Creative Minds Out Loud

Susan Wissler, Executive Director of The Mount, shares her experience of bringing an organization back from the precipice, and how retiring its $9M debt helped its community rethink what a historic home can be. Susan Wissler joined The Mount in 2001 as Vice President and became Executive Director in 2008. Ms. Wissler graduated from Brown … Continue reading "Episode 57: Mounting a Comeback for Edith Wharton’s Legacy"

Revolution 250 is a consortium of organizations working together to commemorate the 250th anniversaries of the events that led to American Revolution. Over the coming 10 years, they will explore the history of the American Revolution and the ways that this remarkable story still resonates today. Last fall, we spoke with Reverend Steve Ayres, Vicar … Continue reading "Episode 56: Reconnecting to America and What It Stands For"

Zakiya Thomas, Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Executive Director of Education, Community Engagement and Inclusion, discusses how evaluation and accountability are key for institutions seeking to reach new audiences. She says the same rigor that organizations apply to visitor experience or to the quality of work on display needs to also be applied around how that organization … Continue reading "Episode 55: Generate and Cultivate Engagement"

Peter DiMuro, Executive Director of The Dance Complex and Artistic Director of Peter DiMuro Public Displays of Motion, says there are many reasons to come to movement. He discusses how the act of creating dance brings people together and plays with leadership and followership, essential ideas for working on a team wherever you are – … Continue reading "Episode 54: Demystifying the Dance Process"

Jessica Allan, former City Planner for Easthampton, MA, discusses the trajectory of the city’s work to identify and cultivate Easthampton’s unique culture and artists, and bring them to the forefront of the local economy. Jessica Allan has been with MBL Housing & Development since December 2017, and has over 17 years’ experience in land use … Continue reading "Episode 53: Unearthing and Cultivating a Hidden Economy"

In 2018 the first casino in Massachusetts opens in Springfield. Tina D’Agostino, President of the Springfield Performing Arts Development Corporation, joined us last year to discuss what the addition of a casino could mean to the city, its performing arts centers, and their audiences. Tina D’Agostino is the President of Springfield Performing Arts Development Corporation … Continue reading "Episode 52: Performing Arts Centers Make Ready for First Casino in MA"

Patrick Norton is Executive Director of the Narrows Center for the Arts, a regional destination for the visual and performing arts. He discusses the Narrows’ contribution to the Fall River community and their arts therapy program for developmentally delayed adults. Patrick Norton has been involved with the Narrows Center for the Arts for 21 years … Continue reading "Episode 51: Wide Perspective at the Narrows"

Edmund Barry Gaither, Director of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, says this moment in Roxbury is “a moment of becoming.” He discusses work underway by Elma Lewis Partners and the recently-designated Roxbury Cultural District to use economic development to gift a community with a first-rate cultural and educational institution by 2020. Edmund Barry Gaither … Continue reading "Episode 50: Mission-Driven Commercial Development Afoot in Roxbury"

Julie Lichtenberg, Director of The Performance Project, and Artistic Director of First Generation Ensemble, discusses their approach to creative youth development work, including their commitment to inclusion and peer mentoring. The Performance Project’s First Generation brings together young adults ages 14-23 for intensive artistic training, leadership development, and inter-generational mentoring. Forming an artistic ensemble, the … Continue reading "Episode 49: Youth Community Built on Firsts"

Wrapped inside the cozy neighborhoods of a leafy mill town in Boston’s Metro West, Maynard’s downtown is a dynamic micro-city. Tim Hess, an architect and former chair of the Maynard Cultural Council, shares the journey undertaken to create what is now Maynard’s Assabet Village Cultural District. Timothy Hess, AIA, CNU-A, SEED Tim Hess is a … Continue reading "Episode 48: Cultural District as Framework for Unifying Community Vision"

Lois Hetland is a professor at MassArt who is among the nation’s leading scholars on the value of arts education. She discusses her research into the Studio Habits of Mind, eight dispositions that students develop through meaningful education in the visual arts. Lois Hetland, Ed.D., is Professor and Graduate Coordinator in the Art Education Department … Continue reading "Episode 47: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education"

New England has the largest per capita concentration of museums in the country. Dan Yaeger, Executive Director of the New England Museum Association, speaks to the health of the region’s museums and the systemic challenges museums face to diversify their staffs and boards. Dan Yaeger was named executive director of New England Museum Association in … Continue reading "Episode 46: Museums in the Face of Changing Communities"

Rose Sackey-Milligan is a Senior Program Officer at Mass Humanities and Academic Director of the Bard College Clemente Course in the Humanities, a college-level learning experience for adults whose aspirations for higher education and engagement with the humanities are thwarted by socioeconomic circumstances. She discusses the vital role of the humanities – philosophy, ethics, jurisprudence, … Continue reading "Episode 45: The Humanities Equip Us with Tools of Introspection & Analysis"

Todd Smith, the Interim Executive Director at the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, discusses the difficult process of closing a museum and the importance of a deaccession plan that supports the collection as well as the public good. Todd Smith uses his experience in education, corporate strategy, and nonprofit leadership to help organizations navigate … Continue reading "Episode 44: How to Responsibly Close a Museum"

Linda McInerney, Founder and Artistic Director of Eggtooth Productions, discusses their Full Disclosure Festival in Greenfield, MA, born of ‘blind dates’ between artists, climatologists, and anthropologists. Linda McInerney has worked for over 30 years as an actor, singer, director, and producer in New York and throughout New England, with credits including Circle Repertory Company and … Continue reading "Episode 43: An Artist, an Anthropologist, and a Climatologist Walk Into a Bar"