In this episode of the Art + Climate series on the Tech in the Arts podcast, join AMT Lab's Lead Researcher Hannah Brainard and Social Media and Marketing Manager Ashley Offman in conversation with Molly Braverman, Director of the Broadway Green Alliance. Molly has worked as a Stage Manager on Broadway, national tours, and regionally, having spent three years on the road with the National Tour of Wicked and continuing to serve as a substitute Stage Manager on Wicked and Hamilton. Molly shares how her work at the Broadway Green Alliance has allowed each member of cast and creative team to be an agent of change in a way that fits their show's needs, how sustainability branches out beyond the environment, and the first step that every organization should take in their sustainability journey.
In this episode of the Art + Climate series on the Tech in the Arts podcast, hear from Sandra Goldmark, an Associate Professor in Theatre at Barnard College and the Senior Assistant Dean for Interdisciplinary Engagement at the Columbia Climate School. A professor, designer, and entrepreneur, Sandra’s work focuses on the circular economy and regenerative climate strategy. She is the founder of Fixup, a New York City-based pop-up repair shop, and the co-creator of the Sustainable Production Toolkit for performing arts organizations.
Can concerts mobilize music fans to climate action? From signing a petition or voting, to participating in a protest - what actions are fans most likely to take when their favorite artists ask them to? Over the last year, Planet Reimagined’s Climate Active Fellows, Caleb Johnson and Li-Ya Mar have been tackling these questions through their project “Amplify: How to Build a Fan-Based Climate Movement.” In this podcast, Caleb and Li-Ya talk with AMT Lab Lead Researcher Hannah Brainard about their research process, sharing some key findings and next steps.
In the second episode of AMT Lab’s Art + Climate podcast series, the conversation continues with Jennifer Torrance, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens’ Youth Climate Advocacy Committee (YCAC) Coordinator.
In this episode, she talks about her experience attending the recent United Nations Climate Conference, or COP28, with YCAC leader and University of Pittsburgh senior, Anna Bagwell. Though attending a COP conference may be “like trying to drink from a firehose,” Torrance unpacks what a day might look like - from meeting with your observer constituency group and sitting in on negotiations, to networking and other sessions.
Kicking off AMT Lab’s Art + Climate series, Lead Researcher Hannah Brainard talks with Jennifer Torrance, a science educator and the Youth Climate Advocacy Committee (YCAC) Coordinator at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. YCAC creates a space for Pittsburgh’s young people to take action on issues that they care about. In this unique program, students take on a variety of projects that unite their skills and interest in the climate movement. Recent projects include a water bottle photojournalism project, to developing curriculum for elementary students, and even an eco-fashion show.
Victoria is joined by Quincy Brown, a Social Media Associate at RPM, a full-service advertising agency for several Broadway musicals, to discuss marketing for theater and arts organizations. Conversations touched on how to usher the audience back to the arts post-covid, the viability of live streaming for the arts, the best social media platforms to grow engagement, and how to foster a sense of community through digital marketing.
In this episode contributor Reid Manning sits down with Charles Hugh, the founder and CEO of Voxpop Games, a peer to peer game distribution and development platform. Together, they discuss the launch of the Voxpop platform and their mission of supporting streamers and developers by utilizing profit sharing with marketing.
Dana Casto is the Director of Marketing and Communications at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music. Dana is primarily responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of a comprehensive program in public relations for the School of Music, which presents more than 300 concerts, recitals, special events and programs annually with numerous collaborations and partnerships in the Pittsburgh arts community. He recently talked to AMT Lab Contributor Sophia Hubeny about his favorite apps.
Sophia Hubeny: What are the apps do you use everyday and why do you like them?
Dana Casto: Beyond the usual Mail, iMessage, and Phone apps on iOS, I would be completely lost in my professional life without Asana for task management, 1Password for password management, and Evernote for note taking and brain-dumping ideas. I also rely heavily on Hootsuite for big-picture social media management for the School and Eventbrite Neon for checking in on ticket sales for our events. In my personal life, I love Flipboard, Feedly, and Pocket for keeping up with news, Google Maps for getting where I need to go, and Sunrise for my calendars (Sunrise was recently purchased by Microsoft and is being absorbed in to their Outlook iOS app - its great as Sunrise lets you share times on your calendar for easy scheduling with someone).
SH: Is there an app that has surprised you with its usefulness?
DC: I manage a team of five grad students in the School of Music who are all responsible for various day-to-day marketing activities. Asana has been a game-changer for us in that we all know what we are all working on at any given time and can get status updates. No more emails back and forth or folks not being in the loop. It’s all managed within Asana.
SH: Is there an app you think developers should be working on?
DC: I think it would be cool to have an augmented reality app for live music performances. Something that would show info about the ensemble, music being performed, or other fun facts. Kinda like a live version of VH1’s Popup Video but in real time.
SH: If you could recommend one app to arts managers, what would it be?
DC: So much of my work is done via email and online. Once I made the switch from not using email as a task manager and back to a communication device, my productivity went way up. For me and my team, Asana met my needs in making sure nothing was missed and we stayed on task. If you’re an arts manager that collaborates on projects with your colleagues, Asana is worth checking out.
Ceci Dadisman, Palm Beach Opera's Director of PR and Marketing, sat down with AMTLab to talk about her work and how she utilizes a variety of digital platforms to market more effectively and increase audience engagement. She also offered numerous tips about how arts organizations can get started in the world of new media.
Founder and CEO of TRG Arts, Rick Lester recently visited Carnegie Mellon University to discuss the implications of "big data" on arts organizations across the country. Afterward Rick sat down with Technology in the Arts to share insights on current trends in patron behavior, suggestions for new or under-resourced ventures, and desired skills for emerging arts managers. Listen in on our conversation through SoundCloud (above).
Last week, as part of the Master of Arts Management Speaker series, students had the unbelievable opportunity to listen to a talk on leadership by Terre Jones, president and CEO of Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. Terre sat down with me afterwords to discuss the importance of technology in the work done by Wolf Trap.
