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.

Examining the Role of Student Loan Debt, Race, and Ethnicity in the Careers Choices of Arts Graduates
Presenters: Antonio C. Cuyler, Richard J. Paulsen
Recent research by Albana (2022) and Paulsen (2024) has found that student debt negatively impacts the likelihood that college graduates with degrees in the arts pursue work in the creative sector. As systemic racism has led to significantly lower wealth levels for global majority populations in the United States, we hypothesize that global majority arts graduates accumulate more student debt, and that this debt inhibits their transitions into working in the creative sector following graduation. We use National Survey of College Graduates data to estimate regressions to test these hypotheses. Relative to White arts graduates, we find that Black arts graduates are nearly 20% more likely to have taken out student loans to fund their degrees. Among those that borrowed, Black graduates borrowed on average about $5,000 more. Black arts graduates are over 12% less likely to work in jobs closely related to their degrees relative to White graduates. Student loan debt explains nearly 15% of this gap in differences.

Diminishing the Starving Artist Trope
Presenters: Bex Ferrell, Heather McDonald
The stereotype of the "starving artist" has long pervaded the arts, discouraging many talented individuals from fully pursuing their creative passions. However, the modern arts landscape offers more opportunities than ever before through the gig economy, freelance work, and digital platforms. To ensure that our students are prepared to navigate this evolving field, our curriculum must expand beyond traditional artistic instruction to include essential professional skills, including entrepreneurial strategies, self-promotion, digital marketing, and financial planning within arts programs. Additionally, critical legal aspects such as contract negotiations, intellectual property rights, unionization, and advocating for fair compensation should be integrated into arts programs. These components are essential in safeguarding artists' rights and helping them achieve long-term success.
 
This presentation explores practical ways to equip our students with the tools and knowledge necessary to build a sustainable and fulfilling career in the arts. Emphasizing the bridge between creative expression and practical career management, we will discuss how to better prepare the next generation of artists for both the creative and business aspects of the industry. A robust group discussion will follow to explore these ideas and share insights on fostering a comprehensive approach to arts education.

Artists’ and Creative Workers’ Challenges and Resilience from 2020 - 2023
Presenter: Rachel Skaggs
We are now more than four years out from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and emerging evidence shows a somewhat more positive set of outcomes for people working in the arts and creative industries compared to initial catastrophic impacts (Skaggs, Novak-Leonard, and Barbee 2024). This presentation draws from 94 interviews with U.S. artists and creative workers, answering the following questions: In what ways do artists and creative workers see themselves as having been resilient since the onset of the pandemic? If they do not see themselves as resilient, what has hindered their resilience? Findings indicate that the impact of the pandemic on these artists and creative workers were incredibly varied, with many experiencing challenges or setbacks and many reporting significant positive outcomes in their professional and lives. The challenges faced by interviewees were most frequently in maintaining their career path in the arts, insufficient work or pay, lack of social connectedness with professional community, and challenges with physical or mental health that impacted their work. Most artists and creative workers reported that they had been resilient since the pandemic began, citing examples of how they adapted and innovated in response to pandemic-era changes, especially in their approaches to digital ways of engaging in their creative work. For those who reported that they had not been resilient, the uncertainty, instability, and isolation that they have felt in their professional lives wore them down and kept them from feelings of resilience.

Exploring Innovative Evaluation Tools for Community Arts Programs
Presenter: Winter Phong
This presentation outlines a research initiative focused on developing innovative evaluation tools for community arts programs, amplifying marginalized voices. It reviews literature at the intersection of disability studies, community engagement, and arts management, preparing foundational work for a proposed Fulbright project aimed at enhancing inclusivity and participant engagement.

Building Emotional Intelligence in Arts Administration: A Pedagogical Approach
Presenters: Rachel Shane, Katie Mullen
This presentation explores the importance of integrating emotional intelligence (EI) instruction into undergraduate arts administration education. Recognized as an essential skill set for effective leadership and organizational management, emotional intelligence is particularly critical in the arts sector, where professionals navigate complex interpersonal relationships, manage diverse teams, and make thoughtful decisions under pressure.

The session will introduce the core components of emotional intelligence—self-awareness, empathy, teamwork, relationship management, and decision-making—emphasizing their relevance to arts administrators. Drawing on classical theories of emotional development and contemporary pedagogical approaches, the presentation will outline effective strategies for teaching these competencies in arts administration programs.

Particular focus will be given to experiential learning methods, such as practicums and internships, which allow students to practice and refine their emotional intelligence in professional environments. Practical examples of how to structure these experiences will be shared, highlighting methods for fostering students’ reflective practice.

Additionally, the presentation will discuss assessment strategies to measure students' emotional intelligence growth, including self-assessments, peer evaluations, and feedback from internship site supervisors. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas for implementing emotional intelligence education in their curricula, ensuring students graduate with the interpersonal skills and leadership capacities needed for success in the arts field.

The Arts Administrators Pipeline Fellowship: Exploring Auxiliary Pathways to Arts Leadership Training
Presenters: Maclain Hardin-Kurza, Milena Deleva
This issue-based presentation and discussion will examine the Arts Administrators Pipeline Fellowship, a 12-month program that partners early-career arts administrators with California nonprofit arts organizations, as an innovative model for arts administration career development. Through analysis of the program's development, implementation, and evaluation methods, we will explore how auxiliary educational pathways can effectively prepare future arts leaders and invite discussion on creating similar initiatives.