Reporting Live from AFTA’s National Arts Marketing Project Conference

Well, I’m down in sunny, breezy Miami, FL, enjoying the warm weather and the Americans for the Arts NAMC. It’s been a busy two and a half days of conferencing, and I just wanted to take a minute and share a few cool things I’ve learned while here:

• According to a survey conducted this past March by FireSpring (I think), when asked whether they use a particular medium more or less this year than the last, an average of 52% responders indicated that they were using the Internet more. Every other medium (radio, print, newspapers, television) all showed a decrease. Now, more than ever, organizations must put time, money and deep consideration into their Web presence.
• The Philadelphia Orchestra is working in conjunction with Internet2 to stream real time content into educational venues around the world, giving viewers an inside and behind the scenes look into the concert unfolding live before their eyes. The have completed a pilot program, and plan to launch a more wide-spread, sustainable program soon. For more information, you can read their press PDF by clicking here.
• Bijan’s on the River here in Miami makes a HUGE plate of paella (6’ or 7’ wide?) for parties. It was spectacular.

Well, that’s all for me. I’ve got to grab a bite, hop on a flight, and head back to wonderful, but cold, Pittsburgh, PA.

For more information about AFTA's NAMC, please visit: http://www.artsusa.org/events/2007/abc/namc/default.asp

Ahhh intentions.

It's been almost three weeks since the 2007 Technology in the Arts conference and, I'm sure you're wondering, what happened to the Technology in the Arts blog!? Well, my friend, you're not alone. I've been wondering the same thing. Particularly when I'm dozing off to sleep after another long hectic day and it pops into my head that, once again, I haven't written anything.

Rest assured that things have not really slowed down that much on the Conference side of things at CAMT. We've been busy making all the session evaluations electronic, determining how best to analyze our results, tying up all the lose monetary ends (event planners, I know you feel my pain), and, well, generally cleaning up. (Don't you like how I tell you to rest assured? I'm sure all of you were having panic attacks over whether or not we were working on the conference!)

Oh, and there's been one other tiny, little, minor change: I've moved to San Francisco. That's right. I'm actually sitting and writing this now from the City by the Bay. This transition has been a long time in the coming, and I'm delighted to say that the new ED of CAMT is a phenomenal man and one who loves the arts and technology... David Dombrosky.

In fact, David and Jerry Coltin are going to meet up with me here in SF tomorrow and Friday for a good old fashioned brain dump. Then, David will start full-time at CAMT on November 26. I, on the other hand, am starting an arts management consulting firm and my first client is... wait for it... CAMT! For whom I will be running both the Technology in the Arts conference in Pittsburgh as well as our new sister conference in Waterloo, Ontario.

Now that you're fully in the know, feel free to stop stressing over the terrible, terrible lack of blog postings at your favorite blog. And feel free to drop us a note... Particularly if you attended this year's event! We'd love to hear what you thought, and any ideas you have for making the event even better next year!

Technology in the Arts: Post-Conference Wiki

Elizabeth Perry, one of our Technology in the Arts 2007 presenters, was kind enough to set up a wiki site for post-conference discussion. You can access the wiki at http://tita.pbwiki.com/.

The site is public, and the password is tita2007.

Please post any interesting conference follow-up information. If you were a presenter this year, please also post a way for people to access your session content. A great way to do this is by using SlideShare. It's easy... and free!

Logistical information for TitA 07 Attendees

Hello TitA 2007 Attendees! We are very excited to welcome you to Pittsburgh this week for the 2007 Technology in the Arts conference. This email contains information to help you with orienting yourself and getting around during the conference. If you have any questions that aren’t answered here, feel free to email me (cmorrow@cmu.edu), Brad (bstephenson@cmu.edu) or Josh (jfutrell@cm.edu) with any questions or concerns.

Conference Hosts:

Technology in the Arts is made possible by the generous contributions of time and expertise of members of the arts community around the country. Event volunteers and CAMT staff will have the designation “HOST” on their nametags. Seek out these wonderful people at any time if you have questions.

Preconference:

Those of you registered for the pre-conference tours to the Entertainment Technology Center and the Pittsburgh Glass Center should plan to be on the CMU campus in time to check in and orient yourself before the 1:00 departure time. Please see the shuttle information below, in the “getting to and from the CMU campus” section. The shuttle will leave from the front of Hamburg Hall at 1:00.

If you’re participating in the Heinz School Career Services mock interviews and lunch prior to the tour, you will be directed to the shuttle pick up point following lunch.

Birds of a Feather dinners:

Anyone registered for the conference is welcome to join us for our dutch treat Birds-of-a-Feather dinners on Thursday evening. We will be meeting in the main lobby of the Omni William Penn Hotel at 6:30 p.m. A CAMT staff member will be serving as the host for each of the interest groups, will be posted in the lobby at 6:30 with a sign, and will escort your group to its designated restaurant.

If you haven’t indicated an area of interest for the dinner, don’t worry! Just plan to meet us in the lobby of the Omni at 6:30 and we’ll get you taken care of.

Getting to and from the CMU campus:

The Technology in the Arts conference takes place on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University. The majority of programming will be held in Hamburg Hall (the same building as last year), with the keynote and plenary lectures in the University Center. The campus is in a different neighborhood than the hotel, which is downtown.

We have Technology in the Arts shuttles that will be running throughout the conference between the Omni William Penn Hotel (downtown) and Hamburg Hall on the Carnegie Mellon University campus (Oakland).

THURSDAY: 8:45 – first shuttle to campus departs from the Omni William Penn 1:00 – pre-conference tours shuttle departs from Hamburg Hall 1:15 – last shuttle to the hotel departs from Hamburg Hall

FRIDAY: 8:30 a.m. – first shuttle to campus departs from the Omni William Penn 7:30 p.m. – last shuttle to the hotel departs from Hamburg Hall

SATURDAY: 8:30 a.m. – first shuttle to campus departs from the Omni William Penn 6:30 p.m. – last shuttle to the hotel departs from Hamburg Hall

Internet Access:

We have arranged for all Technology in the Arts conference attendees to have access to Carnegie Mellon’s wireless network throughout the event. Once you’re on campus, you may register your computer by opening a Web browser, and entering the following login information: USER ID: cc347 Password: Z!1xeqed

Flickr Site:

We encourage you to bring your digital cameras (or camera-enabled phones) to help us document the 2007 conference. To have all our images together we invite you to add your photos to our Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/tita/

If you don’t yet have a Flickr account, creating one is free and easy: http://www.flickr.com/. If you’re a Yahoo! member, you can use that ID to set up your Flickr account. Once your account is set up, you sign in and go to the TitA group page, join the group and then you can return to your photo pages and add any of your pics to the group.

Close out bash:

The closing party on Saturday will be held at the Andy Warhol Museum. The Museum is just blocks away from the hotel, and conference hosts will be escorting attendees from the hotel to the museum from 8:00 – 9:00. Look for the people with Technology in the Arts signs in the lobby. There is also a map to the museum located in your program book. Everyone registered for the conference may attend the party.

The VIP dinner preceding the party will be held at Bossa Nova (the same location as last year’s VIP dinner). I and another CAMT staff member will be meeting up with everyone attending the dinner in the lobby of the Omni at 6:00. We will depart for Bossa Nova at 6:15. If you haven’t already purchased tickets to the dinner, you may do so at the registration desk when you arrive.

Should you need it later, this information is available in the program book you’ll receive when you check in at Hamburg.

Don't miss the early-bird rate!

Just a quick, friendly reminder that the Early Bird registration deadline is coming up fast… less than two weeks away! Register by August 19 to take advantage of the lowest registration rate.

Our Latest Sponsor - The School of Visual Arts

We are pleased to announce our most recent Quality Assurance sponsor, the School of Visual Arts (SVA).

Based in New York City, the SVA has been providing high quality art education for more than 60 years.

Check out their Web site for more information.

Thank you, SVA, for your valuable contribution to the conference!

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It was a wonderful two weeks for Technology in the Arts...

...with the addition of two partners.

The ArtsTech Award Ceremony & Reception is exclusively sponsored by ERC Systems, a California based creator of artist registries and online event calendars. Read more about their services at www.ERCSystems.com.

The VIP Dinner is graciously supported by Fig Leaf Software, a software provider and technology consultant firm based out of Washington, DC. More information about their products and services may be found at www.figleaf.com.

CAMT staff thanks both of these organizations for their support of the conference and is pleased to include them in the array of exciting programming coming this fall.

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If you're coming to the conference...

...don't forget to join us as we kick things off on October 11 with a tour of two Pittsburgh arts organizations:

• The Pittsburgh Glass Center - In honor of Pittsburgh's 2007 celebration of glass art (www.pittsburghcelebrates.org), we'll take a tour of this 16,000-square-foot glass art facility and be treated to a glass-blowing demonstration.
• The Entertainment Technology Center - This state-of-the-art technology training center at Carnegie Mellon University offers a two-year Masters of Entertainment Technology degree, jointly conferred by Carnegie Mellon University's College of Fine Arts and School of Computer Science.

Pre-conference also includes the "Birds of a Feather" affinity dinner. Be sure to sign up for this fun-filled afternoon for only $50 when you complete your online conference registration.

CAMT Partners with Historic Pittsburgh Hotel

CAMT is proud to announce its Technology in the Arts conference partnership with the Omni William Penn Hotel in Downtown Pittsburgh. Located close to all conference activities, as well as a wide array of cultural and dining experiences, the Omni William Penn will be offering special rates to Technology in the Arts attendees. View more information about our partner hotel.

Conference Registration Now Open!

CAMT is pleased to inform you that early bird registration for Technology in the Arts 2007 is now open! Don’t miss this opportunity to attend the conference at the low advance rate of only $160, which gets you two days filled with interesting sessions, workshops, exhibitors and hands-on activities. And for just $50 more, you can join us for some exciting pre-conference fun on October 11, including site visits and the “Birds of a Feather” affinity group dinner.

Register online now!

(Please note: If you attended the conference last year, you can log in with your existing account.)

Also, the Technology in the Arts 2007 scholarship application is now live as well. Through the generous support of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, attendees residing in Pennsylvania may apply for a travel and/or registration scholarship.

Please let us know if you have any questions about registration, scholarships or the conference in general.

We look forward to seeing all of you in October!