Which Conferences Do You Attend?

Ceci Dadisman presents at a lot of conferences. Seriously. A lot. There’s nearly 30 listed on her scheudle for this season and it must have got her thinking because she posted an article at ArtsHacker asking readers to list their favorite (arts and non-arts specific) conferences they find useful as arts administrators.

To that end, she created a Google Doc where arts admins can list their favs which she’ll use to build a comprehensive list to make available as an industry resource. I can see it growing into even more than that over time but this is a necessary first step so take a moment to contribute when you have the time.

What Is Your Favorite Conference?

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

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