KEYNOTE 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.
Building Resilience in An Age of Uncertainty for Artists and Arts Leaders
Working remotely during a pandemic, financial crises, civil unrest, and a seemingly endless list of overlapping emergencies has undeniably added more stress to our lives. Not only have our in-person offices pivoted to virtual or semi-virtual, but our routines and program delivery have been disrupted. It is important to focus on your team’s connection to each other and a culture of wellbeing, especially when our couches are our water coolers. It is time to encourage more employee engagement, trust, and balance in the face of extreme uncertainty. We also have to encourage staff to maintain work/life balance and practice self-care.
Join Beth Kanter (www.bethkanter.org), nonprofit thought leader, virtual facilitator, and author of the Happy Healthy Nonprofit, for an interactive keynote session on how to build your personal resilience and calm during a time of high anxiety. She will facilitate an engaging session on Zoom while sharing tips to help you maintain work/life balance during this difficult time and help you succeed in a post-COVID world.
FIRST SESSION 9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
Mindfulness & Meditation - John Stewart
Join us in exploring mindfulness and meditation in a workshop based on the Search Inside Yourself (SIY) program. The goal of this 60-minute session is to help you thrive, enjoying greater resilience, productivity, effectiveness, and happiness in all aspects of your work and outside of work. It focuses on the areas of mindfulness (the science of being present), self-awareness (understanding your thoughts, emotions, and habits), and empathy (understanding others’ feelings and experiences).
The mindfulness and emotional intelligence skills you'll learn will help you:
- Experience greater well-being, resilience, and stress management.
- Improve performance, collaboration, and empathy.
- Increase effectiveness and decision-making capacity.
- Cultivate innovative, creative thinking.
SECOND SESSION 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m
Making Engaging Video Work Inside a Total Marketing Campaign - Hero Media Arts
Hero Media Arts has been working with artists and entrepreneurs of all types for many years, helping to create and update their digital presence. In this session Creative Director, Michelle Miller and Hero Founder, Dean Gyorgy will discuss the collaborative process of creating video content, ways to get that video in front of the right audience, and developing a solid strategy to prepare for that traffic.
Beth Kanter - Keynote Speaker
Beth is an author, virtual facilitator and trainer and is internationally recognized thought leader in digital transformation, networks, and wellbeing in the workplace with over 35 years of providing capacity building for nonprofits and foundations. She named one of the most influential women in technology by Fast Company and one of the BusinessWeek’s “Voices of Innovation,” Beth is the co-author of the award winning Network Nonprofit books and The Happy Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact without Burnout (http://bit.ly/happyhealthynpbook).
FIRST SESSION 9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
CreativeGround for Creative Communities New England Foundation for the Arts - Morganna Becker
Join the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) staff to learn how to use the free resource of CreativeGround to promote your work, demonstrate the resilience of your creative community, and support you or your organization’s application for NEFA grant opportunities.
NEFA invests in artists and communities and fosters equitable access to the arts, enriching the cultural landscape in New England and the nation. CreativeGround, NEFA's free online cultural directory, spotlights the creative people and places at work in New England: cultural nonprofits like libraries and theaters, creative businesses like recording studios and design agencies, and artists of all disciplines such as performing arts, visual arts, and crafts. Why? To connect them with each other and with you. Because resilient neighborhoods go hand-in-hand with a vibrant creative sector.
SECOND SESSION 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m
Asking Through Adversity - Matt Lehrman
Fundraising through disruption, change, and uncertainty is incredibly tough. It requires tenacity, agility & (especially) humanity. This “espresso shot” webinar shares updated advice to directly help nonprofit leaders continually adapt and energize their efforts.
Topics include:- · Connect like Velcro
- · Playing Notes vs. Sounding Chords
- · How to Address Anxiety and Anger
- · These Rituals Instill Confidence
- · Frack your Donor Database in 3 Ways
- · Vision Over Mission
*Added Value: Attendees to this presentation will be eligible to schedule a free (virtual) one-on-one 30-minute donor strategy session with Matt Lehrman.
THIRD SESSION 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m
Engaging Your Audience with Video Content - Moderated by Meg Shorette. Featured panelists: Wesleigh Sterrs/Media Loma, Alex Steed/Knack Factory, and rapper Spose/Preposterously Dank Records
In a world increasingly influenced by virtual content, it's a must for artists and arts organizations to engage your audience through video. Whether you're a musician putting out a DIY music video on a limited budget or an organization learning how to get the best quality livestream, this panel will provide tools and advice on getting you to the end result you are seeking. This discussion will touch on topics including production basics, helpful apps and tools, creating viral content, monetizing your content, and live streaming.
THIRD SESSION 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m
Technology Wellness During A Pandemic
Beth Kanter
COVID-19 has forced us to use technology all the time, whether to get work done or socialize from a distance. This, on top of everything else happening around and to us, causes added stress, or “TechnoStress.” Get ready for an interactive session to break your bad tech habits with a personal tech reboot! Learn how to foster and sustain better technology use habits. Gain more from technology with fewer intrusions on your work, attention, and wellbeing. You will assess the good, bad, and ugly changes rapid technology adoption has caused and explore ways to protect yourself from burnout due to an always online life. You will learn lots of practical techniques, apps, and products for mindfulness and a healthier relationship with tech.
FINAL SESSION 3 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Creating Welcoming, Inclusive Art Spaces - Moderated by Marty Pottenger. Featured panelists: Bridget Matros, Brigid Rankowski, Samuel James, Chris Newell, Nyamoun Nquany Machar (Moon).
In this session, we will be joined by a panel of artists and organizations to discuss experiences with creating more inclusive arts spaces, for both artists and attendees. Panelists will share simple action steps to take immediately, as well as introductions to resources and partners to begin the long term work needed to make our spaces and programs all-embracing and genuinely welcoming to our increasingly diverse community of Mainers.
