1st meeting sitting on Emerging Arts Leaders DC's steering committee

Hey there,

So i was asked to join the Steering Committee of the Emerging Arts Leaders DC (EALDC)...and I said yes.

Last night was my first night acting in an official capacity, during the first steering committee meeting of the 2012-13 year.

I had attended EALDC events before, the main ones being several First Friday Lunches. It's an opportunity to grab a bite, chat, and network with other arts professionals in the area. EALDC also partnered with AU's Emerging Arts Leaders Symposium, an annual event that happens the day before Americans for the Arts' (AFTA) Arts Advocacy Day.

If you're not familiar with EALDC, we are:

a volunteer-led initiative that provides professional development, networking, and information relevant to emerging arts professionals in the metropolitan Washington, DC area

And I was personally loving my fellow committee members, both veterans, as well as the other noobs like me. Anyway, I won't go on too much about what we discussed in the meeting. What was exciting was how quick "orientation" was and before I knew it, we were beginning to plan for the year, from First Friday Lunches, to Creative Conversation ideas. And, with the latter, the one we tentatively settled on was Philanthropy specifically regarding younger donors. This will be happening sometime late October, early November.

Creative Conversations are a special event dedicated to getting a discussion going. Last year's was held at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and titled Cultural Participation in a 2.0 World.

So I'm stoked!! This is the kind of work that I've been wanting to jump into more, particularly with regards to this side of the arts conversation. And the whole time I couldn't help but look around at the table and be glad that I have the opportunity and privilege to work with this tremendous and dynamic group.

And although this particular organization started out as a DC thing, the group was actually titled The DC Forum when it first started several years ago, it is now part of AFTA's Emerging Leaders Network:

The Americans for the Arts Emerging Leader Program works to identify and cultivate the next generation of arts leaders in America. It is an ideal way for new leaders to share their interests with others as they continue to develop their skills and their commitment to the arts. The Emerging Leader Program targets professionals who are either new to the field, with up to five years of experience, or are 35 years of age or younger.

So if you're in the area, and interested in attending our events, definitely be in touch, and you can start by following or liking us on Facebook or Twitter:

• Follow @emergingartsdc

And here are my fellow committee members, as well as any orgs we're associated with (as applicable):

• Tim Mikulski, EALDC Co-chair, Communications & Content Manager at AFTA
• Follow @tim_mik
• Follow @Americans4Arts
• Sunny Widman, EALDC Co-chair, Program Manager at National Arts Strategies
• Follow @ArtStrategies
• Corinne Baker, Audience Engagement Manager at Washington Performing Arts Society
• Follow @WPASinDC
• Ellen Chenoweth, Managing Director at Dance Exchange
• Follow @Dance_Exchange
• Chelsey Christensen, Development Manager for Individual Giving/Marketing & PR Coordinator at Imagination Stage & Forum Theatre
• Follow @chelseydc
• Follow @I_Stage
• Follow @forumtheatre
• Ethan Clark, Independent Arts & Arts Education Consultant
• Follow @clarkethan
• Helen Gineris, Events Manager at Cultural Tourism DC
• Follow @HelenJG7
• Follow @dcculture
• Angela Goerner, Development Director at Hamiltonian Artists
• Follow @hamiltoniandc
• Megan Pagado, Digital Communications & Outreach Manager at the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County
• Follow @andmegansaid
• Follow @creativemoco
• Christi Esterly Schwarten, Executive Director at the Fairfax Choral Society
• Follow @fairfaxchoral
• Emily Travis, Communications & Government Affairs Associate - Association of Performing Arts Presenters
• Follow @apap365

As you can see it's quite the spectrum of arts organizations. And it's reflected in the people I'm excited to sit on the steering committee with, in our broad range of experience and perspective.

So that being said, hope to see you at event soon. And I'll definitely post about the upcoming Creative Conversation in October,

- J Street Jr

The Art of Justice: A Courtroom Scene

While cameras aren't allowed, a visual artist of other mediums is.

I suppose it is less intrusive, but it's also a little more nuanced than taking a strict photo, which is exactly what the lens sees, a moment copied and pasted to its memory card, and reproduced pixel by pixel. A visual piece...well, I could only image (not being a visual artist myself), that it captures much more than a moment.

The artist at the trial?

William J. Hennessy Jr.  You can check out his website, www.courtroomart.com.

I tried, in vain, to explain why I, sitting on the defendant's side of the courtroom, was intrigued at the role, his role, of an artist in this system. I managed to get out the fact that I was an arts administrator, and quickly realized that I should just cut short my losses, and let him get on with his work, while the memories and images were still fresh.

I suppose, as personal and emotional as trials can, the visual artist plays a role that a photographer can't, specifically because of the product they produce.

At its core, unless you're going for complete realism, maybe there isn't the sense of a breach of privacy when one see his or her likeness in pastel (or other medium of choice), versus a picture.  I don't know, maybe there are other reasons, but at the end it doesn't seem as...well, I can't think of another word: as intrusive as an actual photograph might. That's my own take on it, anyway.

Maybe actual courtroom artists can speak to how they view their role, their work, and how it differs from that of photography, on any level.

The frustrating thing was, his presence was a reminder that I now have this arts management lens on (thank you AU) that, even in dealing with an ongoing, personal tragedy, will never come off. Or maybe it's a good thing in that the path I'm going down in my life is relevant in ways I couldn't imagine.

Either way, it only makes me hope that the artist can forgive me for interrupting his process.

- J Street Jr

Arts Management Fall Colloquium: "The Future is Now" with Sandra Gibson

This afternoon, I left work early to attend the annual Fall Colloquium, which AU's Arts Management program organizes.

The event was held in the Katzen Museum, and this year, the speaker was Sandra Gibson, President & CEO of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.

I had originally met Sandra a couple of years ago, when she was one of a number of speakers for the annual Emerging Arts Leaders Symposium, prior to Arts Advocacy Day that year. I believe it was my first year at AU.

Anyway, Sandra addressed trends in presenting, which addressed funding, audience development, advocacy, and just about every other factor that is affecting all of the arts sector.

I didn't see too many current second years from the program, but met several first years, which was nice. One of my goals is to try and help with giving students and graduates of the arts management program at AU a sense of continuity and cohesiveness, as that was one thing my class felt like it was missing.

Fortunately, I'm in a work environment that supports attending functions like this.

J Street Jr

Encounters: Becca G. and a student

As I'm sitting at L'enfant Cafe, from my previous entry, I run into two people.

The first is Becca G. whom I actually know from AU's Arts Management program we both started the same year, and are both...taking our time finishing. She's also involved with a really neat...well, from lack of a better description, cultural entity, the Pink Line Project.

It's a neat...presence in DC, headed by Philippa P.B. Hughes. You can check out more about her in this Washington Post article from the past couple of years, Remaking the Scene. I've had the pleasure of meeting her, and subsequently running into her. Always cordial, with a great energy, she's another person who is living proof that DC is much more than the rest of the country give it credit for.

Anyway, Becca's cool too!! Also one of the few other majors in the program with a dance background.

So she passed by on the sidewalk. And not too much after that I hear someone yelling from across the street. Well, actually the person was yelling from the middle of the street, from a taxi that was stopped, and she was in the back seat leaning forward and screaming in front of her mom.

It was one of my students from NCS. A phenomenal dancer, with great energy, she had just moved and was only a freshman. She's already became a pillar in the dance program, and I hope she stays just as involved if not more so in future years.

Anyway, that was it...this time