NEXT Generation Arts Leadership: Pilot Program

The NEXT Generation Arts Leadership Program has been designed for small and medium-sized arts organizations that are moving out of start-up and need targeted financial and knowledge resources to grow.

Through their participation, the six groups in our 'inaugural cohort' - musica intima, Turning Point Ensemble, Neworld Theatre, Electric Company, Gallerie Gachet and Out on Screen - aim to acquire improved leadership capabilities, increase organizational balance, and gain a community of arts leadership practice.

Participating organizations are all primary incubators for the creation and/or presentation of new work in their respective disciplines. They also play a vital role in the development and employment of artists, administrators, and production staff and they are the animators of new and alternative public spaces; their energy brings renewal and excitement to communities.

These groups produce within quite flexible management/administrative frames and are run by artistic leaders and managers with versatile, entrepreneurial capabilities. To create and produce the work and to reach their audiences, these managers currently fulfill several roles within their organizations.

At the same time they are all experiencing organizational fatigue, their funding is insecure to some degree and they are increasingly aware of how unsophisticated systems hamper their progress.

Our inaugural cohort is participating in a facilitated development process shaped around the individual leadership, organization and shared challenges of the group.

Each organization is using a grant of up to $20,000 to strengthen their organization's operational structure and to help them build a more solid platform for their organization's leadership and innovation.

Each group has assembled a team of three individuals: the paid managerial leader, a member of the board and a non-board, non-staff supporter or stakeholder; the full 18 person cohort will meet six times this year, for full days of case presentation and peer analysis, targeted training modules, small group interaction and full cohort enquiry and exchange.

All sessions will be facilitated by an experienced not-for-profit executive coach whose goal is to support the development of the individual leaders, of their organizations and of a community of arts leadership practice.

We believe this process will strengthen the ability of the individuals to facilitate and lead in their organizations; we also hope to see groups gain clarity about how they make decisions and become more comfortable with goal setting and accountability; if the approach is really successful, our professional arts community should benefit from an increased ability among these organizations to partner and share resources.

This pilot project is being jointly funded by the BC Arts Council, Vancouver Foundation and the City of Vancouver Office of Cultural Affairs, as well as by the Centre for Sustainability.