet the needs of your community.

This class will discuss the arts’ intrinsic and instrumental values, provide examples of cross-sector arts collaboration, and review advocacy strategies. You will explore networking sills, advocacy, and coalition building all to make you into a skilled arts ambassador able to make community connections and the case for the arts during crisis and opportunity.

Bringing Community Together: Planning & Managing Community Collaboration

Webinar: Thursday, May 8, 2014 3pm - 4pm (EST)
Discussion: Thursday, May 15, 2014 3pm - 4pm (EST)

Session Leaders:

  • Suj’n Chon, Principal, Novum Lux, Arts & Social Justice
  • Abe Flores, Field Education and Leadership Programs Manager, Americans for the Arts

With community connections and a couple of ideas for community collaboration it’s time to bring your potential coalition together for planning. How do you build consensus among varying parties? How do you plan with a large group? How do you communicate the impact you are trying to achieve? What are your programming options? How do you manage a coalition? As a community leader you must understand the need to develop community objectives that align with coalition member’s interests and expertise.

This class will discuss community engagement, planning, and consensus building. You will explore theory of change models, community organizing and community planning, all to give you the tools to strategically lead your community.

The Arts Leader’s Practice: Informing, Innovating, and Inspiring Community

Webinar:  Thursday, June 5, 2014 3pm - 4pm (EST)
Discussion: Tuesday, June 10, 2014 3pm - 4pm (EST)

Session Leaders:

  • Margie Reese Johnson, Vice President for Programs at Big Thought
  • Camille Schenkkan, Educational Programs Manager at Center Theatre Group

With a plan in hand it’s time to lead. Leadership is not management, a title or seniority. It’s more than having a vision, followers or influence. Leaders empower others, create a common purpose, make visions reality, develop improbable connections between disparate ideas, continually learn,  actively listen, create other leaders, manage skillfully, let you fail without making you a failure, build diverse relationships, enable other people’s stories to be heard, mediate, persuade, inform, innovate, and inspire. What is that in practice for an Arts Leader? Your reality as an established or emerging leader is complicated by dimensions unique to the arts management field: a non-profit board interested in programming not fundraising, a “staff” of unpaid interns, over-promised program officers, shifting audience demands and demographics, cross-generational staff, the perceived value of the arts, and/or the quality of your arts programming.

This class will discuss leadership theory and the unique challenges and opportunities for arts leaders. You will explore leadership practice and development principles to strengthen your leadership capacity and advance your career, staff, organization, and/or community.

*Note: Course dates are subject to change based on presenter availability