When Junk E-mail Isn’t, or New Friends at Taipei National University of the Arts

Fun fact to start with – I always scan my spam. At least what’s visible in the subject line, or the snippet of the first paragraph.

First para of an email received a few weeks ago: “Hope this e-mail finds you well. This is Priscilla from Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA) in Taiwan. Right now I’m the teaching assistant of International Master of the Arts Program in Cultural and Creative Industries (IMCCI) in TNUA.”

Sure you are. Delete.

 

First para of an email received a few days after that. “Hope this e-mail finds you well. This is Priscilla from Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA) in Taiwan. Right now I’m the teaching assistant of International Master of the Arts Program in Cultural and Creative Industries (IMCCI) in TNUA.  I sent an e-mail on June 24th, but I’m afraid there’s some problem with my e-mail because I haven’t received any reply yet.”

Good lord what kind of spam list am I on? DELETE.

Facebook page message received shortly after:  “Hope this e-mail finds you well. This is Priscilla from Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA) in Taiwan. Right now I’m the teaching assistant of International Master of the Arts Program in Cultural and Creative Industries (IMCCI) in TNUA.”

Well now you’ve found me in two places. And your name is Priscilla, and that’s kind of a cool name. Okay, I’ll bite. Abridged version of conversation below:

Hello Priscilla,  I am glad you found me – I do not run a physical office space but would be happy to have an afternoon chat at a cafe with Mr Lu sometime during the time he is here. Please go ahead and confirm that, and we can make arrangements. What sort of information is Mr. Lu looking for?

Hi Sue, Thanks for your reply and offer. For the afternoon chat, July 18th may be the best option for Mr. Lu. If it doesn’t work, July 16th is also ok.  Please let me know your preference, thank you. Mr. Lu from IMCCI will visit Canada art organizations. He would like to visit Sue Edworthy Arts Planning and know how art consulting companies help young artists.

Hi Priscilla,The 18th will be fine, I’ll book some space.  3 pm works perfectly.  I suggest we meet at the restaurant at the Gladstone Hotel, it’s one of my favourite places to work. www.gladstonehotel.com thank you Sue

So 3 pm yesterday found me at the Gladstone Hotel, sipping an iced tea and awaiting the arrival of the mysterious Mr. Lu from Taipei.
And arrive he did, with his EA Catherine. And we talked for two hours straight.

We talked about Charles Landry, about TAPA, Day at the City and Day on the Hill, about marketing and PR for artists and organizations, the billboard tax, tag graffitti vs murals,  They expressed amazement and delight about how we’ll put art anywhere we can, that the Fringe Club is in a parking lot and sometimes shows take place in a car or a shed, that empty convenience store across the way is home to an art show as we speak.

We talked about how neighbours sometimes don’t want artists around, the issues Artscape went through with the Barns, the issues TaiPei was having with their Artist Village. Same issues a world away.  We spoke about common language, how to figure out what someone would value about art and then speak to them on that level.

We talked about the students he is teaching, and how experience, contacts and love for art is indeed universal when it comes to getting a job in the arts. We talked about Expect Theatre, Theatre Rusticle, Obsidian Theatre, contemporary dance and visual art.

We had a fantastic time. They loved the Gladstone, and the staff  were their usual awesome selves, taking us to see a couple of the artist-designed rooms, giving history of the building, the elevator and more (thanks Gladstone!).

And then off they went  – they’d spent the time before meeting me walking along West Queen West, and now they were off to the Island, and the Distillery tomorrow.  If I’m ever in Taipei, I’m to let them know so I can come talk to Mr. Lu’s students.

Hi Priscilla,  A thank you to let you know what a pleasure it was to meet with Mr. Lu and his EA Catherine – we had a wonderful chat about art and culture and support for these things in a city.
Many thanks for your determinedness in setting up this meeting – also please thank him for the lovely gift, it was very kind of him.
Sincere best regards,
Sue
PS the link below might be of interest to Mr. Lu as an excellent example of community projects that embrace the arts.
Call For Artists – Council Endorses Pan-Am Path 37-1

Hi Sue, No problem! I’ll forward this website to Mr. Lu and let him know you love the gift. I’ve just done my job and what I have to do. It’s you who is willing to offer this opportunity to meet with Mr. Lu! I really appreciate your help and kindness
Best wishes to you and everything.
Priscilla

Sometimes SPAM – isn’t.

Goodbye Galas, Outside the Arts Box and The Critic Stumbles

Beautiful weekend. Beautiful day.

Three articles last week struck me during my daily stuff to read – the first two speak to each other and are from the same publication, so that makes sense – but then I was wandering around Seth’s Blog and another one struck me as fitting into this trinity of new ways of thinking.

 

Why Toronto is Saying Goodbye to Galas
I came of Arts Admin age just at the edge of big galas – the silent auctions that made thousands, five hundred dollars a plate, four thousand for a table and the It girls were always there in the grand ballroom of the It Hotel. It will be interesting to see what we do differently in the future. I don’t necessarily think the old-school gala is a great tool for engagement, not only do I want your money, I want your time. And most folks are a little short on one or the other, and usually both. I’d personally enjoy the end of the silent auction. So tired of it. So little money made in most cases. So much effort. Next up,

Arts groups thinking outside the box – and way beyond the box office  The final paragraph, the whole final section, hits quite literally close to home:

The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, with 185 commercial and non-profit members in theatre, dance and opera, is exploring new strategies for survival in a volatile environment. “Toronto companies have recognized they need to embrace adaptive change, and there are many already working on it,” says Jacoba Knaapen, executive director of TAPA, noting how mobile technology is transforming the consumption of arts and culture.

Since 2011, as part of a project with Arts Research Action, a consulting group, TAPA has worked with members to explore new approaches to a range of issues, including how to attract younger, more diverse audiences. The results will be included in a report to be released next year. “There are some really deep-seated assumptions that our organizations inherited in a language that dates back to when the companies were founded 35 to 40 years ago,” observes Knaapen. “The assumptions they have inherited are part of the old way, and the old way has to change to a more adaptive model.”

In 2009-10, ticket sales for theatre, dance and opera in Toronto dropped to $132-million from $170-million in 2005-06, according to TAPA.

Grim stuff. The final piece of today’s triptych comes from Seth Godin: The Critic Stumbles. His words:
“For me, the opinion of any single critic is becoming less and less meaningful as I choose what to view or engage with. And the aggregate opinion of masses of anonymous critics merely tells me that the product or content is (or isn’t) mass-friendly. I’m far more moved by the insistent recommendation of a credible, raving fan than I am the snide whispering of some people who just didn’t get it.”

You see why these articles struck me as a fit together. All talk about needing to embrace new ways of fundraising, engaging, working. Some things to think about. Many in fact – think, talk, share, engage.

 

Sunday Roundup – April 7

No rest for the weary this week as I spent yesterday afternoon at the first of four public consultations for spending priorities for the new arts funding. Online surveys and other consult dates are here. It was an interesting afternoon, with a full house and a great deal of discussion on spending and where artists and arts workers envision this new money going. I hope the responses are taken seriously by those collecting them, and thoughtfully added into the grand scheme of things. And I hope the momentum of the past year is maintained. It needs to be.

Sometimes Hearing is Believing  The Whipping Man is running for another week and I urge you to go and see it. Some wonderful work there.

About Yesterday…

Supporting the Arts in Many Ways, Legoland and Social Influences

Arts Funding, Social Media Presence, and Where We Work

Brendan Healy wrote an extremely brave letter last week. From Torontoist – It’s no secret that many of Toronto’s theatre companies have seen the numbers of paying customers coming through their doors shrink over the last few years. Companies have had to adjust in response—a process known euphemistically as “right-sizing.” But when the artistic director of one of Toronto’s most iconic companies—which Buddies In Bad Times, “the largest facility-based queer theatre company in the world,” definitely is—has to write a letter to the citizens of Toronto (theatre-going or not) expressing his surprise at low attendance for a new play from one of Canada’s most acclaimed and accomplished playwrights (Daniel MacIvor’s Arigato, Tokyo, in this instance), there’s a problem. ADs are not usually ones to admit a show, especially one they’ve directed themselves, isn’t performing up to their expectations in the box office.

TAPA has been working for quite some time on documenting and understanding these numbers. Quick article in the Globe and Mail last week –
Healy’s actions come less than a month after he attended a meeting to which the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts invited the artistic directors of some 185 professional theatre, dance and opera companies “to discuss the current climate … the current challenges.”
Details of the March 11 meeting are confidential. Nevertheless, it’s likely attendance was discussed as TAPA, established in 1979, has been gathering statistics for almost 10 years with respect to Toronto performing arts. In a brief interview Thursday, TAPA executive director Jacoba Knaapen noted that between 2005-06 and 2009-10, ticket sales to professional theatre, dance and opera performances declined by eight per cent, going to 2.3-million tickets purchased from 2.5-million.
Read more

Giving a workshop in Social Media 101 for DTRC’s Living Creatively conference. I like the setup of this one – Tierney of Tech Soup is doing the tech part, I am doing the social part. I like new formats, and am looking forward to seeing who’s there.

Off into the day. Apparently it’s spring. I wish I could see more proof of that.

OH! Was at the opening of Opera Atelier’s the Magic Flute last night – so, so beautiful. Go and see if you can. It’s an easy intro opera – populist if you will, it’s  in English and it’s  a singspiel and it’s wonderful to see so many people under the age of twenty, heck, under the age of twelve at the opera and loving it.

You Should Nominate Someone! And Two Days of Guest Speaking

A quick reminder from TAPA that nominations for the following Dora Ancillary Awards are due Monday April 1, 2013:

–The Barbara Hamilton Memorial Award

–George Luscombe Award For Mentorship in Theatre

–Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award for Outstanding Leadership in Administration

–Silver Ticket Award For an Outstanding Contribution to the Stage

Please click on the above links for nomination guidelines or to learn more about the Ancillary Awards including past recipients.

Spent Tuesday afternoon and will spend this afternoon at Sir Oliver Mowat doing a sort of combination social media career day kind of guest speaker thing for a friend’s grade twelve media classes. I met some of them at the field trip to Harbourfront a while back, and there were some new faces. I decided to play the questions game at the start – here is a piece of paper. Write down a question you want to ask about careers, about social media, about any combination of the two, because that way I have content and more importantly it’s content that matters to you. We had a couple good discussions about Harry Styles (how do you meet celebs?) and Justin Beiber and Lindsay Lohan (how do I get to be famous?) – well, what do you want to be famous for?

Those were a couple of fun questions that we managed to take seriously, but still have fun with. And now I know who Harry Styles is.  And we had a couple bigger, more thought-provoking questions  – I would like to know why I should get a degree;  What was the hardest point in your life? Valid questions and we had good conversations.

What question came up the most? I thought there might be a couple duplicates of it –  but four out of maybe sixteen students…

How do you know when you finally realize what you have to do officially (in the sense of knowing that this is what you want to do)?

When did you know you were where you wanted to be?

How/when did you discover what you really wanted to do in life?

How do you know when you are where you should be?

Some questions never change. Back in today for a whole new group. We’ll see what questions get added to the list.

Many thanks to Ms. Morton’s Grade 12 media class – good to see you again, great to talk to you again, and you made me think as much as I made you think.

Money for the Arts! and Got Five?

to quote a Facebook friend:

A red letter day for the arts!! First Moore’s announcement of $2 million for Business + the Arts’ wonderful ArtsVest program and then Rob Ford‘s astounding announcement of $22.5 million over 5 years for cultural programs and grants in Toronto, and Gary Crawford‘s motion of same passing at Executive this afternoon! BRAVO BeautifulCity, Toronto Arts Council, Culture Division and all the activists and advocates who made such cogent arguments for the billboard tax and the targets set in the Creative Capital Gains Report. Hooray and Congratulations!! I do have some questions and concerns (where is the rest of the billboard tax revenue going) but you can’t argue with that kind of dough. So for today let’s celebrate! Questions can wait til later.

and from beautifulcity.ca

“This budget includes $22.5 million, over the next few years, in new funding for the Arts. This money should be used to help make Toronto an even more attractive place to live — and to invest and create jobs. It should also help engage young people across the City who find art as exciting as many kids find sports.”
Mayor Rob Ford

“I am very pleased that Toronto’s Executive Committee passed my motion to support a plan to put real dollars into a sustainable, ongoing and accountable increase to arts funding without impacting the 2013 budget. I congratulate all the hard work by the passionate, dedicated people who have waited patiently for this increase in arts funding to reach $25 per capita.”
Councillor Gary Crawford

“These funds will enable Toronto to move forward toward our goal of a $25 per capita annual expenditure on the arts. The arts sector is a major generator of economic activity, and It is especially gratifying that we can now strengthen the sector without increasing property taxes. It’s a big win for all Toronto!”
Councillor Michael Thompson, Chair of the Economic Development and Culture Committee.

“This is a real victory for the arts community who, with great passion and endless tenacity, never let the issue of fair funding for the arts community escape the notice of city council. The increased funding will help put Toronto on the global map as a creative city where the work of artists is respected and adds to our quality of life.”
Councillor Joe Mihevc

“Certain truths about what makes a Great City can transcend petty politics and prevail. The Creative Community in our great City of Toronto has prevailed and Council will begin the move towards adequate funding for a vibrant and deserving community of artists, if ever there was one. We don’t need to focus on which administration enacted this move because the engaged artists and residents who made this happen held fast to their goal across decades and multiple administrations. Congrats to Devon, to Che and ever artist who stood with them along the way.”
Councillor Shelley Carroll

“The global success of our arts and cultural institutions is a testament to the talent and drive of our artists and the prescience of the private sector to recognize the benefits of investing in the arts. Imagine what Toronto will achieve once we fulfill the decade long pledges, utilize the billboard tax for its original purpose and increase per-capita arts funding to $25.”
Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam

“Young artists of Toronto deserve a lot of credit for changing the way this City funds the arts. Now it’s only fair and right to invest the new resources in young artists and to continue Toronto’s role as a magnet for creative people from around the world to come to pursue a career in the arts.”
Councillor Adam Vaughan

An excellent way to end the week.

So the other day I randomly asked you “Hey,  how’s your website? All updated? Content fresh? Some sort of back and forth with readers capability? Because we’re at that point where – come on. Have a website. The days of “really expensive” and “only a pro can make you one” are long gone. Get your website in order for 2013.”

For 2013 I’m going to keep asking you questions like that. A five minute thought, or something you can do in five minutes. If you see this picture on a post, it means there’s a “got five” question or suggestion or a something quick to read in that post.  Today? Go to the contact page on your website. Is it up-to-date? Any changes? Should you add a google map or times of business?
Five minutes. Go.

It’s Tuesday

(I can’t think of a good title. I’m not going to force it)

TAPA AGM yesterday, always good to see other member folks and say hi and catch up. Jim Roe FTW in the category of Best Other Business ever.

Also, the Theatre Development Fund has launched the TDF Theatre Dictionary – a video guide to “theatre lingo” by TDF and theatre companies from across North America, the video on how to use it is below, and here’s the link to the dictionary.

I’m starting work with Small Print Toronto this afternoon, they are a fantastic company and I am excited to be part of helping them move to the next level of being the awesome org they are.

All for now! – Also this is interesting, and probably true.

SundayRoundup – Nov 11 – Lest We Forget

Remembrance Day today, and I wanted to do a new slide show but my system is being glitchy. Here’s a story or two for you, and the link to the last slideshow.

My father Lt. Commander Charles Allison Stirling was a Lt. Commander in the Canadian navy, serving in the North Atlantic for most of the war.He was the Lt. Commander of the following Canadian corvette which was responsible for capturing the German sub. He told us how shocked he was when the crew emerged , how very young they were and suffering from malnutrition. The captain of the German ship gave my dad a pair of very hi-tech night vision binoculars from Germany.Eventually after serving his time in the Canadian prisoner of war camp in Penatanguishine,he returned to  Germany and after five years, the German captain emigrated to Canada.

from my Dad’s WWII diary November 1943, he was a wireless op/gunner on PBY Catalina Flying Boats: “We are flying again now and working as hard as I have for a long time. Have been on a detachment to Liberville in French Equatorial Africa and from there to Banana in Belgian Congo. At Liberville we slept in tents and were bitten by everything under the sun. There’s no news of our going home as yet so guess we’ll be here for ages and ages yet…. We were called out at midnight to do a trip, landed this morning, did 9 hrs. Came to mess for chop and slept all day. Went down to Sgts. mess and got stinko, crawled to bed about 1 or 2.”

Lest we forget.

Day In America, Day At The City, Where Are the Senior Managers?

Big Night Last Night

Day on the Hill, Day at the City, Office Concerts and more

 

 

New Dora Rules and Where you Can Find out About Them

 

I went to a Dora Orientation session yesterday to learn about the changes to the way it works. From the TAPA blog:

2012/13 Dora Orientation Sessions, Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts

For the past 22 months, the Dora Review Committee underwent a detailed process to review the Dora Awards that involved a series of consultations with TAPA members, and various town halls, to achieve a renewed Dora Awards Program in order to meet the changing needs of the membership.  The TAPA membership voted this past March in favour of the expansion to the Dora Mavor Moore Awards from 35 award categories to 48 award categories. As announced these changes have taken effect for the current 2012-13 Dora year. Whether you are a long-time or brand new member of TAPA, you should definitely attend one of these meetings to ensure that your company understands the changes, as well as the new rules and regulations.   read the rest.

You should go. A heck of a lot of work went into this review. Thank you to the TAPA team, the committee and the folks who attended the Town Halls.

 

Sunday Roundup July 8

 

Five days into Fringe and we might get a respite from the heat. Other than that, what was last week like?

What’s In YOUR Fringe Bag? – Popular post as we go through my purse to see what gets me through a day of Fringing!

Fringe Has Opened and Social Media as Yearbook – Gotta love an infographic.

Kids Today – two great videos, one for the TAPA Hiptix Initiative, and one from the Fringe 100.

 

The Grid has created a fantastic all things Fringe map – click here for a look-see.

I’m off to see shows, see friends and hang out at the tent. If you’re still not sure what to see, the reviews are pouring in and you can check NOW, torontoist, or Mooney on Theatre for some ideas. Or you could look at the poster wall pictured above. Too small to read? Then come on down in person!

Happy Sunday!

 

 

Kids Today! Youth Invasion and What`s YOUR Fringe Flavour?

At the Doras on the 25th of June there was red carpet camera work happening with the shooting of the premiere video in the  hipTIX Youth Invasion Video Series. It`s  celebrating a new partnership between TAPA and broadwayworld.com, is hosted by Toronto youth Thomas Orwen-Goldhar and Devin Cecchetto and filmed by 17-year-old Shane Feldman, Check it out!

 

And if you`ve been paying attention the last few weeks, you`ll know I am completely enamoured of the Fringe 100. They`ve created their inaugural video for the festival which is as cool and refreshing and perfect for summer as possible. Nice hustle guys!