Design: Jenny Lederer www.jennylederer.com

Throughout 2017, 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.

This week, we will talk about the letter S: 

• Staff meetings 

• SWOT

• Strategic goal setting and strategic plans

• Small work environment

• Site visits to other organizations and venues

• Savings account

• State funding options

• Social media

• Succession planning

• Subsidies

• Self care

• Social justice

• Social change

———-

Let's unpack, consider, and reflect upon each one of these terms and phrases. Even before reading further, you might want to take the list of ideas here and simply journal for your organization. What do these words mean to you at your organization?

S is for Staff Meetings

Ah, finding the sweet spot with staff meetings. There are departmental meetings, administrative meetings, and teaching artist staff meetings. How often – or how seldomly – do you meet? Other key considerations include:

• Leading the meetings – can you take turns running the meetings and offer various staff member leadership opportunities?
• Meeting agendas – can you share the agendas a day or two before each meeting?
• Macro and micro – how do you balance the content in terms of big picture discussion/brainstorming/reflection and discussing the micro details related to events, budgets, staffing, etc?

S is for SWOT

"SWOT" is a simple but effective tool to assess many things – the organization as a whole, a particular project or initiative, your board of directors, your roster of teaching artists, your schedule of class offerings, and much more. SWOT stands for: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Use this tool within a meeting or as a simple reflection tool on your own.

S is for Strategic Goal Setting and Strategic Plans

The word "strategic" implies targeted, planned, mindful, considered, selected….it is about growth, focus, amplifying, improving, elevating, publicizing, and professionalizing.

This work is best done with a consultant or core group of people to work deeply together to develop a thorough, articulated, and achievable plan.

Please check out North Carolina School of the Arts and its robust, impressive Strategic Action Plan:

http://www.uncsa.edu/chancellor/strategic-plan/index.aspx

S is for Small Work Environment

Sometimes it feels like the classic clown routine – of how many bodies within a small car. Many arts organizations have little office space, as we have devoted (rightly so) our space to studios and to theaters. And, as our organizations grow, most likely the office space does not.

So….how to creatively manage this situation? Some thoughts and questions include:

• Is every desk/work station available and tidy so that multiple people can use it during the course of a week?
• What is your policy about "working from home?" Could each employee work 1-1.5 days at home a week?
• Is everyone working 9-5? Could staggered work hours maximize the office space and usage?
• Are there co-working spaces in your community the access?

S is for Site Visits to Other Organizations and Venues

This is one of the easiest (and sometimes most cost effective) professional development opportunities you can support each year. Visiting other sites locally and nationally provides real-time examples and inspiration that many conferences simply cannot convey.

Observing classes, setting up informational interviews, and building collegiality can offer inspiration and an opportunity to reflect on your own organization in comparison to those you visit.

S is for Savings Account

As mentioned with the letter R (reserve/rainy day fund), an organization's savings account most likely will be the rainy day fund/reserve in case of emergency. Take the time to articulate for yourself (or with your board) about how much you want in this account. The rule of thumb is usually 3-6 months worth of operating expenses.

S is for State Funding Options

While local and state arts councils are surely not like they used to be a few decades ago, it is still worth the time to see what grants are offered right now for arts education, community engagement, nonprofit support, and innovation. Click here for a complete list of arts councils.

S is for Social Media

In many ways, social media is an incredible resource for arts organizations (especially using it in many ways free of charge). Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Social media is a quick and easy way to share information, images, performance dates, class details, and much more. Now the question is….who on staff is managing this, and for how many hours a week?

S is for Succession Planning

This is a huge one, and a topic often not openly discussed.

Idea #1 – If you know of any organization that comes to mind with a successful succession plan, can you contact them to learn more?

Idea #2 – These two documents offer valuable insight. The Hewlett Foundation's 2016 document about arts leaders indirectly sheds light on this topic of "succession planning." Read it here. And, Dancers' Group created a gem of a document about transitioning leadership. Read it here.

S is for Subsidies

Understanding subsidies…..As Fernando Maneca of the Brooklyn Arts Exchange shared, "Do our 'customers' understand that other entities are helping to pay for the products/services they consume? Sure the artist pays $10/hr for rehearsal space, but a funder or a group of funders is paying the other $30-40/hr." Subsidies are incredibly valuable to support and underwrite things such as reduced rental fees, presenting performances, and artist in residence opportunities. How can we let customers and the general community know what really goes into funding the work and the opportunities?

S is for Self Care

Hillary Kooistra, Company Manager for Abraham.In.Motion emphasized that,  "I think this is SO important for arts administrators!" Long work weeks, weekend work, neverending to do lists….it all adds up.

Take a moment and jot down 5 things that can support self care in your life right now. Can you explore one of these ideas this week? Can you post this list somewhere?

S is for Social Justice

As an organization, how are you working each week or each year to support/highlight social justice issues through artmaking, access, and community engagement?

S is for Social Change

Is social change a part of your mission and vision?  Where does your passion lie?