Leading Creatively: A Closer Look 2010

[Source: NAMAC]

Leading Creatively

When we pay attention to the people who work in the arts – from individual artists building organizations to organizations supporting artists and their work – we discover that the commitment to leadership awareness, training and sustenance is crucial for long-term sustainability and relevance in our complex and globalized cultural ecology. Since 1999, NAMAC has made intergenerational leadership development a keystone investment in its service to the field of arts and media. As part of their A Closer Look anthology series, they invited seven authors to report, reflect on and interpret arts leadership as it is being practiced today. In its diversity and scope, this collection of essays reveals how dedicated, passionate and visionary nonprofit arts leaders can be as they negotiate mission, business and values through a fast-moving and demanding terrain. 

In a vivid series of narratives and studies, the authors tackle issues like balancing art making and arts management; the entrepreneurial spirit and struggles of curators and programmers in the new cultural landscape; organizational succession planning; the challenges and rewards of first-time executive directors; and omni-directional mentorship across generations. Touching on the different stages in professional careers, these essays engage with themes that all leaders face: communication in the workplace, isolation, vulnerability and the myriad ways to remain adaptable and involved in the face of changing circumstances.



Table of Contents

Introduction by Daniel "Dewey" Schott

Called to Serve by John Killacky

Creative Acts: The Media Artist as Organizational Leader by Paula Manley

The Profession of Forking Paths: Curators and Programmers Take Many Routes to Establishing a Career by Anthony Kaufman

Risks That Reward: How to Thrive as a First-Time Executive Director by Victoria Plettner Saunders

Omni-Directional Mentorship: Exploring a New Approach to Inter-Generational Knowledge-Sharing in Arts Practice and Administration by Edward Clapp

At the Intersection of Planning and Passion: A Succession Success Story from Aurora Picture Show by Julia Fabris McBride

Ten Years Stronger: NAMAC Leadership Institute 2000-2010 by Elissa Perry

Supported by:

The National Endowment for the Arts

The Willam and Flora Hewlett Foundation

The Nathan Cummings Foundation