Daffodils are blooming and arts events are filling calendars all the way until the first day of summer. We’ve survived an exceedingly long and demanding winter season, so now is the time to get out of the office, network with colleagues and renew your perspective and energy!
Two events not to be missed are Arts Day on May 1 in Trenton and the Thrive 2014 arts conference on June 5 at Princeton University. Arts Day activities are condensed this year to create less of a demand on busy workday schedules, so the celebration commences at 2 pm with ArtPride NJ’s annual membership meeting. This is the perfect opportunity to learn what New Jersey’s state arts advocacy organization has been up to on behalf of the non-profit arts industry. From intensive grassroots advocacy campaigns to programs that help arts groups perform at maximum capacity, attendees will get the lowdown on what is new and on the horizon. Following last year’s abbreviated but highly successful Creative Convening coordinated by Creative NJ, speaker Faisal Hoque will help Arts Day attendees gain a more personal perspective on how to lead in this age of creativity, innovation and sustainability. Faisal, an entrepreneur and author of Everything Connects, is no slouch and commends, “To be an entrepreneur, you have to be willing to jump into the deep end…” As arts groups are increasingly embracing the entrepreneurial business model, Faisal is certain to offer inspirational insight based on his own far reaching experiences. Arts Day continues with Awards to Distinguished Arts Advocates, a Movers & Shakers reception for Advocate members, and wraps up with even more inspiration as the New Jersey Arts Education Partnership presents the 34th Annual Governor’s Awards in Arts Education to a host of well deserving and talented students and adults. Please join us in Trenton for this statewide arts celebration!
On June 5 at the Friends Center of Princeton University, over 200 arts professionals will convene at the 2014 Thrive arts conference to discuss the ever-present issue of how New Jersey’s arts community can use data to best advantage. We are all engaged in using social media, analytics, statistics, data mapping and visualization, but we also have organizational capacity limitations that include both time and human resources. Thrive will offer practical ways to make these tools work in the most challenging of environments and provide focus to using and managing data in light of swiftly changing technology. Andy Goodman of the Goodman Center will help establish the direct connection between data and storytelling and attendees will also hear about current national research from Sunil Iyengar of the National Endowment for the Arts and about New Jersey’s changing demographic from Patrick Murray of Monmouth University’s Polling Institute. There’s much more to 2014 Thrive, so be sure to check out the full day’s offerings and register now!