Report from the 2021 Annual Membership Meeting
WAA’s Annual Membership Meeting allows us to pause and celebrate what we have accomplished over the past year, and share what the coming year promises to bring for WAA and its members.
On January 6, 2022, 98 attendees convened on Zoom for the 2021 WAA Awards Presentation Annual Membership Meeting; the following summarizes what was shared.
2021 WAA Awards Presentation
Membership & Communications Committee Co-Chairs Nadhi Thekkek and Rob Tocalino presented the 2021 Western Arts Alliance Awards:
Emeritus Award | Sandy Robertson | UCSB Arts & Lectures
Presented by Celesta Billeci, UCSB Arts & Lectures
Mentorship Award | Heena Patel | MELA Arts Connect
Presented by Rachel Cohen, Cadence Arts Network
Leadership Award | Matt McNally | Las Vegas-Clark County Library District
Presented by Sarah McCarthy, Dandelion Artists.
Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination, and to the WAA Membership & Communications Committee for overseeing the awards process. If you missed it, you can see the awards presentation video here.
President’s Report
WAA President, Joe Mclalwain, summarized the various pivots relating to the 2021 WAA Conference and updated the membership on recruitment for WAA’s new Executive Director, to replace Tim Wilson once he steps down in September; a search committee is leading the effort in partnership with a soon-to-be-appointed search consultant/firm. Joe thanked the WAA membership for their partnership.
“Central to our mission is the concept of connection. We exist to maintain connections between artists, agent managers, and presenters. And in the end, our shared purpose is to connect our amazing artists to the communities we serve.
“We’re grateful that each of you has invested some of your precious time and resources in Western Arts Alliance. Our mission to help facilitate and enhance the critical connections that keep our industry strong is even more essential in the face of the pandemic and its devastating effects.”
Treasurer’s & Finance Committee Report
WAA Board Secretary/Treasurer, Cathy Weiss, provided an update on WAA’s finances, noting that we are still in the process of completing our FY2021 audit. Members can access prior year financial statements via the member portal.
Executive Director’s Report
WAA Executive Director Tim Wilson’s report highlighted the work of WAA over the last year, and outlined some of the work ahead.
WAA began 2021 with a series of seven weekly listening sessions, facilitated by board members.
WAA welcomed three new staff members in 2021; PAD Production Coordinator, Lucero Cortez; Administrative Assistant, Makaveli Gresham; and Membership & Communications Manager, Lucy Taylor.
In the spring of 2021, WAA launched THE NEXT STAGE — a five-part series of webinars in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, sponsored by the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles and the Taiwan Ministry of Culture.
The 2021 conference took place in Portland, following many pandemic-related changes and challenges in the run-up to the event. These challenges included a last-minute location switch from Albuquerque to Portland following news that the hotel could no longer accommodate the event due to staffing shortages, the switch to a hybrid program, and the peak of the Delta variant.
The 2022 Annual Conference is scheduled from August 30th to September 2nd, in Calgary — a growing, vibrant city, with a rich cultural life and excellent infrastructure for the conference. Join our mailing list to stay up-to-date with conference news.
In the summer of 2021, WAA worked with the NEA and with WESTAF to secure renewed support for WAA’s Performing Arts Discovery (PAD) program.
This fall, WAA received renewed funding for our Advancing Indigenous Performance (AIP) program with a $400,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and a $100,000 grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
In the months ahead, WAA will continue its development work to secure funding for the Equity Bearers Initiative, an effort to advance intersectionality and strategic cooperation of WAA’s affinity initiatives in AIP, Black Arts @ WAA, Conexiones, Hyphen+Asian, and QWAA.
As his tenure comes to a close, Tim expressed what a great honor and pleasure it has been to serve WAA and thanked the WAA board for their graceful, steadfast leadership and support:
“As tough as the pandemic has been on our field financially, programmatically, and strategically, I am optimistic for the future. Artists are still creating, venues are still programming, WAA is still standing, and you are still here. Resilience is our superpower and perseverance is in our character. We will get through this together.”
Join us in Calgary!
WAA Executive Director, Tim Wilson
Governance Committee’s Report
Eleanor Oldham, Immediate Past President and chair of the Governance Committee, reported that the committee met twice this fall to plan, vet, and interview candidates for the 2021 WAA Board.
As there were four strong incumbents eligible for a second term, it was decided not to solicit additional nominations and instead to interview and assess each incumbent candidate for appointment. Following the interview process, the committee unanimously approved the following slate, affirmed through the member election:
Secretary/Treasurer, with second term expiring in 2023: Cathy Weiss, Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts.
Directors with a second term expiring in 2024: Pamela Green, PMG Arts Management; Robin Pomerance, Cal Performances.
Director with a first full term expiring in 2024: Nadhi Thekkek, Nava Dance Theatre.
Congratulations to our incumbent board members, whose terms begin seven days from the date of the Annual Membership Meeting.