During this episode of Why Change? co-hosts Madeleine and Jeff discuss their change of personal and professional seasons, including Madeleine’s cross-sector work. Jeff shares his interview with Lisa Donovan which covers a broad array of topics from arts integration to community development, network building, and even professional learning. Madeleine and Jeff discuss the asset-based approaches of cross-sector work, the strength of practitioners at the intersections, and inherent knowledge of rural communities.

In this episode you’ll learn:
The expansive role of the arts intersecting with numerous sectors of community life;
How arts education and arts management practices lead the way in cross-sector dialogues; and
The multitude of ways cultural practitioners can advance dialogues about social change through multi-sector advocacy.

Check out some of the things mentioned during this podcast, including: 
Voices from the field: Teachers’ views on the relevance of arts integration
Shell Education books on Arts Integration by Lisa Donovan
Teacher as Curator: Formative Assessment and Arts-Based Strategies
Leveraging Change—Increasing Access to Arts Education in Rural Areas
The Berkshire County Blueprint for Arts Integration and Education
Berkshire Regional Arts Integration Network (BRAINworks)
Berkshire Cultural Asset Network (BCAN)
Think Like A Region TED Talk

ABOUT LISA DONOVAN:

Lisa Donovan, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Fine and Performing Arts Department at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. A theater artist, educator, administrator and researcher. Before joining MCLA Lisa was  the Director of the Creative Arts in Learning Division at Lesley University. She has a broad range of experience in a variety of arts organizations including: Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the Berkshire Opera Company, Barrington Stage Company, University of Massachusetts Department of Theater, as well as Boston University's Theater, Visual Arts, and Tanglewood Institutes. She was formerly the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Alliance for Arts Education, has served as co-principal investigator of a research project funded by the Ford Foundation that focused on teachers' perspectives on the relevance of arts integration. Lisa has taught internationally in Japan and Israel, and throughout the United States. She is co-editor of a new book series on arts integration published by Shell Education including Integrating the Arts Across the Content Areas (2012), Strategies to Integrate the Arts in Mathematics (2013) and Strategies to Integrate the Arts in English Language Arts (2013)

This episode was produced by Jeff M. Poulin. The artwork is by Bridget Woodbury. The audio is edited by Katie Rainey. This podcasts’ theme music is by Distant Cousins. For more information on this episode and Creative Generation please visit the episode’s webpage and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC

S3 Ep22: In, Through, and With the Arts with Lisa Donovan

During this episode of Why Change? co-hosts Ashraf and Jeff discuss their latest news and how we remain connected as colleagues. Jeff shares his conversation with Dr. Peter O‘Connor from the Centre for the Arts and Social Transformation at the University of Auckland. They discuss the role of the arts in human development, recovery, and wellbeing. Ashraf and Jeff conclude their thoughts and intergenerationality, the role of the arts in schools, and the social responsibility of evolving our communities. 

In this episode you’ll learn:
About the role of the arts in social transformation;
How teaching artists can build and impact communities; and
The ways in which artists and academics can integrate their work to advance discourses for our sector.

Check out some of the things mentioned during this podcast, including: 
The Centre for the Arts and Social Transformation at the University of Auckland
Te Rito Toi
International Teaching Artists Conference 7
Allison Russell: The transmogrification of trauma into art


ABOUT PETER O’CONNOR: 

Professor O’Connor is the Director of the Centre for Arts and Social Transformation, The Centre researches on the possibilities for the arts to create more socially just and equitable worlds. He is an internationally recognised expert in making and researching applied theatre and drama education. He has made theatre in prisons, psychiatric hospitals, earthquake zones and with the homeless. . His work in Christchurch schools following the series of earthquakes led to UNESCO funded research and programme development and the development of the Teaspoon of Light Theatre Company which then worked in Mexico City after major earthquakes in 2017. Peter's most recent research includes multi and interdisciplinary studies on the creative pedagogies and the arts, the nature of embodied learning and the pedagogy of surprise. In 2019 the play he directed with the Hobson Street Theatre Company, New Zealand's only theatre company for people who are or have been homeless, won the Arts Access Creative New Zealand Community Arts Award. He continued his theatre making with the homeless at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in conjunction with the Skid Row Housing Trust. In 2020 He was presented with the President's Award by Drama New Zealand for his life long contribution to Drama education and social justice. He led the development of Te Rito Toi, an on line resource to support the return to schools during COVID 19 by using an arts and well being approach. Used in 120 countries around the world, the site had over 280,000 page views in its first month of use.  He leads the University of Auckland team working alongside the Sir John Kirwan Foundation on a mental health education approach for Primary schools.

This episode was produced by Jeff M. Poulin. The artwork is by Bridget Woodbury. The audio is edited by Katie Rainey. This podcasts’ theme music is by Distant Cousins. For more information on this episode and Creative Generation please visit the episode’s webpage and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC

S3 Ep23: Intergenerational Revolutionary Practice with Peter O’Connor

During this episode of Why Change? co-hosts Karla and Jeff discuss their approach to the fall and winter of harvesting and rest. Jeff shares his discussion with Natlie Elam and Bronwyn Mauldin about their new report “Agents of Change: Young Adult Advisory Councils at Arts and Culture Nonprofits.”  The discussion covers diverse topics of intergenerationality, intentionality, and our commitments to evolution.

In this episode you’ll learn:
The findings of a new report about young adult advisory councils in arts and culture organizations;
How intergenerational research can be conducted successfully; and
Why evolutionary practice must be embedded throughout knowledge exchange in the arts and culture sector.

Check out some of the things mentioned during this podcast, including: 
Agents of Change: Young Adult Advisory Councils at Arts and Culture Nonprofits
Democratize Your Data zine by Bronwyn Mauldin
Practicing Equitable Intergenerational Collaboration by Jeff M. Poulin
https://www.lacountyarts.org/learning/research-evaluation/research-lab  and 
http://www.bronwynmauldin.com

About Natalie Elam & Bronwyn Mauldin 

Bronwyn Mauldin is Director of Research and Evaluation at the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture where she leads a team that utilizes data and research methods to strengthen the arts ecology and ensure all residents have equitable access to the arts. She has conducted studies on salaries, benefits, and volunteers in local arts nonprofits. She co-led creation of the Arts Ed Profile, collecting K-12 arts education data from all 80 public school districts in LA County and making it publicly available through an online interactive tool. She was a key instigator of the annual Arts Datathon, and she is adjunct faculty in the arts administration master’s program at Claremont Graduate University. Ms. Mauldin has spent her career conducting applied research and evaluation for nonprofits, philanthropies, and government. She has evaluated farmworker programs, studied employment conditions for truck drivers, analyzed apprenticeship opportunities in healthcare, and researched villager organizing in rural northeast Thailand. Ms. Mauldin is a novelist, poet, and zine maker, and has been a writer in residence at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, Denali National Park in Alaska, and Kulturni Centar REX in Belgrade, Serbia.

Natalie Elam is a research consultant at the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture and Annual Giving Communications Manager at Santa Clara University.  

Natalie holds a Masters of Arts in Arts Management from the Center For Business & Management of the Arts at Claremont Graduate University, where she graduated in December 2021. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art and a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from Santa Clara University in June 2019.

Outside of the professional sphere, Natalie enjoys traveling, volunteering, cooking, creating art, and reading.

This episode was produced by Jeff M. Poulin. The artwork is by Bridget Woodbury. The audio is edited by Katie Rainey. This podcasts’ theme music is by Distant Cousins. For more information on this episode and Creative Generation please visit the episode’s webpage and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC

S3 Ep24: Supporting Young Agents of Change with Natalie Elam and Bronwyn Mauldin

Creative Generation is a values-forward, global collective that believes youth create change. 

As artists, educators, administrators, researchers, storytellers, and activists, we collaborate with young creatives and those who cultivate their creativity to take local actions towards global change.

In alignment with our organizational values, we co-create projects that build capacity within individuals and organizations and support field-wide learning in pursuit of a more just world.

Creative Generation

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