DYNAMIC ADAPTABILITY

"Relationships between artists, institutions and audiences are being redefined and reset, and the structures we have used to present and support culture are straining to keep up. Ironically, some of the very strategies that brought success in the old models are the very ones that work against us in the new." --Doug McLennan

Project Summary

Helicon Collaborative designed and launched the Dynamic Adaptability as a response to a March 2009 study we conducted about the effects of the recession on cultural institutions in the Puget Sound. In that study, cultural leaders asked for more opportunities to gather with colleagues, exchange ideas and learn about ways of managing rapid changes. The series included seven convenings over the course of 2010-2013 and welcomed over 700 attendees.

“Dynamic adaptability” describes the capacity of an organization to be responsive to a changing environment in order to thrive.

Selected session descriptions, videos and links to materials below.

Helicon Collaborative designed and launched the Dynamic Adaptability as a response to a March 2009 study we conducted about the effects of the recession on cultural institutions in the Puget Sound. In that study, cultural leaders asked for more opportunities to gather with colleagues, exchange ideas and learn about ways of managing rapid changes. The series included seven convenings over the course of 2010-2013 and welcomed over 700 attendees.

“Dynamic adaptability” describes the capacity of an organization to be responsive to a changing environment in order to thrive.

Selected session descriptions, videos and links to materials below.

The Work

In the context of a statewide campaign to approve a new tax mechanism for public funding in Washington State, we brought three speakers who are experts on what works — and what doesn’t — in campaigns for public funding:

 

 

Click here for videos of the session and materials about public value.

“Community,” “relevance,” and “engagement” are now buzzwords in the cultural sector, but what does it look like when a cultural organization is really engaged with its community, beyond audience development strategies and outreach departments? James Kass (Youth Speaks), Chris Coleman (Portland Center Stage), Lisa Sasaki (the Oakland Museum of California) and John Michael Schert (The Trey McIntyre Project)  talked about what civic leadership means to them, and how this has led to numerous other benefits, including greater organizational stability and artistic creativity.

 

More video of the talks and panel discussions available  here.

 

Learn more about how exemplary organizations are engaging with community in our Bright Spots report.

Leaders of nonprofit arts organizations in today's world  are being called on to do more and more for their communities and their organizations, but often these demands can take a serious toll on personal health and well-being. Ronnie Brooks, former director of the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute, led this workshop on personal and professional renewal as a necessary survival skill for working in a stressful and changing environment. View the full workshop video here.

 

"The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence…The frenzy of the activist neutralizes his work for peace. It destroys his own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of his own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful."  ~Thomas Merton

Doug McLennan from ArtsJournal.com (the leading arts news aggregator on the web) and social media guru, on how technology and the Internet is changing culture and offer strategies for thriving in this new environment.  Learn how to build a community around your work, and why doing so is necessary for your institution's and your mission's survival.   Video of the keynote:

 

 

Slides of the presentation

This session featured an opening plenary by Clara Miller, President and CEO of the Nonprofit Finance Fund. Clara focused on fresh ways to apply nonprofit financial management and capital strategies to building and sustaining healthy cultural institutions. Video of Clara's keynote:

 

 

More materials from the session and resources on capitalization.

In the context of a statewide campaign to approve a new tax mechanism for public funding in Washington State, we brought three speakers who are experts on what works — and what doesn’t — in campaigns for public funding:

 

 

Click here for videos of the session and materials about public value.

“Community,” “relevance,” and “engagement” are now buzzwords in the cultural sector, but what does it look like when a cultural organization is really engaged with its community, beyond audience development strategies and outreach departments? James Kass (Youth Speaks), Chris Coleman (Portland Center Stage), Lisa Sasaki (the Oakland Museum of California) and John Michael Schert (The Trey McIntyre Project)  talked about what civic leadership means to them, and how this has led to numerous other benefits, including greater organizational stability and artistic creativity.

 

More video of the talks and panel discussions available  here.

 

Learn more about how exemplary organizations are engaging with community in our Bright Spots report.

Leaders of nonprofit arts organizations in today's world  are being called on to do more and more for their communities and their organizations, but often these demands can take a serious toll on personal health and well-being. Ronnie Brooks, former director of the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute, led this workshop on personal and professional renewal as a necessary survival skill for working in a stressful and changing environment. View the full workshop video here.

 

"The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence…The frenzy of the activist neutralizes his work for peace. It destroys his own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of his own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful."  ~Thomas Merton

Doug McLennan from ArtsJournal.com (the leading arts news aggregator on the web) and social media guru, on how technology and the Internet is changing culture and offer strategies for thriving in this new environment.  Learn how to build a community around your work, and why doing so is necessary for your institution's and your mission's survival.   Video of the keynote:

 

 

Slides of the presentation

This session featured an opening plenary by Clara Miller, President and CEO of the Nonprofit Finance Fund. Clara focused on fresh ways to apply nonprofit financial management and capital strategies to building and sustaining healthy cultural institutions. Video of Clara's keynote:

 

 

More materials from the session and resources on capitalization.

Conclusion

There are no more Dynamic Adaptability planned for now, but we hope to keep the ideas circulating.

 

To see Dynamic Adaptability resources and videos visit our blog and search "Dynamic Adaptability." And please don't hesitate to tell us what you think.

 

For summaries of the first four sessions and the final three sessions.