Michael Kaiser, the President of The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, will be in Providence on Wednesday, June 23 to present a free workshop on the "Arts in Crisis", part of a national tour designed to help non-profit arts leaders deal with the challenges they face in such areas as fund-raising, building more effective board of trustees, budgeting and marketing.
The local Rhode Island event, presented at no cost, will take place at Trinity Rep, 201 Washington Street, Providence, Rhode Island, starting with a "meet and greet" and registration at 9:15am, and the workshop at 10am on Wednesday, June 23, 2010. Those interested in attending can register at http://www.arts.ri.gov/artsincrisis.
"These are times of economic crisis and as the nation's center for the performing arts, we wish to help," said Kennedy Center President Michael M. Kaiser. "If any arts organization in the United States believes we can assist, the senior staff of the Kennedy Center and I offer our collective skills. We are at your service."
Randall Rosenbaum, Executive Director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and one of the local hosts of this event, said that he has heard from several colleagues around the country about how valuable these workshops have been. "The arts contribute significantly to our state's economy, but as a sector the arts are suffering from the current economic downturn," said Rosenbaum. "If we can strengthen the skills of this fragile community, then collectively they can continue to help in Rhode Island's economic recovery."
Partnering on this project in addition to the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is Trinity Rep, the Alliance of Artist Communities, the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism, Rhode Island Citizens for the Arts, the Rhode Island Foundation and the Arts and Business Council of Rhode Island.
For further information and to register for the Wednesday, June 23rd free workshop, go to http://www.arts.ri.gov/artsincrisis.
About the Kennedy Center for the Arts Institute for Arts Management and the Arts in Crisis Initiative Over the past several years while at the Kennedy Center, Michael Kaiser and his executive staff have assisted the leaders of numerous companies through the Kennedy Center Institute for Arts Management. The Institute provides a wide variety of training and support for arts management, including a capacity building program for culturally specific arts organizations; a program to train board members of arts organizations throughout the United States; international capacity building programs for arts organizations in 60 nations; a capacity building program for over 250 arts organizations in New York City; and artsmanager.org, an interactive web resource for arts management professionals. The Kennedy Center also offers internship and fellowship programs, exposing arts professionals to various facets of arts management. Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative is funded by Adrienne Arsht and Helen Lee Henderson.
About the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is a state agency, supported by appropriations from the Rhode Island General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. RISCA provides grants, technical assistance and staff support to arts organizations and artists, schools, community centers, social service organizations and local governments to bring the arts into the lives of Rhode Islanders. For more information on RISCA and its programs, please visit www.arts.ri.gov.