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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.”

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

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.