Activities

Creative Conversations—These dialogue events are conceived, organized, and facilitated by ELNYA members throughout the year with an emphasis during October, National Humanities Month.  Taking a variety of forms such as panels, round tables, and think tanks, Creative Conversations bring together emerging and seasoned leaders to discuss pressing topics in the field of art administration, advocacy, and arts policy.  Past topics have included: arts & social entrepreneurship, innovative revenue sources, and “Is the 501(c)(3) dead?”

Book Club—Professionally relevant titles are chosen by the group for discussion.  Subject areas include management, leadership, innovation, and best practices.  Some books are specific to the cultural sector while others come from other areas of business or nonprofit.  Discussion focuses on practical application rather than close textual criticism.

Happy Hours—ELNYA values the potential of unstructured networking and sharing with peers.  Happy Hours are usually hosted at local bars or but occasionally a museum, gallery, or other cultural organization will donate their space for these events.

Google Group listserv—Since ELNYA began, the primary means of communication has been a Google Group listserv.  The Steering and ad hoc committees announce ELNYA events through the listserv and subscribers may also post messages to the group.  Listserv appropriate posts relate to leadership skill building, professional development, arts administration, or arts in community.   The listserv currently has 1500+ subscribers and between 40-60 posts per month.  Sign up here: http://groups.google.com/group/ELNYA.

ELNYA.org—This blog-based site gives users another way to share with the ELNYA community online.  The formatting is more dynamic than the listserv and allows users to comment on each others posts.  Podcasts and slide presentations from events can be embedded within the posts.

Outcomes & Impact

ELNYA’s outcomes are aimed at increasing participants knowledge of leadership skills and issues, best practices, and innovations related to arts management.  The program is also trying to create conditions that allow participants to increase their professional connections in at least three ways: between current and emerging leaders; between arts ELs and ELs in other fields; and among arts ELs themselves.  Additionally, ELNYA strives to encourage a “leaderful” attitude—the idea that leadership is a collective and shared responsibly and a habit of behavior that is not always linked to hierarchical positions of authority.   It is hoped that these outcomes lead to improved leadership ability and motivation in program participants.

The ultimate intended impact of ELNYA is to have more and more effective arts leaders in New York City.  This should in turn help the city’s arts organizations become more sustainable and impactful.