Session Descriptions, Notes and Presentations

ALL SESSIONS, SCHEDULE, DESCRIPTIONS AND PANELISTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Notes for all sessions

KEYNOTE: Simon Brault: No Culture No Future Session

Download Simon Brault’s Keynote Presentation

Thursday April 12, 9:15-10:45am, Winter Garden Theatre
Notes

Simon Brault was named the National Theatre School’s CEO in 2008 and has held several key administrative positions with the NTS since 1981. He is Vice‐Chair of the Canada Council, an Officer of the Order of Canada, an Officier de l’Ordre national du Québec, a Fellow of the CGA, and a recipient of the Keith Kelly Award for Cultural Leadership.

Synopsis: No Culture, No Future by Simon Brault: “Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits,” proclaims the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Simon Brault takes these words to heart and goes one step further. In No Culture, No Future, he establishes that arts are not just a right but a necessity. A longtime advocate of the arts in Montreal, Brault has taken action to re-establish that city as one of the most culturally accomplished communities in Canada. No Culture, No Future is part of his campaign to convince the people and governments of cities across Canada that investment in the arts benefits all citizens.

Plenary Description:
The idea of the arts as a distinct and separate sector of society became embedded in western consciousness early in the 19th century, and many of our arts organizations still operate on a 19th century business model. But as we advance into the 21st century, we can observe signs of a change of attitude. There is an urgent need to reconcile the notion of arts and culture as a specific sector of the economy with the notion of arts and culture as en essential dimension of your individual and collective lives. This is where our future lies.

PLENARY: Tim Jones of Artscape: Advancing the Arts in a Low-Growth Economy
Friday April 13, 12:45-2:00pm, The Music Room at Hart House
Notes

Tim Jones is a champion for the role that the arts play in transforming cities and communities. Under his direction as President and CEO since 1998, Artscape has grown from a Toronto-based affordable studio provider to an internationally recognized leader in city-building through the arts. In Toronto, Tim has played a catalytic role in the redevelopment of the Distillery District and galvanized the vision, interest and investment to create Artscape Gibraltar Point and the award-winning Artscape Wychwood Barns. In Canada and abroad, Tim acts as a consultant and advisor on projects, policy and initiatives and speaks at more than 20 conferences and events each year. He and his colleagues at Artscape are passionately committed to exchanging knowledge with others on how arts, culture and creativity can help make our world more livable, sustainable, and prosperous.

Plenary Description:
In the aftermath of the global financial crisis with many economists predicting an extended period of slow growth ahead, are the glory days of the arts winding down or are we on the precipice of a bold new future? In this lunchtime keynote, Artscape President and CEO Tim Jones will discuss the ramifications of a low-growth economy for the arts and offer a three-part prescription for their future. Tim will make the case that by re-booting culture-sector advocacy, re-thinking creative sector entrepreneurship and re-inventing capitalism through a shared-value approach, the arts can help lead the way to a new era of creativity and prosperity.

PLENARY: Re-envisioning the Future of the ASO
Saturday April 14, 9:45-11:30am, The Second City
Notes

Yogi Berra wisely observed, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” But that won’t stop APASO from diving into a profoundly thought-provoking discussion of the trends, pressures, threats and opportunities that are affecting the whole of the arts & cultural sector and transforming our roles as service organizations. Where can we be masters of strategy to advance with purpose through challenging waters – and where must we rely on agility and flexibility to enable us to survive fast-changing and unpredictable turbulence? Let’s invest this time to “dream big” together – while also taking care to “mention the unmentionables.” Tom Kaiden (Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance) and Matt Lehrman (Alliance for Audience) will facilitate this discussion. No speeches. No panelists. Just a great opportunity for us all to share perspectives, insights, concerns & hopes.

Thursday April 12

SESSION: The Dueling Identities of the ASO
2 – 3:30pm, Winter Garden Theatre Centre
Notes

How does an ASO balance promoting themselves and their programs (either for marketing/communication purposes or for fundraising) against promoting the work of their individual members and the field as a whole? What is the value proposition we present to funders in support of our work as ASOs? What are the ways we can engage our members in our fundraising and marketing efforts? What ways can we collaborate to educate the funding filed of our value? What are some creative strategies we can utilize to diversify our revenue streams?

This group discussion will provide an opportunity for all participants to share their thoughts, ideas, and experiences in the education and engagement between ASOs, members and the funding community.

Moderator:
John McEwen, Executive Director, New Jersey Theatre Alliance

Panel:
Leah Cooper, Executive Director, Minnesota Theatre Alliance
Jessyca Holland, Executive Director, C4 Atlanta-Creative Action
Catherine Peterson, Executive Director, ArtsBoston

SESSION: Technology Round Up
2 – 3:30pm Winter Garden Theatre Centre
Notes

Come and hear status reports—PechaKucha style—on the large-scale technology initiatives that affect our work. Presenters have promised to share the “inside scoop” of what’s happening with the following projects: ATHENA/Artful.ly, Free Night Enter to Win, Archipelago, Intrinsic Impact Dashboard, Artsopolis, Spaces, Project Audience, and PatronManagerCRM. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion as well.

Panel:
ATHENA/Artful.ly – Selena Juneau-Vogel, Fractured Atlas – Download Presentation
Free Night Enter to Win site – Doug Clayton, LA Stage Alliance
Archipelago – Adam Huttler, Fractured Atlas – Download Presentation
Intrinsic Impact Dashboard – Clay Lord, Theatre Bay Area – Download Presentation
Spaces – Adam Natale, Fractured Atlas – Download Presentation
Project Audience – Autumn Ames, Arts and Cultural Alliance of Central Florida
PatronManager CRM – Terence McFarland, LA Stage Alliance

Friday April 13

SESSION: Arts in Crisis: What Strategies Can We Implement to Help Our Members and Ourselves?
11:15am – 12:45pm, Hart House
Notes

A major institution has just declared bankruptcy. A mid-size company sends out a plea to patrons and donors to “help keep our doors open.” A fellow ASO is having their own fiscal difficulties. What are the best strategies to implement in order to weather these storms when they strike within our communities? This session will explore examples of dealing with financial crisis from both sides of the fence—our members and ourselves. The panel will share examples, best practices and the challenges they faced while trying to understand their roles as crisis managers. This session is intended to be both presentational and conversational. The goal is to start an open dialogue amongst participants to build a stronger APASO community!

Panel:
John McEwen, Executive Director, New Jersey Theatre Alliance
Hear how the New Jersey Theatre Alliance assisted a large and a mid-size organization that both faced a financial and leadership crisis. By working with their respective boards of directors, funding partners and stakeholders, learn how the Alliance used focus groups, town meetings and other methods to build support, regain trust and dispel myths.

Doug Clayton, Director of Programming and Operations, LA Stage Alliance
Doug will discuss LASA’s approach to navigating the waters through their own financial crisis that led to significant downsizing and what effective strategies were adopted that helped them become a stronger, more focused service organization and a respected convener of numerous community dialogues.

Sam Read, Deputy Director, Theatre Puget Sound
Learn how TPS has navigated several crises of member theatres in recent years. While remaining publically neutral, TPS has facilitated support and advice behind-the-scenes when appropriate. Most importantly, in the event of an organization’s closure, TPS has worked to ensure that the artists are taken care of, that resources held by that organization remain in service of the theatre community and that the organization’s history is properly archived.

Tiffany Wilhelm, Deputy Director, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council
Tiffany will talk about GPAC’s attempts in Pittsburgh to create a program that aimed to build the capacity of not-for-profit arts organizations that were impacted by the economic downturn. It’s a story of both success and failure as they sought to combine large workshops with tailored, in-depth consulting services and peer reviews.

SESSION: Research Round-Up
11:15am – 12:45pm, Hart House
Notes

So much research, so little time – this session will wrangle many quick presentations of the latest and greatest research either commissioned by, conducted or of use to the ASO field, and even-more-quick rundowns of the latest from the NEA, AFTA and other foundations and advocacy organizations. Presenters will provide overviews of the newest research regarding arts participation, arts education, financial health, space, technology and more with plenty of time for questions and discussion.

FINANCIAL HEALTH
Presenters: Kendra Lawton and John McInerney, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
Philly Cultural Alliance 2011 Portfolio
NFF’s Capitalization: Case for Change
TCG Fiscal Pulse

SPACE
Presenter: Adam Natale, Fractured Atlas
Alliance of Artists Communities Mind the Gap Residency and Space Study
Mellon Foundation We Make Do Space Study

ARTS EDUCATION
Presenters: Jini Stolk, The Creative Trust – Download Presentation 
Ben Thiem, League of Chicago Theatres
Creative Trust/PAONE Youth Engagement/Participation in the Arts Study
Chicago Community Trust Arts Education in CPS Studies
University of Chicago Teaching Artist Research Project

ARTS PARTICIPATION
Presenters: Clayton Lord, Theatre Bay Area – Download Presentation
Frances Black, ART-NY
Theatre Bay Area Intrinsic Impact Study: New Beans
Theatre Bay Area Social Media Study: Tangled Web
ArtsWave: Arts Ripple Effect
NEA Arts Participation Studies
Irvine Foundation/Wolf Brown Arts Participation Study
San Francisco Foundation/WolfBrown Arts Engagement Study
La Placa Cohen Arts Participation Studies
Ontario Arts Council Audience Engagement Report (with WolfBrown)
Wallace Foundation Studies in Building Arts Audiences
Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance Cultural Engagement Index

SESSION: Engaging Audiences through Collaboration & Innovation
11:15am – 12:45pm, Hart House
Notes

As budgets are squeezed and staff sizes are reduced, the benefits of partnering with fellow arts groups, community organizations and local businesses are undeniable to increase regional and cultural impact. Arts service organizations are uniquely positioned to facilitate this kind of collaboration and create innovative approaches to audience engagement by unifying our regional arts communities around common goals. Turn your ASO into an audience incubator by investing in innovative programming and audience engagement strategies that both serve as a model for member organizations and cultivate deeper arts participation in your region.

Panel:
Autumn Ames, Arts and Cultural Alliance of Central Florida – Download Presentation
Aubrey Reeves, Culture Days Ontario
Sam Read, Theatre Puget Sound

SESSION: The Rise of the Individual Donor/Patron
2:00-3:30pm Hart House
Notes 

The individual is coming back into style–ASO’s engage individuals at multiple levels. What are ASO’s learning about donors, patrons and individual artists? The panel will examine the role of the individual patron, donor and individual artist by looking at patterns of interaction from recent studies, and by discussing trends within our own communities. This session will include an interactive discussion on how arts organizations (and ASO’s) might grow their support base by improving the relationships they have with the individual patron, donor or artist. Conversation welcome!

Moderator:
Jacoba Knaapen, Executive Director, Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts – TAPA

Panel:
Tom Kaiden, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance – Download Presentation
Clayton Lord, Theatre Bay Area – Download Presentation
Adam Natale, Fractured Atlas

SESSION: Show Me The Data!
2:00-3:30pm Hart House
Notes

In an age where data is a new form of currency, it’s critical for cultural organizations and ASO’s to capture, store, and analyze data correctly in order to be successful. In this session we’ll discuss and brainstorm ways to create a culture of collecting data in your community and what to do with the data once you have it. We’ll mostly focus on consumer data and “Big Lists” and what value they provide to the ASO and its community, but we’ll leave some time to brainstorm ways that communities can leverage other important data sets and how to measure the effectiveness of these data collection programs over time.

This session will be a mix of brief presentations from community database managers and collective brainstorming and discussion. Bring your questions and your ideas; we want to hear from you.

Panel:
Doug Clayton, LA Stage Alliance
Kendra Lawton, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance – Download Presentation
John Beck, ArtsBoston

APASO Toronto 2012 BREAKFAST SESSIONS
Join in optional breakfast sessions for casual conversation on the following topics:

TRG List Members Cooperatives Breakfast
Thursday, April 12, 7:30 – 8:30am, Hyatt Regency Hotel
Notes

• Calling all TRG Members! Join the conversation and share best practices, challenges and successes. We will also be discussing the possibility of a pre or post conference at APASO next year for TRG members.

Cross-City Collaborations Breakfast
Friday, April 13, 7:30 – 8:30am, Hyatt Regency Hotel
Notes 

• This discussion will center around new ideas for collaboration among ASO’s.

JOB TITLE Breakouts
Executive Directors – Notes
Programs/Member Services – Notes
Marketing/Audience Development – Notes

APASO Toronto 2012 CHAT AROUNDS
Attendees will have the opportunity to create or choose from topics/conversations and float from topic to topic.
Notes for all Chat Arounds

Chat Around Session 1
A CRM Solution for Your Region
Issues Concerning Small ASO’s
Strategic Plan Exchange – bring a copy of your strategic plan to share and discuss!
Other topics as needed that will be created by attendees during the conference

Chat Around Session 2
Advocacy at a Community Level
The Edge of Research
Serving Individual Artists
Other topics as needed that will be created by attendees during the conference

Chat Around Session 3
Getting into the Research Game
Sector-Wide Giving
Advocacy 101
Duplication of Effort
Ticketing Breakout Discussion
Other topics as needed that will be created by attendees during the conference