Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra

Day Two: Notes to a Young Arts Advocate from a Young Arts Advocate

Posted by Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra, Aug 19, 2016


Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra

Young(er) arts advocate, do you realize that you are powerful? Do you realize that because you took your stand with grace and strength, your community will be changed?

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Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra

10 Steps to Build a Localized Movement for the Arts

Posted by Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra, Mar 22, 2017


Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra

Allow me to set the scene: while attending the 2016 Americans for the Arts Annual Convention in Boston, I received a text from a friend in my hometown stating that in a late-night meeting the day prior, the local Board of Education unexpectedly introduced and approved an unreasonably high new fee for all students wishing to participate in extracurricular drama programs. Today, after eight months of coordinating an aggressive advocacy campaign that succeeded in eliminating that same fee with the near-unanimous support of the same board members who introduced it, I aim to identify and share the 10 crucial steps and considerations that made this victory for the arts in Harford County, Maryland possible.

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Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra

Are Internships Building the Leaders We Need?

Posted by Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra, Apr 18, 2017


Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra

Today’s emerging leaders will need to be proficient, savvy, self-aware, and boundlessly resilient in order to meet tomorrow’s challenges; and yet, the long-term value of the short-term internship model appears to vary by organization and pupil. What makes an internship meaningful and worthwhile for both parties? Does a traditional internship model facilitate learning that extends beyond specialized proficiency to include strategic thinking, a value for cultural equity, and adaptive processes?

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Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra

Leading from the Front: Arts Advocacy Strategies for the Public Sector

Posted by Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra, Aug 30, 2017


Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra

What does adaptive leadership and effective advocacy look like for those working in the public sector? Over the course of the past year, I began seriously wondering how public employees might be able to take an active role in raising political support for cultural agencies and state arts councils, within the legal restrictions that apply to their self-advocacy. I interviewed arts leaders in six states to find out how they were steering their agencies to serve many diverse publics within their state in spite of significant political and economic challenges—and in some cases, a lingering threat of elimination.

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Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra

Questions to Begin a Conversation about (Re)Designing Your Organization for Equity

Posted by Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra, Oct 19, 2017


Mr. Ryan A. Nicotra

As we approach the upcoming National Arts Marketing Project Conference in Memphis, I’m excited to enter a new conversation about the possibilities for our sector that can be unlocked by embracing a designer’s mentality to address the critical need to diversify our audiences, our leadership, and our organizations.

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