Ella Van Wyk
“There’s nowhere to go but on!” – Feist
Let this blog begin with my gratitude for the amazing experience I have had over these last few days. Receiving the Arthur Greenberg Memorial Scholarship Award is an event that has truly influenced my career, and will benefit my organization and my local arts community. Thank you to Abe Flores, Rebecca Burrell, and Adam Fong for taking the time to have genuine conversations with me and truly contribute to the work I am doing.
Attending a conference is too passive a description for these last few days. I learned, sang, listened, laughed, digested, deliberated, rejected, reinforced, inquired, decompressed, and grew. I watched Robert L Lynch (CEO of Americans for the Arts) and Jonathan Katz (CEO National Assembly of State Arts Agencies) jam together. They spoke about leadership, their nonlinear careers, they read their own poetry, sang songs, enjoyed each other’s company, and celebrated each other’s achievements! I met fantastic people from across the country, Canada, and the UK who are all fighting for the same cause, attacking similar challenges and were open and willing to share ideas, brainstorm and listen. I sang with Ben Folds. I stayed up until midnight disseminating what I’d experienced that day making To-Do lists and resource wish-lists so that when I get home I can hit the ground running and implement all I have experienced here. I received wisdom, knowledge, empathy, and suggestions from leaders in the arts and experts with invaluable years of experience.
I have a few conferences under my belt, and I have been fortunate enough that they span several continents and one consistent critique I hear is that nobody ever does anything with what they learn at a conference. So my goal with this blog is to provide an example of the opposite.
This blog is actually an invitation. I invite you to witness how I implement the spoils of these last few days and share your own adventures. Here is my “to do list” for my organization (Champaign Urbana Theatre Company) and here is the link to my local arts managers network Facebook page where I will continue to cross things off and document the progress/failure/questions/rants and successes!
To Do at CUTC:
1. Make Planets and hang them in my office- This comes from Tamara Mozahuani Alvarado. Each planet is one of your priorities. Everyday you make sure you have visited each planet even if it was only for a few minutes. She suggested 9-10 planets. So far, mine include: Family, Professional Development, Care of my physical self, Creative Outlet, Finances, Contribute to something bigger than me, CUTC, The Flying Buttress ( a project of mine to network arts managers in my community), and downtime.
2. Begin a marketing plan using the “weekend warrior” idea to showcase the volunteers in my organization
3. Write a plan to create Rabid fans based on Devon Smith’s presentation
4. Write and memorize my talking points about CUTC and also The Flying Buttress. Thank you Charlie Jensen for your session on “How to convince anyone to support the Arts”.
5. Create a drop box system for shared documents within my organization. I can’t remember who suggested this but I am grateful – no more binders and far less photocopies!
6. Look into Americorps VISTA to see if I can get help in the office. I am a staff of one!
7. Check out intrinsicimpact.org for survey questions that CUTC can use to measure quality, not quantity.
8. Create a structure for data collection. Need to implement documentation as if I am preparing the office for someone else to step in and be efficient. This will include email contacts, physical addresses and phone numbers.
Thank you AFTA for this incredible opportunity and resource. I am excited about the upcoming year and hope to see you in Chicago!
