SHOWS

Difficult Conversations: The Secret to Great Collaborations (and how to avoid the Pitfalls)

Presented by Chicago Dancemakers Forum and the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture

Monday, February 06
6:00 PM — 9:00 PM
Claudia Cassidy Theater
FREE; reservations encouraged. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to make your reservation.

Panel Discussion: 6pm-7:30pm,
with reception to follow in the GAR rotunda: 7:30pm – 9:00pm

Collaboration. It’s a loaded word with a broad definition. Many times, these partnerships are happy and fruitful marriages (see Cage and Cunningham). Other times, they lead to bitter disputes (see Lennon and McCartney). We’ve probably all either heard or lived through a collaborative horror story. Most often, those are stories of artistic partnerships where emotions, egos and visions collide. Now, in addition to artistic collaborations, recent years have seen a large increase in structural collaborations. In an effort to be more efficient, and perhaps even to survive, arts organizations are building new partnerships, sharing resources, and even merging boards in efforts to financially stay afloat.

In an era when whole new scales of collaborations are cropping up and being funded all around us, this Difficult Conversations Salon asks questions about the nature of collaboration, and what does it take to keep these hybrid partnerships healthy? Hear from a variety of panelists – ones who have been in the trenches and those who are influencing and creating new partnership models.

Moderator: Peter Taub, Director of MCA Performance Programs

Panelists:
- Carla Peterson of New York Live Arts
- Dara Epison, University of Chicago
- Margi Cole, Flyspace Consortium
- Lane Alexander, Founder and Director of Chicago Human Rhythm Project a partner in the Collaborative Space for Sustainable Development (CSSD)

Difficult Conversations is part of a year-long Salon series of artist-driven talks presented by the Chicago Dancemakers Forum that seek to tackle tricky and provocative topics at the heart of today’s dancemaking field. The goal of these Salons is to create space for dialogue around the complex issues today’s dance artists face, with realism, honesty and a dash of hope. Difficult Conversations = No whining allowed. Just seeking solutions… Learn more at www.chicagodancemakers.org. This series is developed and presented in partnership with the Chicago Seminar on Dance and Performance, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, in partnership with the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture, Chicago Artists Resource, and Defibrillator.

For Zac Whittenburg’s recap of this event and to continue the discussion, click here.