Arts & Culture in the Outer Boroughs

Galapagos Art Space to Host Creative Conversation on September 25, 2008:
Arts and Culture in the Outer Boroughs

Arts leaders in the Bronx, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Queens are invited to discuss the outer boroughs’ unique opportunities and distinct challenges, in a Creative Conversation hosted by the Emerging Leaders of New York Arts (ELNYA), to be held at 6:30 p.m. on September 25th, 2008 at Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO, Brooklyn.

Stakeholders in arts and culture, regardless of affiliation with specific arts or cultural institutions, are invited to participate. Come prepared to discuss challenges and opportunities in your own borough, best practices and opportunities in the outer boroughs, and to meet and network with other outer borough leaders and stakeholders. This Brooklyn Creative Conversation will be held at the start of the DUMBO Arts Festival, and will kick off the season of Creative Conversations.

Doors and a cash bar will open at 6 p.m., and a $5 donation is suggested, the proceeds benefiting Emerging Leaders of New York Arts. Event emphasis will be on interactive break‐out sessions, and the evening will open with a panel discussion. Panelists will include Blanka Amezkua, curator of Bronx Blue Bedroom Project; David Strauss, Director of External Affairs at the Queens Museum of Art; and Geoffrey Celis, founder of SIcoLab Arts Collective on Staten Island. The panel will be moderated by Melissa Gilliam, principal of Gilliam Arts Management and Marketing Coordinator at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Creative Conversations, started by Americans for the Arts, are local gatherings of emerging leaders in communities across the country and are part of a grassroots movement to elevate th profile of arts in America during Arts & Humanities Month every October. Emerging Leaders of New York Arts (ELNYA) is the newest link in the Arts & Business Council of New York’s continuum of leadership development. The group aims to bring together local, young arts administrators to discuss challenges specific to their field and generation. Events are designed to help build the contacts, skills, and knowledge of arts professional under the age of 35 or with less than five years experience in the field.

ELNYA hosts a listserv discussing issues relevant to young arts administrators and announcing upcoming opportunities. ELNYA welcomes suggestions for future events and is actively seeking opportunities to partner with arts organizations interesed in areas such as succession planning, new media, emerging art forms, and young patrons. ELNYA is also part of a larger network of Emerging Leader groups across the country facilitated by Americans for the Arts.

For more information on this Creative Conversation, contact Melissa Gilliam at 314‐346‐3868 or gilliam.arts.management@gmail.com. To read more about Creative Conversations nationwide, visit www.americansforthearts.org/networks/emerging_leaders/events/creative_conversations.