Delaware News


Delaware Division of the Arts Announces 2019 Delaware Arts Summit

Delaware Division of the Arts | Department of State | Kent County | New Castle County | News | Sussex County | Date Posted: Tuesday, September 10, 2019



Dover, Del. (September 10, 2019) – The Delaware Division of the Arts will present the 2019 Delaware Arts Summit on Monday, October 28, 2019, from 8:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Dover. The biennial Arts Summit is Delaware’s premier arts conference, bringing together the arts community for professional development, performances, and networking. This year’s theme is “Bringing the Arts to Life.”  A variety of workshops will help attendees build skills in areas such as attracting and keeping audiences, financial wellness for artists, and digital marketing.  The Arts Summit runs from 8:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with a networking reception from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Registration includes breakfast, lunch, refreshments, and all of the day’s activities.  The price to attend is $45 per person during the “early-bird” registration period from now through October 7.  The price will then be $55 through October 22, at which point online registration will close.  For more information and to register, please visit:  https://arts.delaware.gov/summit/.

 

This year’s Delaware Arts Summit is also a celebration.  In 2019, the Delaware State Arts Council celebrates 50 years and the Division of the Arts celebrates 30 years of supporting the arts in Delaware.

 

The keynote speaker for the 2019 Delaware Arts Summit is Alysia Lee, founder & artistic director of Sister Cities Girlchoir (SCG), a girl empowerment choral academy launched in 2012. Starting with a dozen young women, the girlchoir movement grew to serve hundreds of girls across three cities: Philadelphia, Camden, and Baltimore. Armed with a clear vision for community building, a set of dedicated stakeholders, and the power of the arts, SCG has made a lasting impact on the lives of the girls and families they serve. Alysia will explore a case study for artists and arts organizations seeking to build stronger community roots and elevate the creativity and innovation of their neighbors.

 

Social-media users at the event should use hashtags: #DEArtsSummit, #DDOA30, and #artsde. Be sure to tag us at: @ArtsDelaware.

 

Speakers

Alysia Lee, Founder & Artistic Director, Sister Cities Girlchoir (Keynote)

Paul Weagraff, Director, Delaware Division of the Arts

Mack Wathen, Chair, Delaware State Arts Council

 

Workshop Leaders

Jessica Ball is the Executive Director of the Delaware Arts Alliance.  She is in charge of coordinating state and federal advocacy efforts on behalf of Delaware’s arts and culture sector. Jessica believes in the ability of the arts and creativity to foster positive change in communities. Her work focuses on equipping and empowering citizens to be effective advocates for the arts and arts education.

 

Ceci Dadisman is a multi-faceted arts administration professional with more than 10 years of experience successfully marketing the arts and nonprofits. Currently the Digital Marketing Manager at FORM, she is nationally recognized as a leader in digital marketing and specializes in multichannel communications campaigns.

 

Bob Harlow, PhD,  is a Marketing and Research Consultant in New York, NY.  He uses survey and qualitative research to help organizations more deeply understand and engage key target audiences. He has held senior and management positions at IBM and market research consulting groups such as Yankelovich Partners, working with marketing managers and senior executives at some of the world’s largest companies and leading nonprofit organizations. He currently leads his own market research consulting organization.

 

Brea Heidelberg is an arts management educator, consultant, and researcher. She is currently Assistant Professor & Associate Program Director of the Entertainment & Arts Management Program at Drexel University. She has served the field as a board member of the Association of Arts Administration Educators, where she served as Vice President and Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force, and as a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Arts Management.

 

Elaine Grogan Luttrull, CPA-PFS, AFC® is the founder of Minerva Financial Arts, a company devoted to building financial literacy and empowerment in creative individuals and organizations.  She teaches at the Columbus College of Art & Design, where she served as the Department Head for Business & Entrepreneurship from 2014-2018.

 

Jan Newcomb has had a 30+ year career in arts management and education. Prior to becoming Executive Director of National Coalition for Arts’ Preparedness & Emergency Response and the Performing Arts Coordinator for the Performing Arts Readiness Project in 2017, Jan directed eight arts organizations including Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, four arts councils, a community arts center, and served as Director of Grants at the SC Arts Commission.

 

Paul Stock is the Executive Vice President of the Excellence Academy at Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement.  His career spans more than 25 years in senior management positions in for-profit and nonprofit organizations.  He has operations and quality management experience, having run a direct fulfillment program supplying custom-configured computers for Hewlett Packard to their enterprise customers in the United States.

 

Artist Performers

Rob Waters, Filmmaker & 2018 Artist Fellow:  Filmmaker and Wilmington native Rob Waters started making films when he was 10, shooting with a camcorder. When the digital media revolution made equipment and post-production more affordable, he made his first “real” short in 2010. Waters is a 2018 Artist Fellow and a full-time filmmaker with his Sussex County production Company, W Films.

 

Delaware Poets Laureate:  Identical twins Al Mills and Rep. Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha, known as the Twin Poets, are social workers, award-winning spoken word poets, nonprofit administrators, and community activists. They were appointed as the 17th Poets Laureate of the State of Delaware in December 2015.

 

Workshops

Attracting and Keeping the Right Audiences (Bob Harlow)
Cultivating new audiences and strengthening bonds with current attendees is a top priority for most arts organizations. Yet even though audience research can help achieve those goals, many arts organizations shy away from it, often citing lack of money, time or skills to carry out the endeavor. This talk will outline key recommendations on how market research can help arts organizations learn about potential audiences to understand barriers preventing their attendance and potential points of engagement; develop more effective promotional materials; and assess progress toward audience-building goals. 

 

Before Disaster Strikes: Be ArtsReady (Jan Newcomb)
Do you have a disaster/crisis plan for your staff, performers, audience, facilities, guest artists and programs, at your home base, performing venue, or studio?  Preparedness makes good sense and expedites prompt resumption of services: speeding up response and recovery; saving time, trouble and expense; minimizing damage; and, replacing chaos with thoughtful actions. A Readiness Plan is a combination of documents, processes, and training that formulates what to do should the unexpected occur.  Learn how ArtsReady 2.0, an easy-to-use, affordable online tool, can help you create an all-hazards and business continuity plan for post-crisis sustainability of your organization.

 

Board Fiduciary Responsibility and Engagement (Paul Stock)
This workshop will explore the fiduciary responsibilities of a board member and include a facilitated discussion reviewing scenarios and fulfillment of those responsibilities.  The workshop will also include a second facilitated discussion about board engagement – what it looks like and how to increase it.

 

Civic Engagement 101 (Jessica Ball)
This session will outline best practices for effective arts advocacy while also informing about the appropriations process. Participants will learn about the importance of advocacy and gain skills on educating officials about the value of a strong arts sector. Included will be an overview of the process of public arts funding in Delaware, when and how to connect and engage with public officials, and how to get involved in advocating for the arts with the Delaware Arts Alliance.

 

Digital Marketing Bootcamp (Ceci Dadisman)
This hands-on session will equip you with strategies and methodology on how to best utilize digital marketing at your organization. We’ll delve into how arts organizations can create a well-rounded and achievable plan for success.  You’ll learn what platforms have the highest return, how to use them, and how to track the results.  Topics we’ll cover include:  email marketing, social media best practices, social media advertising, messaging optimization and segmentation, and website optimization.

 

Financial Wellness for Artists (Elaine Grogan Luttrull)
Building healthy financial habits can be a challenge for anyone… And in the arts, we have the added complication of managing cash flow, measuring success in creative and financial terms, and relying on sometimes uncertain sources of income.  In this interactive, hands-on workshop, we’ll cover the five key things creative individuals can do to maintain healthy financial habits. Essentially, those five things boil down to building knowledge, establishing habits (and holding ourselves accountable for those habits), reclaiming control where we can, and knowing what to pay attention to.

 

Organization & Program Evaluation: Data-Informed Storytelling (Brea Heidelberg)
This session will provide participants with an overview of evaluation processes that can be used when making decisions, seeking funding, and telling the organization’s story. This session assumes that participants already value the evaluation process, but may be wary of what seems to be an overly academic or intimidating process. This session will help participants determine SMART evaluation questions, what types of data to collect, and how to put it all together for a variety of stakeholders. Participants will get the chance to practice their new skills as a group before being unleashed to evaluate their own organizations, programs, and partnerships.

 

Removing Barriers Through Authentic Communication (Ceci Dadisman)
Are you messaging your organization’s events in a way that is compelling? This session will show you how to break down silos and eliminate jargon so you can create meaningful, relevant communications that will resonate with your audience.  We’ll look at case studies from the arts world and beyond, as well as data that will guide you to messaging your organization and events more effectively. You’ll leave this session inspired to up your storytelling game in a way that increases engagement and sales.  This session will focus on a tactical approach for organizations of all budget sizes.

 

Running a Sustainable Creative Business (Elaine Grogan Luttrull)
Once you know what you do and who you serve, running a sustainable business comes down to managing the financial side of your business effectively. And managing the financial side of a creative business rarely means spending less money. Instead, it often means re-examining the sources of income for the business.  In this interactive, hands-on session, we’ll review the portfolio career framework for identifying (and prioritizing) various sources of income based on your strengths…and opportunities to use those strengths in support of your creative career.

 

###

Contact: Dennis Lawson, Interim Communications Coordinator
302-743-8927 (cell), dennis.lawson@delaware.gov


The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.

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Delaware Division of the Arts Announces 2019 Delaware Arts Summit

Delaware Division of the Arts | Department of State | Kent County | New Castle County | News | Sussex County | Date Posted: Tuesday, September 10, 2019



Dover, Del. (September 10, 2019) – The Delaware Division of the Arts will present the 2019 Delaware Arts Summit on Monday, October 28, 2019, from 8:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Dover. The biennial Arts Summit is Delaware’s premier arts conference, bringing together the arts community for professional development, performances, and networking. This year’s theme is “Bringing the Arts to Life.”  A variety of workshops will help attendees build skills in areas such as attracting and keeping audiences, financial wellness for artists, and digital marketing.  The Arts Summit runs from 8:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with a networking reception from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Registration includes breakfast, lunch, refreshments, and all of the day’s activities.  The price to attend is $45 per person during the “early-bird” registration period from now through October 7.  The price will then be $55 through October 22, at which point online registration will close.  For more information and to register, please visit:  https://arts.delaware.gov/summit/.

 

This year’s Delaware Arts Summit is also a celebration.  In 2019, the Delaware State Arts Council celebrates 50 years and the Division of the Arts celebrates 30 years of supporting the arts in Delaware.

 

The keynote speaker for the 2019 Delaware Arts Summit is Alysia Lee, founder & artistic director of Sister Cities Girlchoir (SCG), a girl empowerment choral academy launched in 2012. Starting with a dozen young women, the girlchoir movement grew to serve hundreds of girls across three cities: Philadelphia, Camden, and Baltimore. Armed with a clear vision for community building, a set of dedicated stakeholders, and the power of the arts, SCG has made a lasting impact on the lives of the girls and families they serve. Alysia will explore a case study for artists and arts organizations seeking to build stronger community roots and elevate the creativity and innovation of their neighbors.

 

Social-media users at the event should use hashtags: #DEArtsSummit, #DDOA30, and #artsde. Be sure to tag us at: @ArtsDelaware.

 

Speakers

Alysia Lee, Founder & Artistic Director, Sister Cities Girlchoir (Keynote)

Paul Weagraff, Director, Delaware Division of the Arts

Mack Wathen, Chair, Delaware State Arts Council

 

Workshop Leaders

Jessica Ball is the Executive Director of the Delaware Arts Alliance.  She is in charge of coordinating state and federal advocacy efforts on behalf of Delaware’s arts and culture sector. Jessica believes in the ability of the arts and creativity to foster positive change in communities. Her work focuses on equipping and empowering citizens to be effective advocates for the arts and arts education.

 

Ceci Dadisman is a multi-faceted arts administration professional with more than 10 years of experience successfully marketing the arts and nonprofits. Currently the Digital Marketing Manager at FORM, she is nationally recognized as a leader in digital marketing and specializes in multichannel communications campaigns.

 

Bob Harlow, PhD,  is a Marketing and Research Consultant in New York, NY.  He uses survey and qualitative research to help organizations more deeply understand and engage key target audiences. He has held senior and management positions at IBM and market research consulting groups such as Yankelovich Partners, working with marketing managers and senior executives at some of the world’s largest companies and leading nonprofit organizations. He currently leads his own market research consulting organization.

 

Brea Heidelberg is an arts management educator, consultant, and researcher. She is currently Assistant Professor & Associate Program Director of the Entertainment & Arts Management Program at Drexel University. She has served the field as a board member of the Association of Arts Administration Educators, where she served as Vice President and Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force, and as a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Arts Management.

 

Elaine Grogan Luttrull, CPA-PFS, AFC® is the founder of Minerva Financial Arts, a company devoted to building financial literacy and empowerment in creative individuals and organizations.  She teaches at the Columbus College of Art & Design, where she served as the Department Head for Business & Entrepreneurship from 2014-2018.

 

Jan Newcomb has had a 30+ year career in arts management and education. Prior to becoming Executive Director of National Coalition for Arts’ Preparedness & Emergency Response and the Performing Arts Coordinator for the Performing Arts Readiness Project in 2017, Jan directed eight arts organizations including Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, four arts councils, a community arts center, and served as Director of Grants at the SC Arts Commission.

 

Paul Stock is the Executive Vice President of the Excellence Academy at Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement.  His career spans more than 25 years in senior management positions in for-profit and nonprofit organizations.  He has operations and quality management experience, having run a direct fulfillment program supplying custom-configured computers for Hewlett Packard to their enterprise customers in the United States.

 

Artist Performers

Rob Waters, Filmmaker & 2018 Artist Fellow:  Filmmaker and Wilmington native Rob Waters started making films when he was 10, shooting with a camcorder. When the digital media revolution made equipment and post-production more affordable, he made his first “real” short in 2010. Waters is a 2018 Artist Fellow and a full-time filmmaker with his Sussex County production Company, W Films.

 

Delaware Poets Laureate:  Identical twins Al Mills and Rep. Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha, known as the Twin Poets, are social workers, award-winning spoken word poets, nonprofit administrators, and community activists. They were appointed as the 17th Poets Laureate of the State of Delaware in December 2015.

 

Workshops

Attracting and Keeping the Right Audiences (Bob Harlow)
Cultivating new audiences and strengthening bonds with current attendees is a top priority for most arts organizations. Yet even though audience research can help achieve those goals, many arts organizations shy away from it, often citing lack of money, time or skills to carry out the endeavor. This talk will outline key recommendations on how market research can help arts organizations learn about potential audiences to understand barriers preventing their attendance and potential points of engagement; develop more effective promotional materials; and assess progress toward audience-building goals. 

 

Before Disaster Strikes: Be ArtsReady (Jan Newcomb)
Do you have a disaster/crisis plan for your staff, performers, audience, facilities, guest artists and programs, at your home base, performing venue, or studio?  Preparedness makes good sense and expedites prompt resumption of services: speeding up response and recovery; saving time, trouble and expense; minimizing damage; and, replacing chaos with thoughtful actions. A Readiness Plan is a combination of documents, processes, and training that formulates what to do should the unexpected occur.  Learn how ArtsReady 2.0, an easy-to-use, affordable online tool, can help you create an all-hazards and business continuity plan for post-crisis sustainability of your organization.

 

Board Fiduciary Responsibility and Engagement (Paul Stock)
This workshop will explore the fiduciary responsibilities of a board member and include a facilitated discussion reviewing scenarios and fulfillment of those responsibilities.  The workshop will also include a second facilitated discussion about board engagement – what it looks like and how to increase it.

 

Civic Engagement 101 (Jessica Ball)
This session will outline best practices for effective arts advocacy while also informing about the appropriations process. Participants will learn about the importance of advocacy and gain skills on educating officials about the value of a strong arts sector. Included will be an overview of the process of public arts funding in Delaware, when and how to connect and engage with public officials, and how to get involved in advocating for the arts with the Delaware Arts Alliance.

 

Digital Marketing Bootcamp (Ceci Dadisman)
This hands-on session will equip you with strategies and methodology on how to best utilize digital marketing at your organization. We’ll delve into how arts organizations can create a well-rounded and achievable plan for success.  You’ll learn what platforms have the highest return, how to use them, and how to track the results.  Topics we’ll cover include:  email marketing, social media best practices, social media advertising, messaging optimization and segmentation, and website optimization.

 

Financial Wellness for Artists (Elaine Grogan Luttrull)
Building healthy financial habits can be a challenge for anyone… And in the arts, we have the added complication of managing cash flow, measuring success in creative and financial terms, and relying on sometimes uncertain sources of income.  In this interactive, hands-on workshop, we’ll cover the five key things creative individuals can do to maintain healthy financial habits. Essentially, those five things boil down to building knowledge, establishing habits (and holding ourselves accountable for those habits), reclaiming control where we can, and knowing what to pay attention to.

 

Organization & Program Evaluation: Data-Informed Storytelling (Brea Heidelberg)
This session will provide participants with an overview of evaluation processes that can be used when making decisions, seeking funding, and telling the organization’s story. This session assumes that participants already value the evaluation process, but may be wary of what seems to be an overly academic or intimidating process. This session will help participants determine SMART evaluation questions, what types of data to collect, and how to put it all together for a variety of stakeholders. Participants will get the chance to practice their new skills as a group before being unleashed to evaluate their own organizations, programs, and partnerships.

 

Removing Barriers Through Authentic Communication (Ceci Dadisman)
Are you messaging your organization’s events in a way that is compelling? This session will show you how to break down silos and eliminate jargon so you can create meaningful, relevant communications that will resonate with your audience.  We’ll look at case studies from the arts world and beyond, as well as data that will guide you to messaging your organization and events more effectively. You’ll leave this session inspired to up your storytelling game in a way that increases engagement and sales.  This session will focus on a tactical approach for organizations of all budget sizes.

 

Running a Sustainable Creative Business (Elaine Grogan Luttrull)
Once you know what you do and who you serve, running a sustainable business comes down to managing the financial side of your business effectively. And managing the financial side of a creative business rarely means spending less money. Instead, it often means re-examining the sources of income for the business.  In this interactive, hands-on session, we’ll review the portfolio career framework for identifying (and prioritizing) various sources of income based on your strengths…and opportunities to use those strengths in support of your creative career.

 

###

Contact: Dennis Lawson, Interim Communications Coordinator
302-743-8927 (cell), dennis.lawson@delaware.gov


The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.