A team of cultural space colleagues and I have created three separate cohort learning programs. We work with you and your team to design and build an ongoing educational system for your market that trains and supports an army of hyper-local cultural space experts.
Who’s the Client?
Typically these programs have been supported by government agencies or sector support organizations.
The Build Art Space Equitably (BASE) program was created for the City of Seattle (a collaboration between Office of Planning & Community Development and the Office of Arts & Culture)
The Leveling Up program was commissioned by the State of Washington’s Department of Commerce
The Creative Space Assemblies is a project of Creative Dundee in Dundee, Scotland
Who’s Invited?
For BASE, we ran a competitive process to identify each year’s cohort (we received more than 10 applications for every available spot). The goal was to involve participants representing arts organizations, and commercial real estate professionals, and government representatives;
For the Leveling Up program, the cohort consisted of representatives of nonprofits and Tribes who were exploring complex capital projects, and who anticipated requesting State funding;
For the Creative Space Assemblies, we invited specific expert representatives from government, the arts, and real estate to take part in the initial cohort.
What’s the Curriculum?
The curriculum for these projects is designed to suit each cohort and to capitalize on strengths in the room, and to fill expertise gaps in the room. Some of the sessions and topics covered to date include:
The Arc of Large Capital Projects
An overview of the typical phases, players, and needs of large capital projects related to arts & culture
Tell Me a Story
Learn various storytelling techniques and apply them to hypothetical cultural space projects.
Back of the Napkin
Tools to conduct a quick and rough feasibility check are explored with experts
Government Day
Learning to navigate governmental systems and leverage existing community connection into new political power
Team-Building Exercise
What models exist for equitable partnerships between organizations and development partners, programming partners, and others?
Bring Money, Part I
Capital Stacks and Waterfalls: The basics of assembling the money and paying it back through commercial lending, joint ventures, tax credits, and traditional philanthropy
Bring Money, Part II
Less traditional investment and fundraising mechanisms are explored
Bring People
Community engagement models are discussed. How do organizations build an authentic groundswell?
Pwned
Community ownership and wealth-building models are explored and analyzed