Arts Midwest

Arts Midwest was very pleased to partner with EmcArts to craft an innovative and comprehensive learning experience for the 2009 Conference. EmcArts is a national nonprofit intermediary for learning and innovation in the arts that leads programs that provide support for arts organizations in incubating and prototyping innovative strategies.

The 2009 Conference responded to the challenging environment for the arts by looking positively to the future. EmcArts engaged Conference attendees in questioning underlying organizational assumptions, breaking away from business as usual and opening up new ways to achieve organizational missions. The sessions and content designed by EmcArts for the Conference, with input from Arts Midwest staff and field representatives, employed the title New Pathways for a New Era: Innovating in Turbulent Times as a focal point. All attendees benefitted from the throughline of ideas and conversations that tied into this focus throughout the Conference, whether at in-depth pre-Conference and mid-Conference sessions, the plenary session, or related small-group discussions.

Read the full text of Richard Evans’ keynote address. [300 KB PDF]