Society for Arts Leadership Educators

Leading in a "Red State" Context: Adaptive Arts Leadership Competencies
Presenter: Joy Young
Now more than ever, there is a need for arts leaders who possess adaptive and practical leadership capacities - navigational capital necessary to flourish- especially those who reside in the southeastern U. S. within a cultural context that includes confederate history, enduring racism, and "red" state politics. In this issue presentation and discussion, we propose presenting issues arts leaders face in this kind of dynamic environment, discussing adaptive leadership practices, then inviting participants to contribute to ideas for developing adaptive arts leadership capacities in current and new arts administrators.

Critical Issues in Arts Leadership: A Practical Perspective
Presenters: Kristin Anne Danko, Morgan Wallace Gilbert
Leading Arts Administration: An Oral History Project presented an opportunity to interview alumni of the University of Kentucky’s Arts Administration programs on their chronological progression into an arts administration leader and impacts made throughout their career that shaped their leadership perspective. The findings of this grounded theory research brought about critical issues related to the power of relationship building, networking, and mentorship as avenues for growth of leaders in arts administration. The chronological nature of the interviews brought about insights from the practitioners into their introduction into the field of arts administration as well as many of their transitions from artist to arts leader. Insights into the theoretical perspectives of art leadership were built through a literature review focused on arts leaders and leadership styles. Through this, we found significant gaps in the literature relating to arts leadership in the United States. This issue presentation and discussion grounds the research in practitioner stories to focus on current leadership practices and trends in the arts, the significance of the research findings in practice, and opportunities for further research.