28 Degrees of the Leadership Institute
At the end of the first full day of Commonwealth, NAMAC's 2009 conference held this year in Boston, an animated group of 30 or so Leadership Institute alumni gathered in the backroom of 28 degrees, a busy restaurant/lounge billed as, "A cocktail bar even Carrie Bradshaw would approve of"! The event, organized and hosted by NAMAC's Senior Manager of Leadership Services, Daniel "Dewey" Schott, was billed as an informal get-together for NAMAC conference attendees who had passed through the wonderful Silver Falls conference site in the years since the Leadership Institute was established.
The LI, as I will now refer to it, has played a crucial role in NAMAC's multi-faceted approach to impacting the media arts field and the people that work in it; Dewey told me that over 120 people have taken part so far. From my own point of view, as a former participant of what must have been one of the most successful LI workshops ever held (talk to any LI alum and it soon becomes apparent that we all think our year was the best… Go class of 2004!), the people I met and the lessons learned fundamentally impacted my working practices—even if I sometimes have to refer back to my notes in order to remind myself why I'm doing what I do!
Through a mix of listening to the experiences of others, formal sessions, skills building, role-playing, reflection, hiking, and out-and-out having fun with a group of strangers in the Oregon woods, the LI has played a vital role in strengthening the skills and abilities of media arts administrators country-wide.
Against the backdrop of Britney Spears videos projected large on multiple screens around the venue, people reacquainted, old friends were embraced, and updates on career moves and personal lives were exchanged. It was great to see familiar faces from my gang: Scherazade King, ED of amplifyme, a Boston-based not-for-profit that uses pop culture and media arts to create positive change in people's lives, was bubbling about the organizations relaunch, announced earlier that day; Annula Shetty, co-director of Termite TV Collective in Philadelphia, in attendance with her partner Michael, was at the receiving end of an adoring crowd, ooohing and aaahing over their two gorgeous young children.
As we waited for the food to arrive, I took my drink (a shockingly fabulous rhubarb, strawberry and vodka concoction) firmly in hand, and began to move around the group to try and take the pulse of the field, from the perspectives of the assorted directors, program leaders and managers gathered. What's keeping them awake at nights, for good and bad? Several themes quickly emerged: how to survive the recession (no surprises there!); the changing expectations of audiences; the similarities and differences between arts organizations and media organizations; what's working or not within organizational structures; and the challenge of continuing to attend to personal development while all of the above yells for attention.
It was hard not to notice that the first thing everyone did as they reconnected with old friends was ask for a quick inventory of the state of their organization… Is everything OK?; any layoffs?; how about funding?; are your audiences still coming?; how are you paying your staff?; and on. From what I heard, it seems that more than one organization is now encouraging intern and volunteer staff to work on raising money themselves via donations or small grants in order to generate some form of wage for the work they are doing. From this informal survey, audiences are generally down, with independent "blockbusters" like Robert Kenner's movie on the state of the food industry, Food Inc., selling out houses and saving the day.
With potential audiences seeking new ways to maximize their shrinking spending dollars, experimental programming can be deemed risky. Brian Hearn, Film Curator at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, talked about feeling some pressure in this regard, but also thinks that the loyal audience he has built up over the years is sticking with the organization, and that tough times present new opportunities as well as challenges (a common theme at this years conference). Mary Lampe, ED of Southwest Alternate Media Project in Houston bought up another issue effecting organizations: having to compete with an ever-growing list of choices, from video games and social networking sites, to You Tube and Netflix on demand. With so much going on at any given moment, why should audiences jump on their bikes and pedal over to a screening venue where they will likely be expected to hand over the best part of $10? Witness the recent LACMA controversy, the LI alumni are not the only ones dealing with these issues.
This being a reunion and all, there was much talk of everybody's experiences of the LI, and how successful (or not) they had been at integrating lessons learned once back on home turf. There seemed to be a general consensus that these alums would welcome an opportunity to get together and brush up on skills learned two or three years after completing the course.
Other hot topics overheard above the increasingly loud sound system (rumour had it that Britney Spears' backup dancers were in the bar, explaining the Britney video love fest!): funding organizations might not have money right now, but they could be helping organizations in other ways; so called "founder syndrome" and succession plans; inter-generational issues and opportunities; building and working with boards; how inspiring Free Press had been at the opening session; and how great it was to see Dewey and jesikah, the leader's leaders (!), but where was Paula? (Paula Manley that is—if you're reading this, you were missed!).
With all the talk of social networking, etc., one conversation I had with David Dombrosky, ED of the Centre for Arts Management and Technology in Pittsburgh, rang particularly true for me. When talking about digital art and delivery systems, it's easy to get caught up in the buzz around the latest technologies; but we agreed that no amount of tweeting can replace the thrill of being profoundly touched by a work of art.
On this day, Senator Edward Kennedy's cortege had been driven from his home in nearby Hyannis Port to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum just outside Boston where it would lie overnight. David's partner Kelly Riley was part of a group touring Boston's historical sights while David was in full conference mode. He told me that as the body of the Senator was being driven past a church he was touring, the bell ringer asked if the group would like to take a turn at tolling the bells. A moving tribute to a life fully-lived. As I looked around the group, I saw that we are all a little changed from our days in the Oregon woods. We've taken on new jobs and challenges, had kids, gotten a bit greyer… and due in large part to the influence and example of this special group, we are all hopefully leading our organizations and living our lives a little more fully!
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Abina Manning
Director
Video Data Bank
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
