ASI announces presenters for 2nd 'Creative Professionals Exchange'

Arts Services Inc. (ASI) has announced the presenters for its second annual “Creative Professionals Exchange (CPX),” which will take place virtually on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 6-7. The conference will explore how artists and arts organizations can adapt to the current climate while being more inclusive of and accessible to the entire Western New York community.

A press release said, “Through a series of presentations, conversations and networking opportunities, CPX strives to help the arts industry evaluate their work and its impact on the community, consider which voices are missing, and find ways to include those voices in what they do. In addition, attendees can collectively consider ways to adapt and evolve their projects to stay relevant and viable during this challenging economic time.”

“The Western New York arts industry had an economic impact of $352 million in 2017 between audience spending and organization spending,” ASI Executive Director Jennifer Swan-Kilpatrick said. “The fact that half of our industry still can’t reopen at this time means there is a direct impact on other industries, like restaurants and other businesses. If organizations can’t find a way to adapt and survive this shutdown, their loss will be felt by the wider community for many years to come.”

ASI continued, “The last several months have also highlighted social injustices and the lack of inclusion of certain populations of the community. This year’s CPX conference is designed to bring these conversations to the forefront and help WNY’s arts and culture industry lead institutional systems change.”

The 2020 CPX presentation topics and presenters are:

• Adapting Programming for Individuals of All Abilities with Collaborative Community Missions
• Brainstorming as a Team Using Improv with Celine Krzan
• Building a Sustainable Arts Infrastructure with UB Arts Collaboratory
• Creative Placemaking for Rural Communities with Shake on the Lake
• Creating Access in Arts Education Through Collaborations with Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology and Explore Buffalo
• Emerging Arts Professionals Panel: The Future of the Arts Industry
• Furthering Equitable Representation in the Arts with Frontline Arts Buffalo
• Impact of the Arts and Using Arts for Community Change with Aitina Fareed-Cooke, Get Fokus’d Productions
• Inclusive Programming for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Communities with Irish Classical Theatre
• Intersectional Environmentalism, Art as Activism, and Fast Fashion with Alexis Oltmer and Julie Klein
• Reimagining Creativity in Response to Crisis with Artpark, Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, CEPA Gallery, and GObike Buffalo
• Theatre-Based Body Language Training for Police Officers with Shea’s Performing Arts Center and the Buffalo Police Department
• Using Animation to Support Veterans and Other Trauma Survivors with Rock or Something Animation
• Yoga and Mindfulness with Yoga for Every Body

Registration for the full two days is $75 per person. Options to register for one day and single sessions are also available. Scholarships are available through an application process.

Learn more or register for the conference at www.asiwny.org/creative-professionals-exchange

Arts Services Inc. (ASI) empowers the region's artists and arts organizations with connections to funding, learning opportunities, and community access to the arts. ASI is a resource hub for the Western New York arts and cultural sector.