Rural Arts Management Institute
a training program for rural arts leaders in the Upper Midwest
Octoer 2009 - April 2010
presented in partnership by
Arts Wisconsin and Northern Lakes Center for the Arts
at the Northern Lakes Center for the Arts, Amery, WI

Click here for the RAM Institute application form

The Rural Arts Management (RAM) Institute is a training and educational program designed to benefit artists and performers, organizational representatives, and creative entrepreneurs in rural communities throughout the Upper Midwest.

If you are a rural arts manager, administrator or entrepreneur, the Institute will help you increase your personal and organizational effectiveness and sustainability, understand the complexities involved, and develop comprehensive leadership skills to succeed now and in the future!

Six monthly sessions provide essential background information, skills, information, and connections needed to develop and manage entrepreneurial, successful, and sustainable arts, cultural and creative organizations in rural communities. The Institute gives participants training in thoughtful management theory and practical, applicable leadership experience, and help them learn to manage entrepreneurial, successful, and sustainable arts, cultural and creative organizations in rural communities.

The Institute is directed by LaMoine MacLaughlin, Director of the Northern Lakes Center for the Arts in rural Amery, WI, and will feature distinguished guest lecturers from Wisconsin and neighboring states. Participants receive a certificate from Arts Wisconsin recognizing successful participation.

2008-2009 dates and session details:

• Session #1, October 16-17, 2009: Understanding Community: Investigating what you bring to the unique challenges and opportunities relating to developing an arts organization in a rural community.
• Session #2, November 13-14, 2009: Building An Organization: Learning about organizational development, legal and tax issues and working with boards
• Session #3, January 15-16, 2010: From Planning Into Practice: Developing and evaluating programs.
• Session #4, February 12-13, 2010: Finding The Funding: Budgets, fund-raising and proposal development
• Session #5, March 12-13, 2010: Spreading The Word: Marketing, participant recruitment and advocacy.
• Session #6, April16-17, 2010: On Your Way: Completion of an Institute implementation plan and follow-up networks and resources.

All dates subject to change, depending on participants' schedules.

All sessions will take place at the Northern Lakes Center. All sessions begin w2 pm, Friday and conclude at 2 pm, Saturday. Enrollment in the Institute is limited to fifteen participants.

Costs/scholarships: The total cost of the Rural Arts Management Institute is $600 ($100/session), including lodging, food and materials for all sessions. Partial scholarships and flexible payment plans are available.

The Institute is made possible with generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Wisconsin Arts Board, and the Kohler Foundation.

About the Northern Lakes Center for the Arts:
The Northern Lakes Center for the Arts, established in 1989, is a nationally-recognized arts center located in northwest Wisconsin, and is a recipient of the Governor’s Award in Support of the Arts from the Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts. LaMoine MacLaughlin is co-founder and Executive Director of the Northern Lakes Center, an active musician and writer, Director of the Northern Lakes Chamber Orchestra, an instructor at the Northern Lakes School of the Arts, director of educational programs for the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts, and editor of The Hometown Gazette, the newspaper serving the Clayton, WI area.

About Arts Wisconsin: Arts Wisconsin, the state’s arts service and advocacy organization, believes that the arts are integral to the lives of the people of Wisconsin, and advocates and speaks up so that everyone in Wisconsin can have the opportunity to experience the arts. Arts Wisconsin serves Wisconsin’s creative community and the general public through advocacy and public policy, promotion and visibility, research and information, professional and leadership development, and strategic partnerships. Arts Wisconsin received the 2004 Governor’s Award in Support of the Arts from the Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts.

If you are interested in the RAM Institute for 2009-2010, contact Arts Wisconsin for more information: 608 255 8316 | akatz@artswisconsin.org.