“Readiness Reimagined: the Arts Disaster & Crisis Preparedness Conference” returns to UK’s campus Sept. 24-25. Disasters and crises demand new ways of thinking about preparedness, resilience and recovery, and this year’s conference brings together arts leaders, emergency managers, educators, cultural workers, researchers and community practitioners to explore how the arts can help communities prepare for, respond to and recover.
All conference events will be at Gatton Student Center on UK's campus.
Preconference sessions begin 8:15 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, and offer extended, immersive learning opportunities for deeper engagement. The main conference sessions start 8:15 a.m. Friday, Sept. 25, with keynotes, interactive workshops, panel discussions and presentations.
“When I worked in arts organizations, emergency management was not something that I had been trained to think about,” said Rachel Shane, Ph.D., UK Department of Arts Administration chair. “Looking back, there were so many situations where having a plan — or even a discussion — would have helped us better protect our audiences, artists, staff and organization.
"That is why this conference matters. We want arts leaders to leave with practical tools, stronger connections, and a network of people who may be able to help in a time of crisis.”
This year’s program draws on expertise from across UK’s campus, including the College of Fine Arts, the College of Design, College of Medicine, College of Law and the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s Cooperative Extension Service. Other partners include Kentucky Emergency Management and the Kentucky Arts Council. National leaders in disaster response are also on the agenda.
The National Endowment for the Arts’ Creative Forces program will launch its new community disaster recovery toolkit and the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation, in partnership with the Smithsonian's Cultural Rescue Initiative, will partner on a cultural resource mapping forum.
Leah Hamilton, an assistant professor in arts administration who specializes in arts emergency management and cultural policy, says the arts are an essential lifeline for communities in disaster recovery as they provide trusted spaces for gathering and processing their grief through making and creating. However, they can only provide that community support when they are prepared to withstand and recover from the disruption themselves, which is exactly why artists and leaders of arts organizations need to engage in readiness planning.
“People look to the arts for healing and comfort during crises. Yet, the increase in, and severity of, natural and human-made disasters in the U.S. have put these creative spaces and artists at risk,” Hamilton said. “Managers of arts centers, theaters, museums and individual artists with studios can face a sudden loss of income and significant damage to their venues and collections in the face of disasters. There is also the risk of loss of life and injury to staff, volunteers and audiences. Building key relationships ahead of an extreme event is an important step in mitigating the impact of those potential losses.”
The conference is designed for both sides of that equation, for arts administrators, collection managers, teaching artists, and researchers on one hand, and emergency management professionals on the other. These fields are rarely in the same room until disaster forces them together.
The 2024 conference also launched the Kentucky Heritage Emergency Response Network, formed to support arts and cultural organizations and creative workers before and during disasters, along with the department’s new undergraduate and graduate certificates in Arts Emergency Management. Both initiatives continue to grow as part of this year’s programming.
Review the conference agenda and find out how to register online. There is a discounted rate for students.
