Arts Innovation Summit

Welcome Remarks from Bryan Joseph Lee, Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

What happens when we stop thinking of innovation as something created within an organization and start looking at what becomes possible between organizations?

Drawing on her research that documented NYC-based Culture@3 during COVID and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, Tamara Keshecki explores how communication across silos and traditional power structures can build trust, move knowledge, and turn connection into collective action. She considers what happens when those bridges become a lasting form of sector infrastructure, and why the arts need to continue to invest in them to tackle today’s public policy challenges, from funding to ticketing reform.

Bringing together leaders from marketing, growth, development, data and operations, this panel will explore what we can learn when we look beyond our own roles, systems, and established ways of working. Through real-world examples, we’ll examine how new approaches, technology and integrations can remove friction, strengthen audience relationships, and improve organizational outcomes. Attendees will leave with practical ideas they can take back and apply within their own organizations.

What is a visit worth to your ticket buyers? How does the right price for the right seat at the right time encourage purchase as well as return visits? The answer lies in a focus on the value your organization brings to their community and aligning your pricing with those expectations.

In this session, we will guide you through the AEO frontier: what it means, why it matters, and how to make it work for your organization.

Dan will share quick wins and arts and culture-focused examples to help make your content „answer engine friendly.“ The result: showing up in AI overviews and chat results where audiences are asking questions, and turning those moments of curiosity into visitors.

True innovation isn’t just about what ends up on stage — it’s about how we build the containers, financial models, and operational structures that allow ambitious art to thrive. This session dives into the ways that three of NYC’s forward-thinking institutions are breaking the mold in their unique corners of the industry. We’ll cover the non-traditional business models, programming strategies, and organizational design that can enable you to make great art while maintaining stability.

There are no instruction manuals in moments calling for transformational change. When audiences and resource realities demand a new direction, big swings and bold moves are both deeply uncomfortable and absolutely essential. Tom O’Connor hosts this candid conversation about the realities of organizational change, and how leaders are testing new models needed for the future. The panel will transition into a facilitated discussion with the audience.

What sets the arts, culture, & performing arts apart from other non-profit organizations? Our community members “walk through our doors” and experience the impact of our work – first hand.

The experiential component of our work is our “super-power,” and our “audiences” aren’t thinking in binary “earned” vs. “contributed” revenue streams. In order for our orgs to build healthy, sustainable fundraising models, we need to embrace a “revenue is revenue” mentality in which everyone within our organizations is equipped to have impactful, informed, and candid conversations with current, lapsed, and potential donors.

Our panelists will share the journeys their respective organizations are on (& the successes they are experiencing!) as they embrace comprehensive collaboration, the importance of storytelling, and the role hospitality plays in building long-term donor relationships and sustainable growth.

We’ll explore both a birds-eye view of culture changes happening within these organizations, as well as some immediately actionable tips for this Fall Season and Year-End Giving.

When we approach innovation, most conversations start with what technology can do. In this session, we explore the benefits of starting that conversation with your organization’s needs and building out from there.

Jay and Barbara will speak candidly about the decisions they’ve gotten right and the ones they’d approach differently. They’ll cover why supplier searches driven by a single deficiency create blind spots, the importance of accessibility and how we can always strive to do better, and what changes once digital stops demanding constant attention.

You’ll walk away with a set of principles you can take away to apply to your own decision making.

We’ve spent years talking about the need for new business models, deeper collaboration, and more resilient organizations. The question now is: what are we actually going to do differently?

This conversation moves beyond the familiar challenges to the choices organizations and the wider sector can make now. What happens when we rethink where and how we sell tickets, challenge traditional approaches to season marketing and fundraising, break down the walls between internal teams, or choose to share knowledge with peers instead of guarding it? How can we borrow proven ideas from other industries, build unexpected partnerships, and create new routes to audiences and revenue?

Our panelists will challenge some of the assumptions that have shaped how our sector operates — and, importantly, share how they’re putting different approaches into practice. We’ll look at the role of arts, culture & in-person organizations, membership and service organizations, and technology partners in testing new models, connecting ideas across a global industry, and turning what works in one place into progress for many.

Resilience won’t come from talking about change. It will come from proving that there are different ways to work — and being willing to try them.