Arts Extension Service in the News:
Creative Thinking
UWW's Arts Administration Program Represents a Degree of Progress
Business West, April 14, 2008, by LAURA DeMAR
What do a mural and a balance sheet have in common? Ask an artist, and he may scratch his head. Ask an accountant, and he’ll probably compare costs of supplies versus profit from the sale of the piece. For some artists, it’s all about their passion for a chosen medium, whether it be theater, paint, glass, or design. But what happens when their creativity becomes something more than just a whim, perhaps even a moneymaker? For some, the idea of balancing the accounting books and figuring out grant applications can be a daunting task, but that’s where the UMass Amherst University Without Walls program comes into play.
With a new Arts Administration focus area, artists and those interested in working for organizations, ranging from museums and nonprofits to personal businesses, can learn how to turn their creativity into a viable, sustainable company and earn a degree they’ve always coveted. For complete article, please click here Creative Thinking.
Arts Extension Service Publications Lauded
Click here to read the May 2008 Arts Administration Newsletter referencing texts published by Arts Extension Service.
Web Resources :
Maren Brown and Craig Dreeszen appearing at the ArtsME - conference
Workshops and lectures:
- Maren Brown on Website Design
- Maren Brown on Target Markets
- Maren Brown on Surveys
- Maren Brown on Audience
- Craig Dreeszen on Strategies for Board Development
Special Projects
Peripheral Vision: A New Look at Communities
The Arts Extension Service is pleased to launch the initiative, “Peripheral Vision: A New Look at Communities.” This two-year project is examining cultural economic development initiatives in the U.S. and distilling the best practices and practical tools into a series of workshops to be delivered around the nation. Download legal size double sided brochure here to learn more about our Creative Economy training programs.
Partnerships in Creative Economy Workbook available now!
Download your copy now at the UMASS Outreach bookstore.
Upcoming Events:
Evaluating Your Cultural Economic Development Programs
Monday, September 10, 2007 and Monday, September 24, 2007
UMass President's Offices, Shrewsbury, MA
On September 10th and 24th, the Arts Extension Service, together with the UMass Donahue Institute and the Center for Public Policy and Analysis at UMass Dartmouth, will work with MCC Adams Program grant recipients on how to create effective evaluation plans for their cultural economic development programs. These training sessions are only open to Adams Grants Program recipients.
CROSSROADS FOR COMMUNITY ARTS: STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS ON THE ROAD AHEAD
October 17-19, 2007 in Lewiston, Maine
The UMass Arts Extension Service is pleased to present a full-day training on how to initiate and sustain effective cultural economic development programs in communities at this conference on October 18, 2007. Whether you are a city planner, economic development expert, health agency representative, artist or cultural organization representative, this workshop will provide you with best practices for evaluating and sustaining cultural economic development programs in your community. Click here to download the conference brochure.
With support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the University of Massachusetts’ Arts Extension Service has been surveying the best practices of cultural economic development programs around the country. This training will highlight the results of this research and provide participants with practical tools that can be utilized to sustain or initiate cultural economic development programs in their communities. Learn about the terminology and current research on cultural economic development (CED), the characteristics of effective CED partnerships, and tools for evaluating the success of your efforts.
Past Events:
Americans for the Arts National Convention
2 sessions in June 1-3, Las Vegas, NV
Putting Cultural Assets to Work: Strategies for Communities Friday June 1, 10:15 a.m.-11:45 a.m.
Arts Extension Service Director Maren Brown along with other key Peripheral Vision consultants Craig Dreeszen and Tom Borrup led this workshop designed to present research regarding how cultural assets can be mobilized in economic development plans. Through a simulation exercise participants received hands on practice for putting their community's cultural assets to work. In small groups, creativity was employed to develop economic and community revitalization scenarios for a hypothetical small town using its distinctive values and assets. The session familiarized participants with asset identification techniques, strategic thinking, and developing partnerships across the spectrum of business, government and the arts, as well as social and environmental issues. This workshop was attended by over 250 people!
METLIFE Foundation National Arts Forum Series: The Role of Arts Education in Lifelong Productivity Saturday June 2, 1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.Arts Extension Service Director Maren Brown explored the Peripheral Vision project as part of a panel discussion centering on the the question of how proponents garner more support for the arts and arts education from the business community by examining the positive impact of the arts on workforce development. This session was attended by over ninety participants!
Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Workshop
May 24, 2007 in Northampton, MA
Cultural Economic Development: How to Capitalize on the Economic Benefits of Arts, Culture and Innovation Thursday, May 24, 2007 9 a.m.- 2 p.m.
Smith College Campus Center part of a series of capacity building seminars for the Pioneer Valley region, sponsored by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. After introductor remarks by Paul Tangredi, Pioneer Valley Plan for Progress Co-Chair, keynote speaker Beth Siegel, President and Co-Founder of Mount Auburn Associates, discussed the nature of the creative economy in New England, and the pioneering work of Mount Auburn Associates in defining and quantifying the economic impact of the creative sector. AES Director Maren Brown then presented an overview of AES' national creative economy training programs, which provide a practical framework for community leaders to create effective creative economy initiatives in their regions. Brown also discussed success factors that led to the robust creative economy in Massachusetts, examples of creative economy initiatives in the Pioneer Valley region, as well as best practices and challenges throughout the nation. Mayor of Pittsfield, James Ruberto, then presented an overview of Pittsfield, Massachusetts' emerging creative economy initiatives, and the success of these projects in revitalizing Pittsfield's economy and rebuilding its community spirit. Director of Economic Development for the City of Northampton, Teri Anderson, then discussed the evolution and characteristics of Northampton's mature creative economy and the elements that led to its success. Jason Shupbach, Director of ArtsLink for the Massachusetts Cultural Council then discussed the Arts Link program that connects artists with studio space and potential developers with buildings that are in need of refurbishing into studios. The session concluded with a question and answer session led by Pioneer Valley Planning Commission's Senior Economic Development and Policy Analyst, Samalid Hogan.
MCC Adams Planning Grant Training
Monday, March 26th 10:00-3:30 p.m.
Central Massachusetts Regional Employment Board
On Monday March 26th Craig Dreeszen and Maren Brown delivered training programs for up to thirty John and Abigail Adams Arts Program planning grant recipients. The initial training to offered an introduction to the principals of how to develop a community economic development program that is based on the unique assets of a community; to inform participants about best practices and challenges that other communities have faced in launching these partnerships; to provide participants with an understanding of the resources available to them through MCC; to offer participants opportunities to network with other planning grant recipients; and to provide a practical forum for the leadership team in each community to begin the process of shaping their program. A second training session is planned for June of 2007 to provide a forum for reviewing progress to date, discussing the needs and challenges that the partnerships are confronting, and strategizing solutions for overcoming these challenges.
To kick off the project , AES offered a free lecture series on April 18 and 20, 2006 at UMass Amherst with two nationally-recognized experts on cultural economic development.
Yellow Springs Center for the Arts Steering Committee
Monday, January 29th 10:00-3:30 p.m.
This Peripheral Vision training included 15 participants, all members of the Yellow Springs Center for the Arts Steering Committee, a planning group working under the auspices of the Morgan Family Foundation to examine possibilities for developing an arts center for this southeastern Ohio town. It was held at the Bryan Community Center, a former school, in Yellow Springs. The a simulation was used to familiarize the steering committee with the concepts of engaging multiple cultural and community assets in development of a strategy that could have economic, social, civic, and cultural benefits to the community. Later in the planning process for Yellow Springs, the group would examine the community assets of their own community to develop a similar strategy. Using the hypothetical experience provided by the simulation allowed participants to think more freely, outside the history, issues, and constraints that would bog them down when thinking about their own community. When it came time to weigh options for their community, steering committees members were already practiced in thinking and brainstorming strategies together
A free pilot training on how to implement a community economic development project in your community was offered on Monday, June 19th in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
"COMMUNITY CULTURAL PLANNING"
Tuesday, April 18, 2006 1-2:15 p.m.
Flavin Auditorium, UMass Isenberg School of Management.
Cultural planning consultant Craig Dreeszen, Ph.D., discussed the principles, methods and impact of community cultural planning and its common heritage with and implications for regional planning.
"STREET CULTURE VS. CAR CULTURE: CREATING PLACES OF MEANING"
Thursday, April 20th 1-2:15 p.m.
Flavin Auditorium, UMass Isenberg School of Management.
Community cultural development consultant, Tom Borrup, M.S., presented a talk that began with the premise that streets and sidewalks are basic building blocks for community life--the most essential of public spaces. Borrup detailed ways streets and sidewalks are used for a wide variety of human activities and examined how they have given way to the needs of automobiles--taken over by "car culture." As creative and resilient beings, Borrup examined how people have "taken back" the streets in some imaginative ways--sometimes through the vehicle of arts organizations.
In addition to the support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Peripheral Vision lecture series was sponsored in part by the UMass Arts Council, the Department of Landscape Architecture and Professor Ellen Pader.
