By Ann Marie Miller
Executive Director
Art Pride
A group of dynamic young people are celebrating National Arts & Humanities Month this year with a Creative Conversation on October 20 at 7 pm at the Arts Council of Princeton’s Paul Robeson Center for the Arts. This is the third annual Creative Conversation sponsored by New Jersey Emerging Arts Leaders (NJEAL), and this one focuses on being caught in the “middle.” More on that in a second.
Who are these emerging arts leaders? This growing group of young arts professionals has organized themselves as a chapter of the Americans for the Arts Emerging Arts Leaders Network to provide opportunities to get together, share, engage in professional development workshops, and discover resources to help them grow in their careers. They seek to strengthen inter-generational communication, cultivate new leaders and make their own significant contributions to the field. The Art Pride NJ Foundation gives them safe haven, some staff leadership, and a bit of monetary assistance to help them stretch their wings (and be refreshed at the end of a long work day).
Now, more about being in the “middle.” Young arts professionals are often part of the action without feeling like real players. They provide invaluable assistance to executive directors, artistic directors, board members and organization founders, but often may not witness the results of their efforts in board rooms, at gala events, or even on stages of cultural institutions. This Creative Conversation will share success stories, challenges and ways to add effective tools for managing up, down, sideways and across—all part of building that “arts manager utility belt,” and the skills to deal effectively with managers and management.
Besides all that talking, they know how to have fun and are a welcoming and friendly group. If you are interested in joining them, please don’t hesitate to contact Madeline Orton at Art Pride New Jersey (madelineorton[at]artpridenj[dot]com) and get ready to engage in some spirited and creative conversation!
Don’t live in New Jersey? Find a Creative Conversation near you.
Ann Marie Miller is the Executive Director of Art Pride, the premier arts advocacy organization in New Jersey, and a regular contributor to the Dodge blog.