2015 ARTS @ THE HEART CONVENING AGENDA
Thursday and Friday, June 4 & 5, 2015
Join colleagues and make new connections at the 2015 Arts@ the Heart Convening, June 4 and 5, at
the riverfront Siena Hotel in Reno. Cultivate new partnerships and collaborations, enhance your
leadership skills, discover national trends and explore best practices. Apply for an NAC Professional
Development Grant if you are traveling more than 100 miles round-trip to attend A@H.
All sessions at the Siena Hotel Spa Casino, 1 South Lake Street, Reno unless otherwise indicated.
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2015
1:30
2:00 – 3:00
REGISTRATION AND NETWORKING
Registration will close at 3:45 p.m.
PLENARY SESSION: THE ART OF LEADERSHIP
Leadership is a complex responsibility, requiring a set of traits and skills that are both
tangible and ineffable. Research on the topic provides an abundance of information,
often with no clear answers. Is leadership intuitive or instinctive? Are leadership skills
teachable? When assessing the characteristics of leadership, are conviction, empathy
and humility critical elements? These questions and more will be addressed during
this session. Presenter: Kristen Madsen, director of Arts at the Sonoma County
Economic Development Board, and former Senior Vice President of the GRAMMY
Foundation and MusiCares Foundation at the National Academy of Recording Arts and
Sciences.
3:15 – 4:45
PLENARY SESSION: CULTIVATING CREATIVE PUBLIC-PRIVATE ALLIANCES
5:15
RECEPTION: LIBERTY FINE ART GALLERY
6:00
Are there best practices for developing public-private partnerships that generate
robust communities, spark local economies, connect neighbors and drive arts and
cultural public policy? Panel members discuss case studies, strategies, and lessons
learned while empowering residents, opening institutional doors, and persuading
community leaders to build sustainable alliances. Panelists: Jim Bradley, Salt Lake
County commissioner, Salt Lake City; Eric Strain, principal of assemblageSTUDIO, Las
Vegas; and Barbara Mackey, executive director, Historic Fourth Ward School, Virginia
City. Moderator: Susan Boskoff, executive director, Nevada Arts Council.
100 West Liberty Street, Reno
NPN DINNER GATHERING: WILD RIVER GRILLE
17 South Virginia St, Reno
Members of the Nevada Presenters Network (NPN) gather to discuss current trends in
the presenting field, block booking, upcoming conferences and networking events.
This is your chance to share resources and ideas to strengthen NPN and bring
exciting artists to Nevada’s communities. Members only.
6:00 – 9:00
FIRST THURSDAY RENO ART WALK
Explore the town with your new friends and colleagues at Reno’s First Thursday Art
Walk. Start at the reception, hosted by the Liberty Fine Art Gallery, follow the Art
Walk Reno map, and enjoy food and drink at local businesses.
FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015
7:30 am
8:30 – 9:30
BREAKFAST AND REGISTRATION
KEYNOTE: MAKING THE ARTS INDISPENSABLE
The healing and community-building powers of the arts have been under-appreciated
and under-valued due to business models that focus on art rather than the
connection between the arts and people. Service to community was one of the
origins of the arts, yet the arts’ uniting energy has been under-utilized by the arts
infrastructure. Doug Borwick expands on this premise in the keynote, addressing
issues of relevance, engagement and authentic arts-community connections.
Keynote Presenter: Doug Borwick is a leading advocate and speaker for the arts and
community engagement. He is the author of Engaging Matters, a blog for ArtsJournal
and numerous publications and articles, most recently the book Engage Now! A Guide
to Making the Arts Indispensable. He has served as President of the Board of the
Association of Arts Administration Educators, and Director of the Arts Management
and Not-for-Profit Management Programs at Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC.
Borwick is CEO of Outfitters4, Inc. and ArtsEngaged.
9:30
NETWORKING, BOOK-SIGNING & BIOLOGY BREAK
10:00 – 11:15
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
A. Fishing for Funds: Panelists will provide an overview of funding opportunities of
the Nevada Arts Council, Nevada Division of Tourism, Nevada Humanities, and
the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities. Bring your questions!
Panelists: Susan Boskoff, executive director, Nevada Arts Council; Kari Frilot,
manager, Sales and Industry Partners, Nevada Division of Tourism; and Christine
Myers, fiscal officer, Nevada Humanities.
B. Meet Your Neighbors: Would you like to engage with your entire community?
Do you want to make programs more inclusive and sustainable? This panel will
discuss practical, culturally respectful, and imaginative ways to connect with your
entire community and ensure that you are serving its needs. Panelists: Irma
Varela-Wynants, cultural specialist, Clark County Parks & Recreation, Las Vegas;
Melissa Melero, artist and founder, Great Basin Native Artists, Reno; and Ellis Rice,
owner/director, Blusoul Arts Continuum Productions and Studio; former cultural
supervisor, City of Las Vegas–Cultural Affairs Division, Las Vegas. Moderator:
Rebecca Snetselaar, Folklife Program associate, Nevada Arts Council.
C.
Gaining the Competitive Edge for Grant-Seekers: Grant panels make funding
decisions based on compelling narratives, feasible budgets and informative
support materials. Designed for both novice and experienced grant writers, this
session will address general expectations of grant panelists and provide
information about the NAC’s Grants OnlineTM system. Presenter: Ann Black,
Grants Program coordinator, Nevada Arts Council.
D. Sharing Stories Is the First Step to Understanding: Telling the story of your
organization or program is the most effective way of marketing that exists.
Digital storytelling is a method of distilling a story and communicating it through
text, sound and pictures to a wide online audience. Presenter: Carolyn
Dufurrena, writer, film maker, retired teacher, and member of the NAC Artists in
the Schools + Communities Roster, Winnemucca, NV.
E.
11:30 – 12:15
12:30 – 2:00
Engaging the Best and Brightest
A conversation and brainstorming session that focuses on bringing young people
into the fold – in your organizations, and as audience members and attendees.
How do you create programming to attract and inspire young people? How can
you incorporate young people into your operations and planning sessions? What
are some small things you can do to stay current, relevant and connected with
new demographics and a younger generation? And how do you do it well and
from a genuine place? We’ll look at institutions and organizations that hit the
nail on the head. We’ll also have some REAL LIVE YOUNG PEOPLE to reveal
personal stories, share what inspires us and answer your burning questions.
Panelists: Alisha Funkhouser, Britt Curtis, and Holland Project Committee
Members and Youth Leaders, Reno, NV.
LUNCH
PLENARY SESSION: ENGAGING COMMUNITIES
Observations on engagement and arts in small communities presented by two of the
nation’s respected arts activists – Doug Borwick and Maryo Gard Ewell – who then
quiz each other as well as field questions from the audience to close out 2015 A@H
with a rich dialogue on creative communities.
Borwick will present principles of community engagement and highlight the
importance of making it central to every element of an arts organization’s work.
Ewell, using the seminal text, Arts in the Small Community, will explore the role of
local arts councils and grassroots arts activity in building healthy communities. Copresenter: Maryo Gard Ewell serves the field of community arts as a speaker, writer
and educator. She is consultant for the Colorado Creative Industries’ Creative
Districts program and coordinator of nonprofit programs for the Community
Foundation of the Gunnison Valley, Gunnison, CO.
CLOSING CEREMONY
The famous Nevada Arts Council evaluation and business card exchange!
2:00 - 2:45
TABLETOP DISCUSSIONS WITH PRESENTERS
A@H speakers are eager to continue the discussions from the formal
sessions. Sign up at registration, and bring your questions and ideas.
2:45 – 3:30
COMMUNITY ARTS COUNCILS AND LOCAL ARTS AGENCIES GATHERING
Share your triumphs, tragedies and thoughts about A@ H presentations with your
colleagues working at the local level. Support one another with your resources, and
assist the Community Arts Development Program plan for the upcoming year.
Facilitator: Maryo Gard Ewell
REGISTRATION POLICIES:
• We accept checks or credit cards. Registration payments are nonrefundable.
• Late and walk-in registration will be accepted if space is available, but meals cannot be
guaranteed.
• If paying by credit card: you will receive a confirmation email upon completing the online
registration form. Please print this confirmation email for your records.
• If paying by check: send a copy of your registration form along with your check to the NAC office
at: 716 North Carson Street, Suite A, Carson City, NV 89701, Attn: Arts @ the Heart. Please send a
form for each participant.
QUESTIONS? Please contact Mary Works Covington, Community Arts Development Program
Coordinator, at: [email protected] or 775.687.7109.