Arts Presenters of Northern New England & New England Presenters’ Meeting, April 20th
Below is information about a meeting hosted by Arts Presenters of Northern New England and New England Presenters. This meeting is open to the entire New England presenting community.
Performing Arts in New England: Strengthening Our Collaboration
A Seminar and Planning Session for Presenters
Thursday, April 20, 2006 · Redfern Arts Center at Keene State College
Presented by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters in collaboration with Arts Presenters of Northern New England and New England Presenters with support from the New England Foundation for the Arts
For the past several years, APNNE and NEP have worked together to convene forums, facilitate the commissioning and touring of new works, and learn from each other and experts in the field through joint professional development opportunities. It is time to reflect together once again, evaluating and planning for the future. Using the framework found in APAP’s award-winning book Singing Our Praises, we will explore the value, reach and service of the two consortia, and examine how we work together and with our regional funder, the New England Foundation for the Arts.
This seminar will give you the tools to plan, evaluate, and advocate within your own organization, along with a living example of those tools at work through the planning and reporting we do as a region. In addition, our own collaborative planning will serve as a roadmap for other presenters and an advocacy tool for our funders, legislators, media, boards, and sponsors. In this day-long session, attendees will have the opportunity to:
* Discuss and learn about the success of APNNE and NEP and other regional collaboration initiatives and have a say in what can be done to improve our quality, reach, and impact
* Gain professional development in innovative new planning and evaluation techniques featured in Singing Our Praises, tailored to meet our needs
Questions we may choose to explore include: How well do the consortia serve the region, both current members and beyond? What can we learn about participation levels? What are the benefits for presenters who are active in our consortia? What are any barriers to involvement for those who choose not to join? Are we working together as a region as collaboratively as possible? What’s working? What’s not? How has NEFA’s Expeditions program affected how we work together? What can we learn about the quality of the services we provide? How effective is our communication? Networking? Support services?
Suzanne Callahan, author of Singing Our Praises and a highly respected arts consultant, will lead us through the concepts presented in the book, providing a framework for our own planning and learning. The majority of the day will be dedicated to group discussion about our collaborative efforts – and we need your input! This discussion – and data collected over the next several months – will be synthesized into a report to be shared with the region next fall and eventually with the broader presenting field. This seminar and report will have a significant impact on how we work together in the future and inform long-range planning for both APNNE and NEP. Please join us for a lively and enlightening day of discussion and collaboration.
Thursday, April 20, 2006 · Redfern Arts Center at Keene State College
Schedule
9 am – Registration (Coffee & Light Snacks Provided)
9:30-10 am – Welcome & Introductions
10:15 am-12 Noon – Singing Our Praises Part 1: Building the Logic Model
12 Noon-1:30 pm – Lunch (Provided)
1:30 – Review & Editing of the Logic Model
2-3:15 pm – Singing Our Praises Part 2: Creating an Evaluation Plan
3:15-3:30 – Data Collection, Next Steps & Wrap-Up
COST: $30 APNNE & NEP Members; $35 Non-members, includes lunch and a copy of Singing Our Praises.
TO REGISTER: Go to http://go.middlebury.edu/tickets < http://go.middlebury.edu/tickets> (web), 802-443-MIDD (phone), or by mail at Central Campus Box Office, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753. Deadline for registration is Monday, April 17. LOCATION: Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond at Keene State College. For directions, go to http://www.keene.edu/racbp/directions.cfm. A campus map is available at http://www.keene.edu/aboutksc/campusmap.cfm.PARKING: A visitor’s lot is located on Wyman Way, just a short walk from the Redfern Arts Center. Accessible parking is available in front of Redfern. Carpooling is recommended – campus parking is limited.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call Aimeé Petrin at (802) 652-4502
About Singing Our Praises
Singing Our Praises demystifies planning and evaluation by highlighting glowing examples of how arts presenters have used it to learn about their successes. Using the concept of participatory evaluation, it empowers artists and partners to define success in ways that reflect their shared values. Real-life stories, guides and techniques from other fields are used to train practitioners to design their own evaluations, shifting this burdensome requirement into a useful tool. This book enhances the growing national dialogue to expand the ways in which the arts are assessed and ultimately valued. Singing Our Praises was just honored by the American Evaluation Association with its sole national award for a publication in 2005 for being “instrumental to the development of theory or practice in the field of evaluation.”
“I have never come across a better tool or reference than Singing Our Praises for giving organizations not only a powerful set of tools to conduct evaluation, but a sense of capability, reinforcing the message that measuring progress is within their capacity. I am thankful for Callahan’s invaluable service to the arts field.” (Rory MacPherson, The Wallace Foundation)
“Bravo, Suzanne Callahan, for writing a comprehensive guide that pushes the evaluation conversation further . . . and puts artistic integrity front and center.” (Norma Fleishman, American Journal of Evaluation)
