Overview
Voza Rivers, executive producer and founding member of the New Heritage Theatre Group, joins author Donna Walker-Kuhne for a conversation based on her latest book, Champions for the Arts; Successful Strategies for Engaging Dynamic Communities in conjunction with the Library for the Performing Arts’ new exhibition, Syncopated Stages: Black Disruptions to the Great White Way. Ribers and Walker-Kuhne discuss the importance of archival work and exhibitions like Syncopated Stages, their distinguished career histories, and community-engaged theater-making practices to celebrate the publication of Champions for the Arts.
Patrons are strongly encouraged to visit and explore our Syncopated Stages Exhibition prior to the program; the exhibition is free and open to the public, and will be on view at the library all day from when we open at 10:30AM!
About the Book
Considered the nation’s foremost expert in audience development, Donna Walker-Kuhne has spent her career developing successful strategies for increasing access to the arts. Over the past ten years, Walker-Kuhne has traveled to over 100 U.S. cities and 5 continents to give lectures, workshops, and keynotes specifically focused on community engagement. This guide synthesizes her findings from the last decade into an accessible text that provides sustainable, measurable community engagement strategies for leaders in the arts community—with a specific focus on ways to drill deeper into issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity. Including case studies from around the world that offer models for creating sustainable audiences and membership, Walker-Kuhne offers a practical yet visionary way of thinking about community engagement in the arts as a vehicle for social change.