Kansas City, Here We Come!

Dear NASAA members,

NASAA Assembly 2022, taking place his month in Kansas City, Missouri, is arguably the most highly anticipated gathering in NASAA’s history. We last convened as a full network in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2018. Since then, the world has changed dramatically, but our association remains strong, and our upcoming gathering is an important moment to reinforce that strength, to welcome new colleagues into the network and to celebrate our resiliency.

I am proud of the experience that the NASAA staff has designed for us in Kansas City, and I encourage you to immerse yourself in the Assembly’s presentations and roundtables, all curated to help you build capacity in serving your communities. Notably, Chair Maria Rosario Jackson of the National Endowment for the Arts will join us to share details of her vision for the agency and notes from her early days on the job. (Her Endowment colleagues will share space with us throughout the Assembly, too.)

In between Assembly sessions, please do make time for hallway elbow bumps, high-fives and hugs. And as you encounter members of the Mid-America Arts Alliance team (M-AAA), please consider saying a special thank-you and congratulations to them.

We are thanking M-AAA for hosting this Assembly in cooperation with all state arts agencies from the region. They are NASAA’s first-ever regionwide host team and we are grateful for their commitment to the conference—especially when the COVID-19 health environment made committing to anything difficult. We are congratulating M-AAA in recognition of the 50th anniversary it celebrates this year as our country’s first regional arts organization.

Related to the regional arts organizations, I am pleased to announce that for the first time—yes, another first—they are all collaboratively sponsoring this year’s Assembly. You will get to see them all—Arts Midwest, Mid Atlantic Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, South Arts, WESTAF and M-AAA—at the Assembly Opening Reception and thank them in person yourself.

As usual, the Assembly agenda includes an important association business meeting. NASAA’s Nominating Committee, with feedback from all state arts agency executive directors and council chairs, and NASAA’s Planning and Budget Committee have each prepared board-endorsed recommendations for a new strategic plan, 2023 action plan, annual budget and new board member slate. You will hear more details about these items and vote on them at the members’ Business Meeting—which is open for virtual participation this year on Saturday, September 24 at 11:15 a.m. Central. I hope you can attend.

And if beyond that business meeting you would like more insights about the work of NASAA’s board, please feel free to attend the NASAA board of directors meeting during the Assembly: Wednesday, September 21, 10:00 a.m. – 12 :00 p.m. and 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Central. It is open to all members, whether you would like to join in person or virtually.

Thank you for making time to participate in this year’s Assembly. I look forward to seeing you in Kansas City.

Until then,