
Schedule
In-person Conference
Nov 5—8 | San Juan

SEE YOU IN
SAN JUAN
GIA’s 2023 Conference: Revisiting Pasts to Build the Future has completely sold out! We’re looking forward to seeing you in San Juan, Puerto Rico. You are welcome to join the wait list by emailing gia@giarts.org. If you can’t make it, look for updates in GIA’s blog posts and social media! Join the conversation using the hashtag #PastsFutures.
We are getting all the pieces organized, plans confirmed, and experiences primed. There is much to do and many folks meet. Be sure to ready yourself for a full and rich conference experience amongst new colleagues and old friends, alike!
All times below are in San Juan local time (ADT).
SUN NOV
05
MORNING
8a—1p AST
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Breakfast Buffet
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Pre-Conference Sessions
AFTERNOON
1p—7:30p AST
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Lunch Buffet
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Pre-Conference Sessions
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Newcomers Reception
EVENING
7:30p—9p AST
-
Opening Reception
MON NOV
06
MORNING
8a—12:30p AST
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Breakfast Buffet
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Off-site Sessions
AFTERNOON
12:30p—6:30p AST
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Lunch Buffet
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Keynotes
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On-site Sessions
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Affinity Groups
EVENING
6:30p AST
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Enjoy San Juan!
TUE NOV
07
MORNING
8a—12:30p AST
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Breakfast Buffet
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Roundtable Groups
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Off-site Sessions
AFTERNOON
12:30p—6:30p AST
-
Lunch Buffet
-
Keynotes
-
On-site Sessions
EVENING
6:30p—8:30pm AST
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Closing Reception
WED NOV
08
MORNING
8a—12:00p AST
-
On-site Sessions
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Brunch Buffet
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Keynote

10:00 am—3:30 pm AST
Collaborative Solutions:
Shaping Meaningful Disaster Response
Co-Organized by National Coalition For Arts' Preparedness (NCAPER), and Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+)
In the face of our current permacrisis, it can feel daunting to figure out ‘How can I In the face of our current permacrisis, it can feel daunting to figure out ‘How can I be of best assistance? How can my organization be most effective?’ The needs are great, the crises keep coming, and the levels of inequity and injustice keep growing. However, there is hope! Through informed collaboration, you can develop a response that is both appropriate and impactful. With Puerto Rico as our learning setting, this day is a conversation among artists, funders, service organizations and trainers/coaches. Together, we’ll examine recent disasters, and uncover how the arts and creative communities can both prepare and respond in tangible ways.

10:00 am—3:30 pm AST
U.N.I.T.Y.:
How do WE ALIGN DIVERGENT APPROACHES TO SUPPORTING ARTSTS' WORK AND WELL-BEING IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Organized by the Support for Individual Artist
Preconference Sub-Committee
Providing support to individual artists looks different from funder to funder, and we can all agree that there isn’t “just one way” to fund equitably. However, as we seek to improve and expand our juxtaposing strategies for support, can we collectively address the issue of underfunding, and build greater sustainability for artists? How do worker co-ops and collaboratives fit in? Are there policies that funders can advocate for, what does it look like to organize around this?

9:00 am—1:00 pm AST
Making Meaning
of this Moment:
Finding our lessons on equity and racial justice
Organized by National Performance Network and GIA
As we move beyond the racial, reckoning, and pandemic experiences of 2020, we know the very fabric of our world has been altered and our sector has leaned into racial justice and equity in unprecedented ways. This session is an opportunity to make meaning of the many initiatives, funds, practices etc. that have come about. This is an interactive session in which attendees will share the goals, practices, and lessons of their equity/racial justice initiatives in which we will be in dialogue and principled struggle to understand our collective impact. Let’s move beyond counting the numbers as measurement and into a deeper understanding and meaning making that clarifies where we are now so we can be thorough and strategic about our role in turning the world towards justice.

2:00 pm—6:00 pm AST
GIA and the
Future of
Cultural Policy
Advancing Arts and Cultural Policy and Advocacy to Disrupt Unjust Systems
Organized by Randy Engstrom, Jen Cole, Estrella Esquilín, Allyson Esposito, Claire Rice, and David Holland
The landscape of cultural policy and advocacy work has shifted dramatically in the past three years, with new actors, coalitions, and opportunities to engage for both GIA and its members. Simultaneously, there continue to be limited spaces for public sector practitioners to deepen their work and find networks of practice. This pre-conference session seeks to:
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Explore and amplify new pathways and organizing structures within cultural policy for local, state arts agencies and allied public sector leaders
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Identify and prioritize future opportunities, programs, and policy issues for GIA and the broader advocacy community
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Connect with and identify key players and potential collaborators for local, regional, and national work focused on trans-sector collaboration and public policy
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Create space for collaborators in non-arts sectors to work in coordination with arts leaders on equitable cultural policy • Initiate action items for GIA’s cultural policy committee work for 2024 (and beyond!)

9:00 am—1:00 pm AST
Institutions +
Museums: Morning Cultural Tour
Morning Half-Day Cultural Tour
Who are the Puerto Rican people? What is the Puerto Rican experience about? Who is represented? How should cultural institutions contribute to collective narratives? To collective histories? To advocacy and social policy? The museums and exhibition spaces of the Island continue to engage with these questions today. Don’t miss out on this half-day cultural tour throughout San Juan’s museums and cultural institutions, to learn about their approaches to multiple histories, visiblizing plurality, and how each engages with their charge to represent Puerto Rican culture.

2:30 pm—6:30 pm AST
Community-based
Arts: Afternoon Cultural Tour
Afternoon Half-Day Cultural Tour
As many communities and neighborhoods come together to heal and recover from the inundating health, economic, political, and environmental crises facing the Island, artists have emerged as central advocates and activists for community self-management and resilience. Anchored in the diversity that characterizes Puerto Rican identity and environment, grassroots community arts collectives are shaping new futures that center solidarity and thriving. Don’t miss out on this half-day cultural tour through the neighborhoods of San Juan’s to learn about the embedded practices of these grassroots cultural communities.
SUNDAY
NOV 05
MORNING
7a—10a AST
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Registration at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Foyer)
8a—9:30a AST
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Breakfast Buffet at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Ballroom)
9a—1:30p AST
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Institutions + Museums: Morning Cultural Tour at Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MACPR), and Museo de Arte y Diseño de Miramar (MADMi)
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Pre-Conference Session: Making Meaning of this Moment: Finding our lessons on equity and racial justice at Caribe Hilton (Las Olas/Las Olas Terrace)
10a—3:30p AST
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Pre-Conference Session: Collaborative Solutions: Shaping Meaningful Disaster Response at Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MACPR)
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Pre-Conference Session: Support for Individual Artist: U.N.I.T.Y: How Do We Align Divergent Approaches to Supporting Artists’ Work and Well-being in the 21st Century at Caribe Hilton (San Cristobal B-D)
AFTERNOON
1p—2:30p AST
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Lunch at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Ballroom)
3p—6p AST
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Registration at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Foyer)
2p—6p AST
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Pre-Conference Session: Cultural Policy Action Lab: Shaping a Cultural Policy Committee at Caribe Hilton (Flamingo B)
2:30p—6:30p AST
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Community Based Arts: Afternoon Cultural Tour at Brigada Puerta de Tierra (BPDT), Artist Jesus ‘Bubu’ Negrón, El Gandul by Coco de Oro, Artist Edgardo Larregui, and The Scroll, AgitArte, Santurce
EVENING
6:30p—7:30p AST
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Newcomers Reception at Caribe Hilton (Las Olas/Las Olas Terrace)
7:30p—9:30p AST
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Opening Reception at Caribe Hilton (Vistabella View)
MONDAY
NOV 06
MORNING
7:30a—10a AST
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Registration at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Foyer)
8a—9:30a AST
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Breakfast Buffet at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Ballroom)
10a—11:15a AST
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Yo Misma Fui Mi Ruta / I Was My Own Route at COPI
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Giving as Creative Practice: Making Vital Little Plans at Pública
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Maniobra: Artist Workers in Puerto Rico and Beyond at El Ancón de Loíza
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Our Voices, Our Art: A Conversation on Leadership, Relevance, Recovery & Resilience in Puerto Rico at Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico
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Con Hacha y Machete: Forging New Paths of Cinematic Independence and Creative Distribution in Puerto Rico at Caribe Hilton (San Cristobal B-D)
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I was told there would be no math: An artist-led conversation about the inextricable links among economics, culture, and place at Caribe Hilton (San Cristobal E-G)
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Vital Conditions of Health and Well-Being: A New Federal Framework and What It Could Mean for Arts Funding at Caribe Hilton (Las Olas)
AFTERNOON
12:30p—2p AST
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Lunch at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Ballroom)
1p—4:30pm AST
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Registration at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Foyer)
1:15p—2p AST
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Plenary Keynote at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Ballroom)
2:45p—4p AST
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Arts, Immigration, and Mentorship at Caribe Hilton (Tropical AB)
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Peer Learning Communities: Relationships, Trust and Change at Caribe Hilton (San Cristobal B-D)
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"Don't plan about me without me!" A Local Arts Agency's journey in centering equity and community in funding through a Participatory Grantmaking Approach at Caribe Hilton (San Cristobal E-G)
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"So what's really going on?" Holding Space for Early-Career Black Women Grantmakers in the Arts at Caribe Hilton (Las Olas)
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Supporting Deaf & Disabled Artists: Lessons from Creatives Rebuild New York at Caribe Hilton (Flamingo CD)
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The Power of Partnership: Models for Collaboration Toward Equity & Community Transformation at Caribe Hilton (Salon Del Mar AB)
4:30p—5:30p AST
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Plenary Keynote at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Ballroom)
EVENING
6p—7:30p AST
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Leadership Circle Reception at Offsite
TUESDAY
NOV 07
MORNING
8a—9:30a AST
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Breakfast Buffet at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Ballroom)
7:30a—10a AST
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Registration at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Foyer)
8:30a—9:30a AST
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Community Foundations for Just Communities at Caribe Hilton (Tropical AB)
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A Commitment to Cultural Equity, Embodied at Caribe Hilton (Tropical C)
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Sin Pelos en la Lengua: How can we support staff thrive in a sector that shouldn't exist? at Caribe Hilton (Flamingo AB)
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BoriCorridor: Creating a cultural network in the Diaspora at Caribe Hilton (Flamingo CD)
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Intermediaries, Partnership, and the Future at Caribe Hilton (Salon Del Mar AB)
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Open Society Soros Art Fellowship at Caribe Hilton (Las Olas)
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Addressing Affirmative Action at Caribe Hilton (San Cristobal B-D)
10a—11:15a AST
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Asking for a friend . . . tips and tactics for operationalizing equity in grantmaking at Caribe Hilton (Las Olas)
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National Latinx Theater Initiative at Caribe Hilton (San Cristobal B-D)
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Open & Community-Centered Grantmaking Models at Caribe Hilton (San Cristobal E-G)
10a—12 AST
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Nido Cultural: A Case Study of Funder Collaboration and Shared Services for the Field at Y No Había Luz
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The Impact of Arts Facing Disasters - A Puerto Rico Case Study at Institute of Puerto Rican culture
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Steeped in the Arts: An interactive Town Hall about the impact of Arts Education beyond arts-based career paths at Escuela Central de Artes Visuales
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Funding America's Cultural Treasures: Lessons on BIPOC Arts Organization and Funder Organizing at Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico
AFTERNOON
12:30p—2p AST
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Lunch at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Ballroom)
1p—4:30pm AST
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Registration at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Foyer)
1:15p—2p AST
-
Plenary Keynote at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Ballroom)
2:45p—4p AST
-
Enfoco: Proyecto de visibilización cultural: participatory grantmaking approach at Caribe Hilton (San Cristobal B-D)
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SaludArte: Bridging the Gap Between Public Art and Public Health Through Innovative Funding, Data Equity, and Community-Driven Design at Caribe Hilton (San Cristobal E-G)
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The Elephant in the Room - Artists and Power at Caribe Hilton (Flamingo AB)
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How Sweet It Is: Leveraging Intermediaries for Meaningful Impact at Caribe Hilton (Flamingo CD)
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Funding the Arts in the American South: New Trends and Opportunities at Caribe Hilton (Salon Del Mar)
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Flow Film Screening & Q&A: Conversations for Change at Caribe Hilton (Tropical AB)
4:30p—5:15p AST
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Plenary Keynote at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Ballroom)
EVENING
6:30p—8:30p AST
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Closing Reception at Offsite
WEDNESDAY
NOV 08
MORNING
8a—9 AST
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Coffee Service at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Foyer)
8:30a—11:30a AST
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Registration at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Foyer)
9a—10a AST
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Centering intersectionality and the co-creation of access for Deaf and disability communities at Caribe Hilton (Tropical C)
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Uprooting Power, Growing Possibilities: Models for participatory grantmaking that center QTBIPOC artists as strategy architects and decision makers at Caribe Hilton (Las Olas)
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HIP-HOP A MODEL OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY at Caribe Hilton (Flamingo AB)
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Fiscal Sponsorship 2.0 - New Models for Shared Artist Resources at Caribe Hilton (Flamingo CD)
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Evolving Lessons and Future Directions for Funder Learning Programs at Caribe Hilton (Salon Del Mar AB)
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Better Together: Opportunities for Art and Humanities Intersection in Grantmaking and Public Programs at Caribe Hilton (Tropical AB)
10a—11:30a AST
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Brunch at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Ballroom)
11a—12p AST
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Closing Keynote at Caribe Hilton (San Geronimo Ballroom)