Arts Tune-Up in Torrance

Calling artists and arts administrators in and around Torrance! Join us at a FREE morning of networking and learning with the LA County Arts Commission. The Tune-Up will include an opportunity to participate in three 40-minute roundtable sessions on a variety of topics. Visit info tables and continue conversations with colleagues between sessions!

Roundtable session descriptions:

Getting Your Sh*t Together (GYST) 
Presented by Karen Atkinson 
Investing in yourself as a creative individual is the best thing you can do for your career. Introducing GYST and its motto: “making life better for artists” (including those who run organizations)! This session will cover the steps to GYSTing, including where to find free resources on everything from securing loans to finding a workspace, software to help you organize using sustainable business principles, steps to get your own career up-and-running and helpful tips that just make life easier.

Navigating the Gig Economy
Presented by Pete Galindo
The gig economy -- with its emphasis on freelancers, temps, and contract workers – is exploding. While its flexibility is undoubtedly appealing to many, it can also appear daunting. This session will explore how to make this new economic model work for you, with particular focus on the needs and ambitions of creatives. Learn how to juggle multiple gigs while maintaining your sanity – and how to make the most of the opportunities available in our increasingly entrepreneurial world.

Getting Started in Practicing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Presented by Patricia Garza
As artists and arts administrators we need to be aware of how changing demographics are impacting our field. This session will begin a conversation around current equity, diversity, and inclusion practices including examining language and vocabulary and understanding the intersectionality of identity. We will start to unpack these large ideas together and leave with deeper questions, new concepts, and first steps of how to deepen awareness around these important topics.

Branding Development & Management
Presented by Brittany Gash
In this crash course, you will learn how to craft and develop a solid and recognizable brand that aligns directly with your artistic and/or organizational goals. You will also leave with an understanding on how to develop long term marketing strategies that differentiate your brand from your competition. Discussion topics include brand elements, appealing to your target audience, brand audits and tips for brand leveraging and promotion.

Advocacy 101: Take Action
Presented by Karen Louis
We play a significant role in the change we hope to see in the world. Our work as advocates takes place not only locally, but also at the state and federal levels. In this workshop, participants will explore their potential as change-makers and leaders in the world, and also dive into easy ways to take action and ignite change.

Successful Grantwriting Strategies for Emerging Nonprofits
Presented by Marie Kellier
Do you feel like you spend more time grantwriting than developing your programs? Or do you feel so discouraged by the process that you pass on grant opportunities altogether? This session will empower you with best practices designed to help you focus your efforts, maximize efficiency, build and maintain fruitful relationships with funders, and ultimately develop an effective grantwriting infrastructure for your organization. We will also discuss new trends in institutional philanthropy, and how to take advantage of your organization's cultural assets in this new, competitive environment.

Social Practice: Bringing Art to the Public Sphere
Presented by Chelo Montoya
This session engages art practitioners and interested community members in a conversation about social practice. With the rising demand for community engagement in grant funded projects, social practice has become a core element in creative placemaking initiatives. In this session, we will discuss examples of current works and practices that offer effective strategies and information about artists’ approaches to working in the public sphere, and how community members can best advocate for effective use of allocated resources.

Tools & Tips for Creative Negotiation & Conflict Resolution
Presented by Rebecca Ruschell
How we respond to, manage conflict, and negotiate both internally and externally, will often determine how well we function in our personal, professional, and creative lives. In this session, you will learn a robust combination of negotiation, de-escalation and communication tools and techniques. The goal is to provide practical tools and tips that empower you with effective, creative methods to resolve a broad variety of conflicts.

Many Seats at the Table: How to Foster Collaboration Between and Across Artists, Organizations and Regions
Presented by Griselda Suarez
Collaboration between artists and arts organizations continues to be trendy… and difficult to achieve. If you’re eager to band together with others in your community, but unsure of how to start, this session is for you! Using the case study of the Arts the Council for Long Beach's efforts to add more residents, artists and arts leaders “to the table” for public art projects, this session will walk through strategic, programming and developmental actions needed to foster diverse participation for the benefit of a broader goal.

Building Meaningful Cross-Sector Partnerships: A Case Study
Presented by Diana Toledo
What does it look like when an arts organization partners with a non-arts organization, not to meet an operational or administrative need, but around its core creative work? And what does creative placemaking look like on the ground, in the weeds? This session will deconstruct CONTRA-TIEMPO's multi-year partnership with Community Coalition in South L.A. to share the vision, the value, the challenges, and the lessons learned from doing powerful work at the intersection of dance, social justice, and community-building.

Budgeting Basics
Presented by Brandon Turner
Do not be afraid. Budgets can be fun. They can be a time to think of all the possibilities for the next year, consider clearly any changes that need to be made and provide you with the narrative to impress your board and funders, please your accountants and give your staff peace of mind. This session will focus on your chart of accounts and how to develop realistic project and organizational budgets. We will also discuss the art of crafting grant budgets and the importance of tracking cash flow. Sample budgets will be provided.