Arts Ahead with Reid and Charmian

Speaker 0 00:00:00 Hello and welcome to Storyteller in Depth, a podcast where we go behind the scenes to learn more about the School of Communications, media Arts and designs, people, places and things. I'm your host, pat Quigley, and then this episode is an Arts Ahead takeover. We have two arts management students read and Charmian who will take you through the process of planning for such a large event, how they balanced the workload and how it all turned out. There were some things that Reid and Charmian didn't all expect about planning the symposium, so stick around to hear what happened. For the last two years, the Arts Ahead Symposium, which Arts Management students organized, was held virtually. Now it's back to being in person. And this cohort of students had several elements added to their to-do list, find a big space enough for guests, select speakers who would take part in multiple panels. And the list goes on to take you through the process. We have Reed who was the co-chair for the symposium, and Charmian, who was part of the marketing team. Thank you so much both for being on the podcast today. Speaker 2 00:01:12 Of course. Thank you for having us. It's awesome. I'm excited to be here. Speaker 0 00:01:18 Yeah. So can, before we kind of get started into talking about, you know, the arts ahead and everything that goes on with it, can you both introduce yourselves and what roles you were for the Arts Ahead Symposium? Speaker 2 00:01:28 Yeah, for sure. Um, my name's Rebecca Reed. I was one of the co-chairs for Arts Ahead. Um, I'm a multidisciplinary, uh, artist and art administrator. Um, graduated from the University of Waterloo in theater and performance. Worked in Ban for a little while and I moved back to Ontario when Covid hit. Um, but I do, I do a little bit of everything. Um, I've worked on opera theater, live music, film. Um, I taught classes on painting and sculpture, uh, theater, textile construction, et cetera, et cetera. Um, so I, I do have my, uh, my fingers in many little pots. Yeah, yeah. And I'm Germanian I am part of the, uh, 2023 cohort of Centennial College's Arts Management program and I was the leader of the marketing team of Arts at 2023. And I was really excited and I was really lucky to work with bunch of amazing people who we worked together and then we put this Arts Ahead project, um, successfully. Speaker 2 00:02:28 And it was a really, um, it was a highlight moment of the program to me. And for me personally, I, uh, came from Hong Kong and when I was in Hong Kong I used to work in commercial galleries and also worked for, um, nonprofit art organizations. So, um, I'm here to study this program to let by itself to have more knowledge in terms of arts management, like, um, how do you, um, engage with different people in the industry and also how do you communicate with them? How do you find different opportunities? So this is the reason why I come to here and Arts Ahead, it's one of the, um, I'd say a little milestone for me cuz I get the chance to actually get something done regarding to what I've learned from the program. So yeah, it's really great. Speaker 0 00:03:20 Awesome. You both are sound very, you know, well versed in everything that's going on in arts essentially. And it, it's cool to see such passionate people want to talk about what this Arts Ahead program is. So for listeners who don't know, can you explain what Arts Ahead is? Speaker 2 00:03:37 Yeah, for sure. So Arts Ahead, um, it's the capstone project for the arts management program. So it takes place over two semesters and all of the students work together to put on a professional symposium and networking event. Um, this is like entirely student run. Um, there is instructor support, but it's mostly the students going forward and doing all of the marketing, all of the fundraising and development. Um, all of like the operations, finding the location, making sure that all the tech is there, reaching out to people to get actual speakers to come in, um, making sure the panels are all filled, organized, designing the whole thing. Um, it's a very intensive project, but the results are 100% worth it. Yeah, it's a great, um, I would say networking opportunity for a student as well. And cuz we get to, um, get in touch with people who are actually working in the industry right now so that we could have a sense of what we are going to do and what kind of people that we're facing when we graduated from the program. So it's really, um, it's really interesting for us to get this chance to meet with those people and get to work with them. Speaker 0 00:04:49 That's, that's so cool. Especially cuz it's a part of the arts management program with Centennial College. So like, what is it like to have those two things kind of meshed so well together? Speaker 2 00:04:59 It's honestly such a perfect relationship between the program and the real professional, putting that in quotes, professional world. Um, because the students have so much power and so much autonomy over what goes into the symposium, they're also able to reach out to people that they want to connect with after the program ends. Um, and people that they just are really interested in learning more about connecting with, networking with. I know that personally my LinkedIn was popping off after, uh, after the event ended, but it's, yeah, it's, it's just a, a very, um, synergistic do, do people actually use that word? It's a very good way to <laugh>, it's a good way to round out the program to end it all out in a nice note. Yeah, it's like, um, we, we are not always working together as classmates, but we are also working together as colleagues cuz we are like this little, um, art management, event management company that we are going to, um, organize this program. Like we start from scratch. But of course we, we have help from, um, our program instructor and also we have help from different people, but it's like a little company project that we have to pull together and then we get to find all the source, we get to, um, communicate with different people. So it's a good, I I'd say it's like a little capstone project for this program that we have to do it together. So, yeah. Speaker 0 00:06:38 Awesome. It's cool to see that you get to use all this experience that you learned in classes and get to apply it into this real world scenario and, and kind of the back and forth you get to do. It's, it's really, really cool. So like what kind of panels and workshops were there at the symposium and kind of gimme a bit of an outline of the agenda of what happened. Speaker 2 00:06:59 Um, so for the Arts ahead, we have different teams that, um, in charge for different duties for, uh, but for different panels and workshop, we have our programming team where they will look for different speakers and also they will, um, decide on the rundown of the day, like what we're going to include for at head, what kind of content that we would like to bring to the audience. For at Head this year we have, um, two panel discussion and also we have two workshops and also we have one, to me it's really special. It's like a wireless talk kind of, um, session where each of the panelists, they talk, they do a little pitch for a short period of time so that the audience can get the idea of what they're thinking about. So altogether we have two panels, we have two workshops, we have one, um, oh yeah, even with the session was Pitch Perfect. Speaker 2 00:07:59 So it's that wall top session that I talked about just now. And we'll also have, um, a silent auction where we collect all the, um, gifts donated with, donated by different art organizations where they, um, support what we're doing so that we can have the funding, we can have the resources to support what we are doing right now. So, yeah. Yeah. Um, and it was really interesting the way that it was structured because we had all of these different panels focusing on, um, overlooked opportunities for arts engagement, but in very, everyone had such a very different point of view. Um, so we had art in unexpected places. We had the pitch Please, which had everyone talking about, um, their own experience with art engagement in like alternative kind of ways. Um, our two workshops, we had the Art of Drag, which was a drag queen coming, she performed for us and told us a bit about, um, her entrepreneurial experience working in drag and drag as an art form. Speaker 2 00:09:05 Um, which is it, it is an art form 100%, but typically when people think of art, they're like, ah, the museums, uh, the galleries. But like there are performers who are just giving it their all, um, in such very personal and such very unique way. Um, and it was interesting to see that just recognized I, I suppose as unofficial art form. Um, we also had one, everyone's an artist where everyone came together and collaborated to make just a little, uh, back and forth conversational piece. Um, and it was very interesting to see how everyone in the room was able to come together and engage on a very similar topic in very different ways. And then we closed it off with a panel on breaking barriers, talking about equity, diversity and accessibility, um, in the arts. Speaker 0 00:10:04 Cool. So your, the theme for this year's symposium was Lost, found, and Unbound exploring overlooked opportunities in arts engagement, as you mentioned earlier. How was that theme selected? Speaker 2 00:10:16 So we went around, um, this, it was like a big class discussion, so we wanted to find something that really reflected the shifts of the art worlds, um, in a covid covid tinged reality. But we wanted to stay away from themes that were all about like reopening after Covid coming together after Covid. Cause Covid is a reality, COVID is still around, but not to say that it's tired and overdone, but everybody has come together after Covid. Everybody's reopened after Covid. And this is what it's like after reopening, after Covid. Um, we wanted to examine the places that arts were still needed and how to engage with art in unconventional ways, because that is something that is needed. Like with c o everything's shut down, everything was like locked up. Um, but being able to go out and experience things like in public or online, um, in ways that weren't typically the normal offerings, um, that like theaters and galleries were already offering. Speaker 2 00:11:24 Um, that's, I'm gonna end the sentence there cause I kind of went in a circle <laugh>, but, um, overlooked, exploring overlooked opportunities is exactly that. So we wanted to see how unconventional art, um, in unconventional places was really a necessity for, um, moving for us moving forward. So we had speakers that reflected our themes. We talk, they were talking about how to work with arts and environmental, uh, the arts and environment, environmental architecture, designing, uh, structures that would inc include both the environment, make it prettier, um, ooh, that's, that was a bad sentence, <laugh>. Um, but we, but the, we had, again, we had the drag queen to talk about her craft. One of the people who came in was a writer who includes a descriptive audio of what is happening on stage so that, um, in her work she can include blind or hard of seeing, uh, folk to engage with her work without having to have that extra, an extra device and extra something they could just go and enjoy the show for what it is. Speaker 2 00:12:35 Um, yeah. Yeah. And also speaking of, um, deciding on the film, I remember that, uh, during the earlier period of the program where we have this, um, one or two week where we sit together and we are, or just throwing random ideas to the class saying that what we, what we should focus for this year's out ahead. And we had this, um, uh, application called Mural where we can put out all the digital sticky notes, um, on this digital whiteboard. And then we just put on our different ideas and then we let the class to decide the direction that we should go for the program and for, for the after head. And eventually we come up with this, um, loss found and unbound theme for this year. So yeah, the process was pretty organic, but eventually we have figured out what kind of, um, direction that we would like to go to. And then it just happened. Yeah. Speaker 0 00:13:41 Cool. So can you take us back to what kind of led up to the symposium, including how rules and teams were selected, what was involved in order to find the location you used, selection of speakers, organize the workshops and et cetera? Speaker 2 00:13:56 Yeah, for sure. So, um, this is, this goes like, okay, so I'll, I'll give you just a little brief, um, overview of the timeline. We had our first classes, the arts management is a year long program. We had our first classes in September. The symposium was mid-February, beginning of September, two or so weeks in. Um, we all got to decide based on our very limited knowledge, um, what departments we wanted to explore more. So if you wanted to explore marketing, you would, uh, you signed up for the marketing team, development development. Um, we had two people on the website who knew absolutely nothing about web, uh, construction or design, but were designed, but we're really interested in, uh, sort of discovering it, figuring it out. Um, and then I had to make a little pitch to get the co-chair, uh, position. But yeah, everyone really went to where they were immediately drawn. Speaker 2 00:14:59 Um, yeah, that's how, that's how the roles and teams were selected. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah, I still remember how the co-chairs, cuz we have a couple of, um, students who would like to go for the co-chair position. So we have to do this. So they have to do this little pitch so that the class can fold their co-chairs and eventually read. And also Yash, they were selected as the co-chair for, um, the arts at 2023. But for the remaining of the teams, we have, um, the marketing team, we also have development team, we have operations programming, and also the web team, since we have a slightly bigger class for this cohort comparing to the cohort from previous years so that for each of the teams they can have more people to work together. So saying like for the marketing team, we have five people, which is the largest team for the, um, whole arts ahead. Speaker 2 00:15:56 And we have to, um, break down different tasks to, um, our members who specialize in different aspects of, in terms of marketing. Um, yeah, it was a funny, it was an interesting progress of like picking your teammates and figure out who we're going to work to at, but it turns out really great. We all love our team. Yeah, yeah. And then like within that, everyone got to decide on little team leads, um, and just sort of figure out like an internal structure within the structure. We all, um, individually made our own critical paths and like a master critical path. Yeah. Um, in order to make sure that we were all hitting the right steps. Um, the location was actually really interesting cuz we wanted to try to find something that was able to, uh, fit an event like ours, but it wasn't a typical like, proper event space cuz we wanted, we wanted to fit the theme a little bit. Speaker 2 00:16:58 Um, so we were looking at places. I remember one of the ones that we were looking at was a weed store and we're like, oh, this is so unconventional, this would be so interesting. And they were like, yeah, except we would be still, uh, we wouldn't shut down for you. You could just use our other room. We're like, ah, I don't know if, I don't know if Centennial would go for that, uh, having an event in a, in an operating weed store. But, um, we ended up with, uh, the Society of Beer Drinking Ladies and they're, yeah, it's, it's a really nice space. Very lovely. And it's, there's a huge, uh, hall full of mirrors. It's like nice wooden floors. Um, and we're like, oh, this is, this is it. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, yeah, the speakers and like, organizing the workshops, that was all programming. Um, and they, it was, it was so fun to watch them work because they had the big whiteboard. They had things crossed out lines connecting each other. It was, uh, they were working so furiously because they wanted to make sure that they were getting a vast array of people. Um, and a vast array of knowledge to share. I know that, uh, Rory in particular really pushed for the drag workshop and I'm so glad he did because it was such a highlight. Speaker 0 00:18:15 Cool. And like, it, it's cool to see kind of like all these little pieces kind of come together and, and make this one big thing. Right. This one big event. So like, looking back, what were some of your favorite parts of the symposium? Speaker 2 00:18:27 Oh, it's, I mean, it's hard to pick just one. It was such, there were, there were so many, the highs were really high, the lows were really low <laugh>, it was very, very much a rollercoaster. Um, I, I just remember like the, there was, there was one moment where just sort of clicked that, wait, this is, this isn't just a hypothetical thing that we're doing. This is real, this is, um, this is actually happening was when development locked in our first partner, which was Work and Culture. And they're like, yeah, we did it. We got it. And I was like, but that's so cool. Oh God. Oh no wait, this is actually, we actually have to do something with this now. Um, yeah. But there is it, and the actual event itself was, it was so, it, it was so lovely to see how engaged everybody was because everybody right off the bat, making connections, making friends, um, just interested in each other and everyone else's work and how that related to their own or didn't relate to their own. Speaker 2 00:19:33 Um, I just thought that that was kind of lovely. Yeah. And for me, the highlight of Arts Ahead would be um, would be that it was a full house. We sold out all the tickets. So it was really encouraging cuz it is the first in-person arts ahead since the pandemic hit. Cuz I knew that last year they do it online. But it was a two day online symposium. But it, it's different if it's a in-person thing, you know, cuz you get to talk to real people and you get to like, when you sell the tickets and when you get the money from silent auction, you know that this is, this is real, you know. And also we got, um, really positive feedbacks from all the participants cuz during the intermissions, during the breaks, me and all, and a couple of our marketing team members, we get to interfere with some of the participants. Speaker 2 00:20:31 And also we interviewed some of the panelists and they all just, um, really amazed by the choice of the location, the contents that we bring to them and also the, um, the way we organize and just bunch of stuff. And they were so amazed, like, um, how we students can pull everything together in such a short period of time. Cuz this is a one year programming and we only have like, like four to five months to do so. But yeah, they're, they really appreciate, we really appreciate that, um, how they give us such positive feedback and this is definitely a boost in our confidence and it just make us feel so good about this. I was also amazed that we managed to pull this off. Um, yeah. Speaker 0 00:21:22 Was there anything about like organizing the symposium that you didn't expect going into it? Like what are some of your takeaways from, from the event? Speaker 2 00:21:30 For me it was that, um, it was the planning time cuz as I was saying just now we only have, this is a one year program. We only have like mm-hmm. <affirmative> because if we didn't, cuz we have, we also have Reading Weeks and also we have this Christmas holidays so that for the time that we can actually sit down together and to talk about Arts Ahead, it was, the time was really short for us. Cuz Art than schoolwork assignments, we also have like our own stuff happening on our own lives right now. We have our part-time jobs, we have family, we have different things to handle. So it was difficult for the team to sit down together and have time to focus just to focus on Arts ahead. So this is something that I wasn't expecting cuz I was expecting that we can all spend like two to three hours per week. Speaker 2 00:22:22 But it was like really an ideal situation. But it never happens that way cuz we have to, um, organize online meetings and we also have to meet like somewhere after class to talk about, after had to talk about what kind of tasks we have to accomplish. So the time was a little bit tight to me or to the team, but at the end we get to pull this together and worked out real well. So it was also something that I would like to share to people who are going to apply for Arts Management in the future if they're eventually going to, um, organize Arts ahead. It's important to communicate with your team members and it's also important to plan ahead cuz it will relieve a lot of stress. You know, you'll have more time to do more stuff. So it's really important to think about that. Speaker 2 00:23:17 Yeah. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah, no, I, I completely agree. Um, I didn't realize that, ha, I didn't realize exactly how much it would take over my life. <laugh>. Um, I, I remember like there were, I would stay, we would have our class, I would stay after class talking with Rebecca, our professor and Yash about Arts Ahead, and then Yash and I would go on the train home together talking about Arts Ahead. And it would just be like a whole extra hour of just, okay, what do we need to do? Who do we need to talk to? Oh God, what slack messages do we need to send out? Um, and, but which was was interesting in a way because I, it's so all encompassing that when it was finally over I was like, wait, I have, I have so much free time, right? Like, this is great. Speaker 2 00:24:12 I can read books again. Like it's, um, but the being able to go in and understanding all of the little details, all of the bits and pieces that may get overlooked and understanding that you are in a position where you, you can't overlook anything. Um, because if it goes wrong, it's on you. Uh, it, it was, it really allowed me to think in a way that, um hmm, oh no, maybe I lost <laugh>. I I was able to, to really hone in on what needs to get done. And I feel like those skills have transferred to my everyday life. Cause I'm just like, okay, pack in my lunch, what do I need? I have this report due, what do I need? Um, another thing was all of the little contracts and making sure that everything was detailed to the letter to the T And sometimes people would say, oh well you can for an extra fee. Speaker 2 00:25:14 And we're like, okay, but you promised X, Y, Z. They're like, okay, but we, it's now an extra blah blah, blah. And it's going back and forth and making sure that you are getting exactly what you need for the right price and for the right, uh, yeah, you're getting exactly what you're getting exactly what you need. And if it's not included, where are you gonna source this from? What are backup plans? What is your plan? B C D E F? Because I, one of the, uh, during, okay, sorry, sorry. During the symposium itself, we had one of the moderators for one of the panels, uh, he got Covid Day of wasn't able to make it. And everyone's looking at each other and we're like, oh, we had backups for the speakers, but we forgot about the moderators. Um, so, so they're like, Reid, hi, uh, do you wanna be moderator for panel one? I was like, what? They're like, yeah, it's in 15 minutes. Oh, okay. Um, so being able to think on your feet, uh, was really a crucial skill that I feel you, you, you really need to have. That's, that's a key takeaway, just being able to adapt, being able to move. Speaker 0 00:26:26 And so like did you find that preparing for the symposium helped give you some confidence to possibly do something similar like this after graduation? Speaker 2 00:26:33 100%. I, I feel like being able to put on an event like this, an event of this size, an event that has all of these different moving components in a place like Centennial where you do have a bit of a safety, safety net to fall back on and having everything, having everything go well. Um, I, I feel like that really has boosted my confidence being able to put this on and not need the safety net. Um, so next time I can go, you know what, I did X, Y, Z, this went wrong, this went wrong, but I know I can fix this. Um, and I feel like that in itself has really made this not as daunting as it could have been. Yeah. And also thinking like, um, it's good to, um, have this event, but we have the support from instructors and also from a professors from a teachers. Speaker 2 00:27:34 Cuz when you go to a real working situation where you graduate and you work at a company you don't often receive like constructive critiques and feedback, which is really important for you to grow, to learn, to evolve. But in a school, you always receive feedbacks and comments from your teacher where you know where you can improve, where you know, where you, um, the things that you did well were the things you should improve, you should have done better. So it is really important to have the support and the comments cause it's not something that you would receive. And this is something that I think is really valuable for me to, um, improve in terms of like, the way that I work, the quality that I can give to the project, to the company. So this definitely gives me the confidence to, um, to do something similar after graduation. Speaker 2 00:28:28 Like it gives me the confidence to get a job and to work with project with a, with a small team or to a bigger team. But I am confident that I can bring this high quality work to the company, to the people. Yeah. I would also like to add, um, that this is, I mean, a an amazing resume filler. I'm able to pop this in there and be like, oh yeah, I did this, this, this and this for this big event. Uh, but it's also been very helpful in just boosting my own personal confidence and being able to network and talk with people because I was able to engage in the symposium at that level. I'm like, oh yeah, you know what, talking to new people, talking to strangers, it's not that scary. Like if someone reached out to me and said, hi, I would love to connect, it's like, oh yeah, sure. Whereas before I'd be like, oh God, what do I do? Do I, do I say hi? Do I just like delete the email? Like, but um, being able to actually have those, uh, networking opportunities where you can go out and actually engage with people in a space that you set up. So it's, it's more of a safe space. Like you're more familiar with it. Um, it's your own home turf to so to speak. And I think that that is also a crucial skill that this has given us Speaker 0 00:29:53 For sure. And it's, it's wonderful to hear just how positive and of an experience this whole whole thing was for both of you. And what advice do you have for future students who will be organizing next year's arts ahead from, from both, both of your perspectives on both different sides of, of the parties you played in? Speaker 2 00:30:12 I can go first, I would say, um, it's not that scary cause <laugh> cause uh, at the beginning of the, um, when, when I was doing my interview for, uh, the program where I get interviewed by Rebecca, Rebecca was our, is our course instructor where she talk about, um, so for this program you're going to do this, you have this course and at the end you're going to do a symposium. So I was like, what? But, um, it was kind of scary at first cuz I don't have the experience of doing this. And also I don't, I have no idea of what kind of people that I'm going to work with. How can I pull this together? How can I do everything? But when you get started, when you start to have trust with the people around you and you start to, um, throw different ideas, when you start to, um, having conversation and dialogues with different people, you start to realize that it's really happening and it's actually possible. Speaker 2 00:31:13 And when you get this done and when you get really good feedbacks, really good comments from people, it just really, it's such a joy to you and also to your team as well. So I would say, um, just enjoy and also you'll have to plan ahead cause um, will have to deal with lots of smaller tasks. You have, you will have to deal with a lot smaller tasks that you imagine and also like back and forth conversation, emails and stuff. You definitely want more time to handle that. Um, yeah, I love what you said about trust because that is a huge one. Um, trusting in your team because everyone has the same goal. Like it's, you're not fighting against each other. You need to work with each other and being able to trust that, um, I can let go. I can leave you to do X, Y, Z and I know that you'll do it. Speaker 2 00:32:08 And having that trust in yourself that yes, you are smart, you are capable, you are confident, you can put this on, you can do this. Um, yeah, it, it, it's a 100%, it's a stressful project, but the end result is well worth it. I would also say to remember that everybody works differently and support looks different for different people. Some people might need, uh, a lot of, not micromanaging, but step by step, break it down because this is such a big task with large tasks, with a lot of smaller tasks and more tasks and it can get overwhelming very quickly. So the easier, the more you can break it down into, okay, to do this, I need to do this, but to do that, I need to do this, this, this, this, this. And having those smaller bite-sized chunks. Um, but some people might just be like, give me that task. Speaker 2 00:33:04 Leave me alone. I will do it. Don't talk to me until it's done. Um, people work differently. But, and, um, one big thing, I would like to just really drive home that this is a networking event. Um, if there is anyone in the city that you want to connect with, and this could be an individual, this could be a company you wanna work with in the future, make sure to send out a personal invitation. You get to bring them in, you get to show them that you wanna connect, you get to show them that you are, um, you're smart, you're capable again, you're smart, you're capable, you're confident, and you put on this very professional symposium. This is the work that you can do for them after you graduate, please hire me. And, uh, that's, that's my main advice. Speaker 0 00:33:54 Awesome. Well, thank you both so much for being on the podcast today. Speaker 2 00:33:58 Again, thank you for having us. This was so much fun. I'm very glad that we received this opportunity. Thank you. Speaker 0 00:34:04 Yeah, no, and hopefully, you know, with the future Arts ahead that they are ahead students and you know, students in the, in the, in the class, they're able to listen to this podcast and and get something out of it. Speaker 2 00:34:16 Oh, 100%. And we will see you at next year's Rights Ahead. I plan on coming back. Speaker 0 00:34:28 Thank you so much, Charmian and Reid for coming on the podcast. If you're a current arts management student or are thinking about enrolling in this incredible program, be sure to bookmark this episode. There are several great tips and pieces of advice that will help future students immensely. Each year, students blow us away with their incredible talent to orchestrate such a successful Arts Ahead symposium. Congratulations to all this year's students. If you want to see an overview of this Arts ahead, head over to their website, arts ahead.org. Until next time, I'm Pat Quigley and this is storyteller in depth.