ANNUAL CONFERENCE ARCHIVE
WAA 2023
SEPTEMBER 5 - 8, 2023 | SEATTLE, WA
WAA 2023 was about reestablishing relationships and responding to the changes in our field.
Over 600 performing arts professionals joined us in Seattle to focus on getting back-to-business with an eye toward the future. Programming centered on rebuilding our audiences and fostering new ones that better reflect the communities we serve.
Our 2023 Pre-Conference Symposium theme was Advancing Asian American, Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian Voices in the Performing Arts, with programming developed in collaboration with our Hyphen+Asian Committee.
WORKSHOPS & PANELS
APAP Arts Compensation Project Info Session
Expanding Your Audience: Advocating for Disability Inclusion and Access
NEA Grant Workshop
The Community Exists: Successful Partnerships & Lessons Learned From the AAPINH Community
Making Artistic Cents: Collaborative Deal Making
Our Words Are Seeds: A Unique Approach to Developing New Work with Indigenous Communities for Young Audiences
Same ‘Hood / New Audiences: A Conversation With Three Venues
Hyphen+Asian Pre-Conference Symposium: Advancing Asian American, Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian Voices in the Performing Arts
COFFEE TALKS
Arts & Activism
Succession Planning Issues in the Arts
Youth & Family Programming
AFFINITY SESSIONS/EVENTS
Conexiones: Latine Arts @ WAA: Coffee Talk
QWAA (Queer WAA) Meetup
Hyphen+Asian Showcase
Women of Color in the Arts: Coffee Talk
FIELD TRIPS
Each year, our Host Commmittee curates a selection of pre-conference Field Trips, giving attendees the opportunity to explore the conference city’s unique art and culture scene. 2023 Field Trips included tours of:
Olympic Sculpture Park
Historic Paramount Theatre
Seattle Opera Center
The Space Needle & Seattle Center
KEYNOTE
A Fresh Perspective by James Miles (aka the Fresh Professor) — Assistant Professor at Seattle University, and Executive Director of Third Stone (Bumbershoot Arts and Music Festival.)
James’s keynote focused on using the arts as a vehicle to help us navigate an ever changing and uncertain future, using examples from history, and the role we, as arts professionals, can play to support our communities.
SHOWCASES
Showcases at WAA provide attendees the opportunity to see exceptional talent, and artists the chance to present their work directly to programmers. From our Juried (aka ‘Official’) Showcase to independently produced showcases, each year you can expect something for every aesthetic, interest, and budget. The 2023 showcase was held at Seattle’s Broadway Performance Hall.
2023 JURIED SHOWCASE ARTISTS
2023 Juried Showcase image credits: Jo Cosme
PITCH SESSIONS
WAA 2023 featured three different pitch sessions. Join our mailing list to learn about future pitch opportunities.
AMPLIFIED
Pitches from artists/agents/managers sharing their tour-ready work.
Cathy Pruzan Artist Representative / ODC Dance | May’s Letters
Cusson Management Inc. | Margie Gillis Dance Foundation: Literature of the Body
FLi Artists - Sona Jobarteh: Education on African Culture & Music
Holden & Arts Associates | Honolulu Theatre for Youth - The Pa’akai We Bring
Home Team Mgmt / The Kurland Agency | American Patchwork Quartet
Joe Kye | Joe Kye & the Givers
Julia Keefe | Indigenous Big Band
Riot Artists | The Manganiyar Seduction
Tau Dance Theater | INDIGENUITY
PRESENTER PITCHES
Presenters outlined their season, a new project or initiative, or their programming interests for upcoming seasons. We heard from:
Abigail Buell | San Diego Theatres
Ataahua Papa | Auckland Arts Festival
Bonnie Schock | Fox Tucson Theatre
Hazel Delos Santos | Kodiak Arts Council
Joel Aalberts | Lensic Performing Arts Center
Miranda King | Patricia Reser Center for the Performing Arts
Rafael Gonzalez | Grand Performances
Stephen Cummins | Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center at Gonzaga University
PITCH NOW: NEW & OUTSIDE-THE-BOX WORKS
Matching artists & producers with partners & collaborators: a forum for bold artistic ideas
Dancing Through Prison Walls | Undanced Dances Through Prison Walls During a Pandemic
Dan Froot & Company | Arms Around America
Elsie Management | Craig Walsh’s Monuments
Madeline Sayet | Untitled New Madeline Sayet Storytelling Project
Mixed eMotion Theatrix | The Shadow
Urban Bush Women | Haint Blu
ANNUAL LUNCHEON & WAA AWARDS
We celebrated the amazing 2023 WAA Awardees at our first Annual Luncheon since 2019! Attendees also enjoyed a special sponsored performance by Tien Hsieh, Concert Pianist.
THANK YOU TO OUR 2023 SPONSORS & FUNDERS
We are so grateful to our generous sponsors and funders who make the conference possible and support the ecology of the performing arts field.
Interested in supporting WAA through future sponsorship opportunities? Let’s talk!
WAA 2022
AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 1, 2022 | CALGARY, AB
Our first fully in-person conference since the pandemic, WAA 2022 focused on Getting Back to Business.
Over 500 colleagues from the U.S., Canada, and further afield joined us in Calgary, Alberta for four days of networking, learning, connection, and discovery.
Attendees also had access to extended professional development programming online, pre- and post-Calgary.
Our 2022 Pre-Conference Symposium theme was Truth, Reconciliation, and a Path to Change, discussing the impact of colonization on Indigenous peoples, and actions allies can take to help heal traumas, right wrongs, and strenghten community.
WORKSHOPS & PANELS
BlakForm — Career Development Platform Model From BlakDance
TourWest — WESTAF Grant Updates
Your Digital Presence: Let’s Improve It!
NEA Grants for Arts Projects*
ROUNDTABLES
Exploring Black Identity*
Festivals & Outdoor Events*
MOVE FORWARD: Lessons Learned From the Age of COVID*
New & Rekindled Collaborations: Finding Partners, Moving Forward*
AFFINITY SESSIONS
Advancing Indigenous Performance*
Black Arts @ WAA*
Conexiones: Latine Arts @ WAA*
Hyphen+Asian*
Our 2022 conference included online and in-person programming. Online sessions are denoted with an asterisk (*)
KEYNOTE
Are We Ready to Create a New Future? by former Mayor of Calgary and visionary civic leader, arts advocate, and educator, Naheed K. Nenshi.
Naheed spoke on the critical role artists play as we emerge from the pandemic and face a reckoning on the issue of equity as well as emergencies in public and mental health, economics and environmental issues; the keynote focused on the “wet clay moment” in which we can mold the future with our own service and in telling our stories.
SHOWCASES
Showcases at WAA provide attendees the opportunity to see exceptional talent, and artists the chance to present their work directly to programmers. From our Juried (aka ‘Official’) Showcase to independently produced showcases, each year you can expect something for every aesthetic, interest, and budget. The 2022 program was held at Calgary’s Martha Cohen Theatre.
2022 JURIED SHOWCASE ARTISTS
Ablaye Cissoko & Cyrille Brotto; Charly Lowry; Elexa Dawson; Huu Bac Quintet; Invoke; Julia Keefe; Koresh Dance Company; The Spirit of Harriet Tubman by Leslie McCurdy; Madeline Sayet; Telegraph Quartet; The McDades; Twin Flames; Olivia Tailfeathers; and Versa-Style Dance Company
FIELD TRIPS
Each year, our Host Commmittee curates a selection of pre-conference Field Trips, giving attendees the opportunity to explore the conference city’s unique art and culture scene. 2022 Field Trips included:
Arts Commons tours — with three tour topic options: Programming & Operations; Arts Education; and Social Impact
Calgary River walk — self-guided
Tour of public art gallery, Contemporary Calgary
Kayaking on Glenmore Reserve
Public art walks — self-guided tours of Calgary’s many public art works
WAA 2021
August 30 - September 2, 2021 | Portland, OR & Online
The 2021 WAA Annual Conference was presented in a hybrid format and took place August 30 - September 2 in Portland, OR and via our virtual platform.
The conference theme was Re-connect. Re-Energize. Re-Open. We focused on the path forward — not just for our field, but for our communities — in the context of the ongoing pandemic. We investigated the pertinent questions: How do we move forward? and How do we build back better? and centered on re-kindling relationships with colleagues and clients, re-starting our work together, and re-energizing our field.
WORKSHOPS & PANELS
Our workshops and panels feature a diverse range of speakers and visionaries from the performing arts and beyond, focusing on the issues that matter most to you.
Beyond Contracts
Centering Queer Work, A Critical Look
Connected at the Root: Can Arts Save Our City?
Decolonizing Our Practice: Case Studies from the Field
Digital Equity
International Collaboration in a Global Pandemic
ROUNDTABLES
Roundtables offer an informal space for discipline-based, issue-driven conversations and circular learning with peers.
Advancing Indigenous Performance (AIP)
Conexiones: Latino Arts @ WAA
Hyphen + Asian
Looking at the Brighter Side: How did the pandemic help your organization?
Outdoor Arts
MOVE FORWARD SESSION: “SEE IT LIVE!” Moving from Virtual to Live Dance Presentations
QWAA (Queer WAA)
AFFINITY SESSIONS
WAA’s affinity groups are informal communities where everyone shares an identity.
Affinity Sessions created time and space for each group to gather for sharing, networking, and exchange. WAA’s affinity groups include:
Advancing Indigenous Performance
Black Arts@ WAA
Conexiones: Latine Arts @ WAA
Hyphen+Asian
QWAA (Queer WAA)
SHOWCASES
The 2021 Conference’s Juried Showcase (aka Official Showcase) was developed in partnership with WESTAF and Arts Midwest, featuring fourteen performances, presented virtually as part of the Performing Arts Discovery (PAD) program.
The 2021 Independent Showcase program featured over 100 virtual showcases.
2021 JURIED SHOWCASE ARTISTS
Ananya Dance Theatre; Boca Tuya; Cary Morin; Degenerate Art Ensemble; Ensemble Mik Nawooj; Grupo Rebolu; Jamison Ross; Michela Marino Lerman's Love Movement; PUBLIQuartet; Versa-Style Dance Company
FIELD TRIPS
Our pre-conference Field Trips invited attendees to explore some of Portland’s great arts spaces, including:
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Tour
BodyVox Studio Visit
Northwest Dance Project Studio Visit
PICA (Portland Institute for Contemporary Art) Studio Visit
Patricia Reser Center for the Arts Hard Hat Tour
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