Evening Session in Community Engaged Arts Presenting ft. Guest Speaker Katie Fahey

This session provides an overview of local institutional funders of the arts and tips for approaching them. How does one identify opportunities for support? What makes an application more competitive than others? What else does one need to consider? Katie shares her insights from both sides of the grants process in this increasingly challenging landscape for Bay Area artists.

About Our Guest:
Katie Fahey is Program Officer in the Kenneth Rainin Foundation’s Arts program. She is responsible for managing grantmaking activities, supporting new and experimental performances and programs, capacity building for arts organizations, and other strategic initiatives. Previously, Katie was managing director of the Red Poppy Art House. Prior to relocating to California, she held positions with the Art Institute of Chicago, the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs, as well as the Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C. She has also worked in galleries and as an arts consultant. Katie holds an MA in Arts Administration and Policy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BA in Political Science and English from Acadia University.

About the Professional Development Track Program:
On the 3rd Monday of every other month, the Red Poppy Art House invites guest artists, arts leaders, community organizers, and other creative thinkers, to share their experience and ideas on the work they are doing and the questions that we are exploring at the Red Poppy Art House. We like to open these presentation-discussions to artists, arts professionals, and others seeking to develop their skills and understanding of the arts ecosystem in relation to socially engaged arts presenting.

Focused on “community engaged arts presenting,” the Poppy’s Professional Development program centers around inquiry in:

– How can we best facilitate a space of encounter, an environment that connects both artists and people from different communities?
– What is the relationship/tension between art as a force for social transformation and art as a form of cultural entertainment that follows a consumer relationship (i.e. you buy a ticket and consume a show)?
– What are the different practical needs in different disciplines (i.e. dance as opposed to a music production), and how can we familiarize ourselves with them to better anticipate the needs of a particular collaboration? In other words, how do we become cross-disciplinary in our thinking?
– Seeing that social/professional relationships in the arts tend to fall along the dividing lines between artistic disciplines and genres, what are some strategies that can help intersect and cross-pollinate respective communities?
– How do we find new and creative ways of addressing issues around equity and access, particularly as we see them play out in our immediate community?

To learn more about the program, please click here.

This session is free and open to the public.

Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.