'Artists On Creative Administration: A Workbook From The National Center For Choreography' Will Be Published This September

The National Center for Choreography-Akron (NCCAkron) has announced Artists on Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography, a new book edited by artist/cultural strategist Tonya Lockyer. This book features essays from and interviews with 30 artists and advocates from the dance and the performing arts worlds, sharing first-hand stories of creative administration in action through case studies, interviews, life tools, and experiments. Artists on Creative Administration will be published September 24, 2024, by The University of Akron Press as part of their NCCAkron Series in Dance.

Artists on Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography has been called "at once visionary and pragmatic...an inspiring read" (Naomi Jackson, PhD, author Dance, Human Rights and Social Justice, Professor, Arizona State University); "a joy and a challenge" (Liz Lerman, MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellow, and Institute Professor, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts); "a wonderful collection of essays that are in turn provocative, illuminating, moving, and occasionally hilarious" (Vu Le, NonprofitAF.com); and "a terrific new playbook for the times...a beacon for those ready to reimagine" (Tim Cynova, Principal, Work Shouldn't Suck). Click here for more praise and full quotes.

Artists and arts workers from across the U.S. reflect on how they challenge and create new approaches to the business of art. Through first-hand stories, the book pairs big topics with actionable tactics, addressing themes like agency, equity, activism, design-thinking, process, leadership, collaboration, family, ethics, and care. Provocative and candid essays and interviews expand our view of what creativity, leadership, and administration can be, as each chapter closes with experiments for the reader to try and adapt for their own thinking, work, and life. Artists on Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography emerged from NCCAkron's acclaimed Creative Administration Research program.

Tonya Lockyer, an award-winning artist, cultural strategist, and "key cultural changemaker" (Seattle Times), edited and contributed to Artists on Creative Administration. This is the second title in the University of Akron Press/NCCAkron Dance Series; the first was Shifting Cultural Power by Bay Area choreographer Hope Mohr, published in 2021.

National book tour events for 2024-2025 will be announced at a later date.

Artists on Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography includes contributions from:

• Nora Alami (Chicago, IL)
• Julia Antonick (Chicago, IL)
• Christy Bolingbroke (Akron, OH)
• Banning Bouldin (Nashville, TN)
• Yanira Castro (Brooklyn, NY)
• Maura Cuffie-Peterson (New York, NY)
• Katy Dammers (Brooklyn, NY)
• Michelle Fletcher (Lenapehoking / Brooklyn, NY)
• Raja Feather Kelly (Brooklyn, NY)
• Chelsea Goding-Doty (New York, NY)
• Miguel Gutierrez (New York, NY / Los Angeles, CA)
• Cherie Hill (Payómkawichum homeland/ Winchester, CA)
• Rosie Herrera (Miami, FL)
• Delphine Lai (San Francisco Bay Area, CA)
• Tonya Lockyer (Suquamish, WA)
• Makini (Durham, NC)
• Aaron Mattocks (Acra, NY)
• Jonathan Meyer (Chicago, IL)
• Rashaun Mitchell (New York, NY / Margaretville, NY)
• Hope Mohr (Ohlone Territory / San Francisco, CA)
• Dominic Moore-Dunson (Akron, OH)
• Cynthia Oliver (Urbana, IL / New York, NY)
• Karla Quintero (Ohlone Territory / Oakland, CA)
• Antonio Ramos (New York, NY / Puerto Rico)
• Silas Riener (New York, NY / Margaretville, NY)
• Amara Tabor-Smith (Oakland, CA)
• Kate Wallich (Los Angeles, CA)
• Marýa Wethers (Brooklyn, NY)
• Pioneer Winter (Miami, FL)
• Miranda Wright (Los Angeles, CA / Ivins, UT)

These contributors "work in rural and urban communities, within larger institutions and as independent cultural producers. They are founders of not-for-profits, leaders of multimillion-dollar businesses, and collectives carving paths beyond nonprofit and corporate models. They collaborate with small accessible venues, curated spaces, and with Alaska Airlines and Nike. They are new parents and elders. They are immigrants and second-generation activists." (Tonya Lockyer, Artists on Creative Administration).

The artists and arts workers of Artists on Creative Administration are creating new paths forward and sharing their learnings, struggles, and triumphs along the way.

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