arts
Communications
Organization:
119 Gallery VISTA Name:
Mira Allen
Program Start:
7/2008
Program End:
7/2009
Project Description:
119 Gallery seeks an individual to lead the expansion and development of the organization’s marketing, outreach and community building activities so we can reach and serve a larger population. Utilizing multiple communication venues, we will develop a solid strategic communications plan to inform our community members of offerings and engage them in programming. The Gallery’s robust programs of events, education, and exhibits draw a steady crowd of artists, community members, and young people. It has a number of systems (both operational and technical) in place to handle the strategic communications of the organization, but they are fragmented and lack focus. The CTC VISTA member would design and create a cohesive system that will more effectively leverage the organizations skills and capacities to engage and educate our community members.
· Assess organization’s current outreach, marketing and communication activities with strategic communications in mind
· Assess organization’s current communication infrastructure (web, email, social networks, print, mail, press)
· Gather member input into strategic communication needs
· Establish networking and outreach and shared communications with collaborating organizations.
· Research and recommend new processes for integrating and redesiging in a more efficient and strategic manner the organization’s outreach, marketing and communications activities with an eye toward greater community impact and involvement
· Design and implement this new strategic communications plan
· Create a set of evaluation metrics and benchmarks that will enable the organization to track is progress
· Train interns, volunteers and staff in the effective use of and maintainence of the new communications system
· Provide additional strategic input and staffing support for all gallery programmatic areas, including Identifying and meeting with community organizations that share our mission and constituency.
Project Outcome:
Mira has succeeded in organizing our overall marketing. She is working with a volunteer from the the Jericho Road Foundation to establish a comprhensive marketing plan. She is a member of the 199 Gallery Board’s Marketing Subcommittee. She maintains Facebook and Myspace pages, posting notices and invites as appropriate. She edits and emails a bimonthly newsletter using Constant Contact. She has participated in the design and development of several fund raising events including the Jazz Brunch, and Dinner & A Movie. She organized the annual membership renewal campaign, Show Us The Love. She has updated the gallery database. She assists in recruiting and managing volunteers.
The database was a mess, Mira fixed it! She created the newsletter from scratch and in addition has established a good working relationship with the local newspaper, the Lowell SUN.
Mira helped us with press release, created a social networking site which has over 500 fans, worked on our monthly newsletter and multiple fundraisers.
In addition, Mira joined several community projects, sent out a marketing survey to Gallery members, and, over Labor Day weekend, participated in the Bumpkin Island Artists Encampment over Labor Day Weekend. She also coordinated the Jazz Brunch, our annual fundraiser.
We did not get the completed manual for future training, but as a result of Mira’s work, we have much more visibility and are growing in terms of members and programming.
Impact Quote:
“Mira was devoted even outside the job, she harnessed many relationships for the gallery that otherwise would not have been here. As a result we got more people interested in our gallery and diverse programming.”
- Y Sok Woodward, supervisor
Third Coast Conference
When:
October 28, 2010 - October 30, 2010
Where:
Chicago, IL Ready to spend two + days with hundreds of fellow producers, artists, students, and audio enthusiasts, talking shop about radio/audio storytelling on the airwaves and beyond? Ready to come together, listen to each other’s work, share ideas and expertise, and make priceless connections with future colleagues and new friends?
Thought so. This fall marks our tenth (!) anniversary, and we hope you’ll celebrate with us over the course of another radio-drenched weekend here in Chicago.
BIMA.fest
When:
August 26, 2010 - August 28, 2010
Where:
Baltimore, MD Baltimore Independent Music & Arts Festival is a 3-day, multi venue festival taking place for the first time on August 26th-28th. 2010, as we bring you three nights of performances from regional and national recording artists, plus special events featuring visual arts and film, as well as music seminars on Saturday August 28th. We anticipate that there will be more than 140 performing artists playing at 10 different venues in Baltimore. More than 125 artists are already confirmed.
“Art, Access & Action: The Moral Imperative?” (A Major Arts & Media Summit in Chicago)
When:
April 8, 2010 - April 9, 2010
Where:
Chicago, IL Welcome.
This year a bunch of groups, organizations, and individuals will be coming together to host a major arts & media summit in Chicago. The Summit will be held at Columbia College Chicago and happen on April 8th and 9th from 10 am to 9 pm on both days.
Here is a list of organizations and individuals involved:
PEOPLE
Jeff Biggers, author of “Reckoning at Eagle Creek”
Elisa Kriesinger, PoliticalRemixVideo.com
Patrick Lichty, member of the Yes Men/Columbia College instructor
Kari Lydersen, In These Times contributing editor
2009 National Arts Marketing Project Conference
When:
October 30, 2009 - November 2, 2009
Where:
Providence, RI The National Arts Marketing Project, a program of Americans for the Arts, is offering a conference for individual artists and the organizations that serve them. With a superhero theme, the conference offers:
Release your inner superhero and learn how you can save the day when it comes to marketing, sponsorship, and fundraising!
Leaping tall buildings in a single bound may take superpowers, but reaching patrons, sponsors, and funders just takes hard work and collaborAction— working jointly with others to increase visitors, audiences, and revenue.