Midwest Models

It's been a busy few weeks around here! I've done some Upper Midwest traveling for Springboard and I'm always so appreciative of the opportunity to learn about new organizations and new ways of working:

In May, I participated in a professional development retreat as part of our administrative partnership with the Bush Foundation's Dakota Creative Connections grant program. The retreat was in Washburn, ND at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. The Interpretive Center is a beautiful facility overlooking the North Dakota Prairie and near Fort Mandan, where Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1804. The center houses a really nice display of artifacts and stories from the expedition, as well as a large collection of Karl Bodmer watercolors. But the thing I love about this place? It's also a highway rest stop. I think this is such a creative idea and way to draw visitors to this great resource in a very small community. Imagine if all rest stops were also museums? That sounds a lot more fun than most of the rest stops I've experienced!

Last weekend, I was in Bemidji for an ArtsLab retreat. It was great to meet and share ideas with the organizations in the NW Minnesota cohort. And, of course, to hear about the cool and innovative work they are doing. It was especially interesting to hear about how the Great River Arts Association was able to access federal stimulus funds to support their arts education programs.

And, finally, last Friday, I attended the annual meeting and merger celebration of COMPAS and Young Audiences of Minnesota. This was truly a model merger. Two organizations with similar programs and compatible missions (they've even been based in the same building) who came together and spent nearly a year doing the hard work of merging boards, staff, programs, and audiences. I'm sure there were hard conversations, tough decisions and long meetings. And, now that they've figured it all out - they had a big party! They used this lovely award-ceremony luncheon (to which all of their male staff members wore tuxedos) to let their constituents in on the process and introduce the newly combined board. The COMPAS board thanked the Young Audiences board, the Young Audiences board thanked the COMPAS board, they all thanked the staff, they thanked the artists, the funders, the teachers. There was lots of thanking. Which was a great way to spend an afternoon with arts colleagues - thanking and celebrating a newly created organization that has emerged* stronger, healthier and more able to deliver on its mission.

-laura

*sorry, couldn't resist.