2008 Event Archive

2nd Annual Careers in the Arts

December 2, 2008

SNEAC hosted its second annual Careers in the Arts panel, which brought together students from Wagner, Columbia, Steinhardt, and Pratt who are interested in moving forward in a creative career. In particular, our diverse panel (listed below) addressed the skills and preparation necessary in today's cultural sector, and the challenges it faces in the current economy.

• Chad Bolton, General Manager, Film Forum
• Elz Cuya, Director of External Affairs, Hip Hop Theater Festival
• Casey Reitz, Director of Development, The Public Theater
• Daniel Windham, Director of Arts, The Wallace Foundation

National Arts Policy Roundtable

November 21, 2008

SNEAC was pleased to present a dynamic discussion of President-elect Obama's Arts Policy Committee and platform. Our roundtable discussion explored whether his cultural platform is moving national policy in the right direction for the arts. More broadly, we questioned the role of the federal government in the arts, and whether its policy of no-policy is better than a formal cultural administration. With the insight of our featured guests (listed below) we drafted policy recommendations for the upcoming administration .

• Daniel Gallant, Executive Director, Nuyorican Poets Café
• Agnes Gund, President Emerita of The Museum of Modern Art and Chairman of its International Council; Chairman of the Mayor's Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission of the City of New York; Member, Obama Arts Policy Committee
• Diane Ragsdale, Associate Program Officer, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
• Jonathan Sheffer, Ex-Officio Board Member, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

SNEAC Tour of the New Museum

October 17, 2008

SNEAC offered its members a private tour of the recently completed New Museum on the Bowery just after its launched the highly anticipated exhibition "Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton." ("Each image is a point on entwined strands of artistic or emotional growth, memorializing a relationship, acknowledging an inspiration or exposing an aspect of ambition."—The New York Times) The tour was followed by a creative happy hour at Slainte, co-sponsored by the Wagner Student Association.

Is the 501c3 Dead? Tried, True, and New Models for the Arts

June 25, 2008

SNEAC partnered with the Emerging Leaders of New York Arts (ELNYA) to examine how our generation's arts organizations can structure themselves for innovation and relevancy in our unique political, economic, and cultural climate. ELNYA is the "emerging leaders" arm of the Arts & Business Council of New York; its purpose is to "to bring together local, young arts administrators to discuss challenges specific to their field and generation… to help build the contacts, skills, and knowledge of arts professional under the age of 35 or with less than five years experience in the field." As one of Wagner's only summer events, the "501c3" forum provided a peer-based dialogue that explored the reaches of the nonprofit model along with alternative initiatives such as for-profit efforts, venture capitalism, micro-financing, and social networks where flexibility, liquidity, and capital health dwell at the core of programmatic development. The event included introductions, break-out sessions, and group conversations, followed by a reception. A Resource Guide, comprising publications and articles related to the nonprofit model and its affect on the arts, was distributed and subsequently expanded, based on ideas and conversations of the evening.

Art in Public Spaces

April 14, 2008

SNEAC hosted an intimate roundtable luncheon with Deborah Marton, Executive Director of the Design Trust for Public Space, to explore the critical role the arts can play in enhancing the design and function of public spaces. Ms. Marton discussed the use of art in New York City, and introduced her organization, which is "committed to improving the design, utility, and understanding of New York City's parks, plazas, streets, and public buildings." In addition to Wagner students, NYU Steinhardt professor Charlotte Cohen attended, who instructs the Visual Arts' course, "Art in Alternative Spaces," as well as the director from the MTA Transit Authority's new Temporary Art Program.

WESpeak: Community Voices in Art and Activism

April 10, 2008

Co-Sponsorship with Wagner's APASA, ALAS, and SADA

SNEAC collaborated with APASA, ALAS, and SADA in an effort to gain awareness of the use of performance art and spoken word for social change and youth empowerment. With a dynamic performance line-up, including dance troupe Grupo Capoeira Brasil, and spoken word artists James Jacobsen, Jimmy Le, Hanalei Ramos, and Aja-Monet, the event brought in a diverse audience from Wagner and beyond. A fundraiser, the performance benefited Urban Word NYC, a non-profit arts organization that provides "a safe, supportive, dynamic and challenging community in which [New York City youth can] discover their powerful voices—through written and spoken word—and use them to express their views, strengthen self-esteem and engage them in opportunities that address the sociopolitical issues that affect them." Two Urban Word youth also performed, and a raffle and reception followed the show.

Educating Outside the Box: Innovative Organizations' Use of the Arts

February 19, 2008

Co-Sponsorship with Wagner's Education Policy Studies Association (WEPSA)

SNEAC and WEPSA hosted workshops and discussions in response to a weakening focus on arts education in public schools. Through these workshops, we introduced to the Wagner student body three innovative education organizations which have developed artistic tools and programs independent of schools and, in doing so, found a meaningful way to reach youth. The presenting organizations were Rhythm, Rhyme, and Results, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, and Publicolor.