95496
#WorkCreative – Bringing Creativity into the Workplace
The idea of creativity in the workplace is getting a lot of play in the media these days. Books like Creative Confidence, from IDEO founders Tom & David Kelly, entice business people to retool their approach to problem solving. Industry leaders like Hitachi CEO Barbara Dyer are making bold statements like ““[c]reativity is rapidly shifting from a “nice to have” to a “must have” quality for all types of successful organizations.”
In the midst of this hey-day, lots of people are talking. But our partners at Southwest Airlines are doing. They’re finding new ways to embrace creativity in their business, and it doesn’t stop at corporate retreats. These guys are making creativity a way of life that they embrace and encourage in the day-to-day, and it shows through in their quirky corporate culture and innovative approach to airline service.
95494
Welcome to the Employee Engagement and the Arts Blog Salon!
Employee engagement: a term Americans for the Arts has been throwing around a lot lately. But what does it mean, and how can you use it in your community? Simply put (according to Forbes), employee engagement is “the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals.” According to Deloitte’s 2015 Human Capital Trends Report, this emotional commitment is one of the top challenges facing 87 percent of companies around the world today.
As arts administrators, we’re finely attuned the emotional connections and revelations the arts can usher forth. As we explore best practices in partnering with the business sector, it’s clear that there are direct ways to harness the emotional power of the arts with business employees to increase morale and communication within a company, as well stimulate innovation and embed a practice of daily creativity.
96403
Calling all Adventurers! and Other Market Research findings
Univeristy Musical Society works to develop insights into how exemplary performing arts organizations can successfully expand their audiences and retain them over time.
0
public://1516-airprogram.jpg
95493
Arts and Tech Collide in ArtsWave’s First Hackathon
In a single weekend at Union Hall in Cincinnati, more than 100 people came together to tackle eight real-life business challenges from the city’s largest arts organizations during the first Tidal ArtsWave Art x Tech Challenge, presented by Fifth Third Bank.
The result: working prototypes of apps that connect people with other art lovers, allow them to learn more about artists and venues, enable them to find discounts and buy tickets with the swipe of the finger, reward them for attending shows, and suggest new performances they should see.
And those were just from the two winning teams.
95470
The Arts Add Powerful Voice and Vibrancy to Corporate America
Fifty years ago, David Rockefeller, Chairman and CEO of the Chase Manhattan Corporation, gave an address to the National Industrial Conference Board (now The Conference Board). It was The Conference Board’s 50th anniversary, and his words changed how the business community viewed the arts world.
Rockefeller has always been a visionary who understood a half century ago that the arts could go a long way towards helping businesses as well as humanity. He called for businesses to assume a much larger role in supporting the arts for the many ways that they improve both the business and the community. He helped lead the formation of the Business Committee for the Arts (BCA)—since merged with Americans for the Arts—which has encouraged, inspired, and paved the way for businesses to support the arts in the workplace, in education, and in the community.
95462
A New Trifecta for the Arts
Louisville’s passion for the arts is hardly a new phenomenon. We pride ourselves on our eclectic, world-class arts community that is ever evolving. Fund for the Arts recognizes that as the united arts fund field continues to evolve, we must stay ahead of the curve by pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, driving new initiatives and sparking new collaborations while honoring our rich history of supporting a wide array of arts institutions. As we move forward, Fund for the Arts is focused on how the arts can be a catalyst for systemic change–a change that brings about a stronger, more inclusive and vibrant city.
95453
Reflections on Resilient Arts Leadership
This week we heard over a dozen emerging leaders reflect on this year’s Arts Leadership Preconference theme: “Impact Without Burnout: Resilient Arts Leadership from the Inside Out”. Echoed in many of the blogs is the need and desire for cross-generational leadership, mentorship and professional development (positioning everyone to teach and advance the field), the need to intentionally address diversity, and the importance of “soft-skills”.
95452
Vulnerability is the New Confidence
Arts leaders must be comfortable with risk and uncertainty to be successful. Actually, I think this is true for leaders in every industry, but especially in the arts. Embracing vulnerability can be challenging for any leader, but especially a young one. Brene Brown, a preeminent researcher on vulnerability defines it as “uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure.” She has this to say: “Vulnerability is the absolute heartbeat of innovation and creativity”; “There can be zero innovation without vulnerability”; and “Invulnerability in leadership breeds disengagement in culture.”
95454
Notes from the Field
I am in the field. Literally. A wheat field in McPherson County, Kansas to be exact. There’s no cell service and no other human being in sight, so I feel seriously out of place. I am far outside of my comfort zone. Other than the hundred head of cattle expectantly staring at me over a wire fence behind me, my only companion is Stretch, the Chinberg’s farm dog. Used to the solitude, he keeps eagerly bringing me junk – a stick, discarded flip-flop with teeth marks, a chewed rabbit foot – canine enticements to friendship. There is a hot, skin-stripping wind blowing chaff onto my cheeks, getting stuck in my hair that falls into the palette I have set out. The starkness of this scene inspired my courage to capture the power of this hot, solitary land. I am here because of, and in spite of, the wind. It drives my thoughts.
95451
They Should’ve Asked a Folklorist: New Horizons for State Folk Arts Programs
Following the 1974 launch of NEA support for state folklife programs, folklorists have led state arts agencies’ efforts to serve traditional artists of the nation’s rural, occupational, and immigrant communities. What are the challenges facing state-level folk arts coordinators in 2016?
To gain insight, I consulted three emerging leaders in the field: Lilli Tichinin, Program Coordinator of Folk Arts, Art Projects and Accessibility for New Mexico Arts; Jennifer Joy Jameson, Folk and Traditional Arts Director for the Mississippi Arts Commission; and Josh Ehlers, Assistant Folklorist for the Oregon Folklife Network.
95450
A Leader's Responsibility to Create Opportunities for Others
In 2008, print publications were shedding staff writer positions. Arts criticism was on the cutting room floor at daily newspapers across the country.
Blogging was all the rage in the mid-aughts, so despite the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s unceremonious slaughter of their arts coverage, Atlanta was seeing a groundswell of local arts scene coverage. From this movement a cohort of critics emerged. This independent and often amateur motley crew consisted of emerging artists, recently graduated art history majors, retired editors and junior writers. What they penned was avant-garde reviews that disregarded traditional methods of criticism.
