For the next few months, we will be using the alphabet as a novel way to unpack the many concepts of arts administration. Please join in. Thank you to the following arts administrators for adding ideas to the project:
- Ashley Thorndike-Youssef, Now Next Dance
- Fernando Maneca, BAX | Brooklyn Arts Exchange
- Hillary Kooistra, Abraham.In.Motion
- Kathryn Humphreys, Hubbard Street Chicago
- Katie Kruger, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center
- Liz Hitchcock Lisle, Shotgun Players
- Phyllis Haskell Tims, University of Utah (retired)
- Rebecca A. Ferrell, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Sarah Crowell, Destiny Arts Center
- Tammy Cheney, Lines Ballet
Arts administration relates to work at dance centers, arts councils, arts education programs, companies, and college programs. Please read on to explore the many and varied topics within arts administration. While not every topic applies to every setting, we hope that you will still find one or two ideas in the post that are useful and applicable to your particular setting. Please feel free to add ideas and links in the comments section below.
The Letter C:
- Chairing a dance department
- Collaboration
- Colleagues
- College level administration – examples
- Committees you participate in – locally and nationally
- Communication skills
- Community outreach
- Comparable organizations – locally and nationally
- Compasspoint trainings
- Compliance
- Conferences
- Conflict management
- Consensus building
- Consistent communication
- Consultants
- Contracts
- Critical Friends Group – protocols for meetings and reflection
- Critical Response Method
- The Cycle by Michael M. Kaiser
- Work as creative challenge
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Let's unpack, consider, and reflect upon each one of these words. Even before reading further, you might want to take the list of 20 ideas here and simply journal for your organization. What do these words and phrases mean to you at your organization?
Chairing a dance department
In a prior blog post 3 department chairs candidly share their stories for us to learn from and reflect upon. Click here.
Collaboration
Collaboration…partnering….working together on the same project. Oftentimes, I feel, the word "collaboration" is misused in the arts world. Reflecting in your own work, what does collaboration mean? What does it look like?
Do you have an affinity for collaboration, or do you prefer leading the charge? (No judgement here….just asking….)
Quoting from Vicky Shick's artist profile,
Collaboration is a source of inspiration and excitement – jumping off from a shared aesthetic, a deep appreciation and respect for another’s work, a trust in a process and much communication. It also means faith in a relationship, a comfort, an honesty, patience and compromise.
Colleagues
Grab a piece of paper and write for 5 minutes….who are your valued colleagues in your immediate community? In the state? Nationally? Who are the three people you turn to most for ideas, dialogue, mentoring, and support?
College level administration – examples
With over 150 artist profiles on the blog, numerous leaders in college departments around the country have been profiled. Here are six stellar examples:
Jan Erkert - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Onye Ozuzu - Columbia College Chicago
Donna White - University of Utah
Phyllis Haskell Tims - University of Utah
Cathy Davalos - Saint Mary's College
Damon Rago - Loyola Marymount
Committees you participate in – locally and nationally
Committees are wonderful opportunities to network and learn as well as elevate and promote the field in general. If your organization can support it, can you participate in at least one local committee and one national committee? National committees through organizations such as NDEO and Dance/USA take time….maybe that becomes a career goal and aspiration for the next 5 years.
Communication skills
Let's consider communication within your organization. Looking at all of the staff members, how would you describe each person's communication style? These days, we need to consider a variety of opportunities for communication – private and in person conversations, staff meetings, public events, and online communication. Also, who works well with students, parents, and funders?
Which styles best support good work, respect, teamwork, collaboration, and risk taking?
Community outreach
The term "community outreach" remains a problematic and sometimes misused word, much like "collaboration." Are we talking about marketing efforts, or are we talking about community connections and access? I hope for the latter.
Community outreach is about information, opportunity, access, equity, and widening the circle. Now, more than ever, let's keep widening our circles.
Comparable organizations – locally and nationally
This is a valuable and illuminating exercise for you and your staff.
- List out the comparable organizations within your community. How large or small is the list? What is your relationship with these particular orgs?
- Can you list 5 comparable organizations nationwide?
Consider an activity for the staff to take on for an upcoming staff meeting. Let's say you list out 5 comparable organizations. Divide up the organizations and spend 30 minutes researching one place. Report back at the next staff meeting – what impressed you, surprised you? What did you read that made you have a better perspective on your own organization?
Compasspoint trainings and resources
Compasspoint is an impassioned and generous organization in the SF Bay Area that leads workshops, trainings, and coaching for non-profit leaders and organizations. I just participated in a "transitional leadership" workshop this year.
I encourage you to take 20 minutes to browse the site, whether you live in the Bay Area or in another location in the country. Sign up for the weekly newsletter, and browse some of the free resources. (You will have to take 30 seconds to sign up on the site to access some of the information.)
Compliance
Liz Lisle, the Managing Director of Shotgun Players in Berkeley, California, shares some wisdom and details here related to compliance:
At Shotgun Players, we noticed that many governing entities suddenly began looking at Shotgun with much closer scrutiny when we crossed the $1 million budget mark. For other organizations, it happens sooner. We've now done an EDD audit, two worker's comp audits, a board of equalization audit… the list goes on. As your organization grows, it becomes increasingly important to set and follow compliant procedures in finance (with internal controls), in human resources (with your hiring/termination practices, HR manual, and common employment laws), and in overall administration systems. If you operate a facility, there are compliance needs there as well.
With so many layers and a small staff that does not include finance or HR departments, it can feel difficult to stay ahead of the curve. Laws are always changing! The best way I've found to keep up is with regular reviews of different departments, to sign up for non-profit employer newsletters and blogs, and to look for experts in your community that might be interested in coming through to do a pro bono audit in their area.
A great payroll provider can also act as a strong resource for a small company trying to keep up. We use ADP, which provides an incredible wealth of information for employers, which is state specific.
Conferences
What's on your calendar for this year?
- Dance/USA
- Americans for the Arts
- Arts Education Partnership (AEP)
- NDEO
- Now Next Dance
- Your state's arts council convening
Conflict management
Conflicts will arise between colleagues, you and the landlord, or a teacher and a student. Is a mediator available on your campus? Does the Executive Director or HR Director facilitate a conversation? Do you have a lawyer on your board or advisory board?
This is a perfect example of using your colleagues in the community for resources and guidance when conflict arises…..
Consensus building
“Consensus” might not be a regular tool within your organization; decisions and mission statements might have been made long ago. But, do take a few minutes to reflect upon your current state of the organization.
Would building a consensus around a particular policy, strategy, program, or initiative be valuable at this given moment? Could a consultant or valued colleague lead this process for you?
Consensus building is about opportunity, voice, buy-in, 360 degree perspective, and full engagement.
Consistent communication
Consistent communication….Fernando Maneca at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange highlighted this key point for arts organizations and encourages us all to think about "specifically targeted communication to various constituents, artists, students, teachers, ticket-buyers, funders, donors, sponsors and local business networks." Yes, this is a hefty list, but essential work to be done.
Consistent communication is inclusive and strategic; consistent communication builds this web of people and information that supports your organization with participation, enrollment, donations, and advocacy.
Depending on your organization's size, do you have a marketing and communications position? Or does this become a monthly task within everyone's role? And what form does it take – emails, social media, newsletters, brochures, out for coffee, or a cocktail party?
Consultants
Consultants can provide perspective, facilitation, consensus building, and evaluation. If possible, consider a regular line item in your budget each year for some form of consultation – to improve programs, HR, and policies, or to facilitate board retreats and strategic planning.
Contracts
Contracts – for performances, performers, consultants, teaching artists…..a contract is stating the dates, times, commitments, and payments….
Are these documents legally binding through your organization or school? Or a simple memorandum of understanding? Regardless, clarity (another awesome "c" word) is key for all people involved.
If the contract is about teaching…..do you also state and clarify about sick days, rescheduling classes, snow days, supplies, and prep time?
Critical Friends Group – protocols for meetings and reflection
Because of my love and interest in the Critical Response Method, when I heard about the Critical Friends Group work that is used in K-12 school settings, I was very curious. I participated in a few Critical Friends groups when I taught dance full-time at The Hamlin School in San Francisco. The heart of the work is a series of protocols to lead focused discussions on lesson plans, curriculum, students, data, and performances. I even did the training to become a CFG facilitator.
While the work is not explicitly described as for arts work, many of the protocols are indeed useful and applicable in many arts-based settings. If you like Liz Lerman's Critical Response Method (see below), then check this out.
The title – "Critical Friends Group" – is a bit misleading. The title really refers to a group coming together for thoughtful, meaningful discussion and unpacking of projects.
I even wrote a protocol – geared towards reflecting after a student performance or culminating event. You can read it here (pages 4-5):
http://www.nsrfharmony.org/sites/default/files/2014.January.Connections.pdf
To learn more about the Critical Friends Group program:
Critical Response Method
Liz Lerman's Critical Response Method is an accessible and valuable tool for discussion of works of art. You can also apply the series of steps and questions to work at your site – when discussing a new project, program, or initiative.
Here are a few articles on it:
http://www.brooklynartscouncil.org/files/downloads/Critical_Response_Process.pdf
http://bussigel.com/communityart/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/critical_response.pdf
And, Liz's book on the method:
The Cycle: A Practical Approach to Managing Arts Organizations by Michael M. Kaiser
This book is still my top suggestion for arts administrators. Purchase it here.
Work as creative challenge
From Nicolle Wasserman, Director of School Administration at the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC:
There are many ways to encounter creativity and artistry in the work of an arts administrator. The unique challenges found in a nonprofit organization, often due to the reality of small-scale budgets, necessitates creative problem solving. It may not always feel artistic, but you certainly must be resourceful and inventive when you can’t just throw money at a difficult situation. As an arts administrator, you might get the opportunity to direct the design of marketing materials, create a curriculum or syllabus, or curate a performance series. These, and other arts administration tasks, require a creative background and can be artistically satisfying in a myriad of ways.
The artistic experience, whether a theater or dance performance, orchestra, museum, or book reading, takes a group of people with different skills to produce. The art presented could not be fully actualized without a full production team. Arts management is a major component of the entire artistic experience. As an artist-turned-administrator, it is important keep this in mind when pushing through some of the less creatively gratifying work of administration: spreadsheets, budgets, reports, database entry, etc.
To read more perspectives, click here.
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Life as a Modern Dancer 
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