The One State: Together in the Arts conference is a biennial gathering co-convened by the Illinois Arts Alliance and the Illinois Arts Council. Held in different locations throughout Illinois since 1999, the conference brings together arts leaders and practitioners from communities throughout the state to learn, celebrate and connect with each other.
The next One State conference will be held May 17 & 18, 2007 at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign County.
The goal of the conference is to promote the health, strength and diversity within the Illinois arts community and provide opportunities for true connectivity by:
- Convening arts leaders and practitioners - representing the whole range of disciplines, missions, types of organizations, geography and size, and including individual artists - to improve communications among the field and between the arts community and other sectors and to further extend our statewide network of arts advocates
- Creating a sense of statewide community by actively facilitating connections amongst conference participants and encouraging the exploration of various regions and communities throughout the state
- Providing education, training, resources and support for new, emerging and experienced arts leaders and practitioners
- Sharing information about best practices for using the arts to build healthy communities and for leading arts organizations in a changing world
- Exploring the impact and trends of our social and political landscape as it relates to the field
- Helping arts leaders and practitioners become more effective advocates through in-depth discussion of arts related issues, gaining further understanding of the importance of the arts in contemporary society
Diversity statement:
As we choose our speakers, facilitators, art and entertainment, members of the planning committee acknowledge that diversity and inclusiveness are the overriding goals of this conference. Diversity refers to the spectrum of the arts field and the communities served by our leaders and practitioners. Diversity includes people of differing race, ethnicity, culture, gender, religion, age, ability, personal style, sexual orientation, appearance and tenure, as well as people of diverse opinions, perspectives, lifestyles, ideas, thinking and being.
We actively seek participation from underrepresented groups and do not discriminate for any reason.
The overall profile of conference speakers and artists must reflect the faces and life-experiences of the people we hope to motivate to become local and regional leaders in the field of arts advocacy. Likewise, as we market the conference we will work together to make sure that representatives from all communities—be they communities of place or communities created by similar needs and interests—feel welcome at the One State: Together in the Arts conference.