[NOTE: This event has come and gone. And my, what fun it was. These pages will remain on the web site as a record of the event.]

Audiences and arts participants don't behave as they used to...but perhaps they never did. The dark theater, the silent gallery, the coat and tie, the cocktail dress, the hushed rapture, the passive posture, all seem to be a disconnect from the way the rest of the world is moving.

A young generation is increasingly making their own art, through mix-ups and mash-ups distributed on-line. Other potential patrons have unprecedented control of their cultural experience through iPods, digital video, home entertainment, and other emerging technologies. And a new boom in amateur arts and handicrafts suggests a world of people eager to get their hands on the process rather than their butts in the seats.

The unwritten contract between art and audience, between creator and consumer, is changing. And with it is changing the social and economic underpinnings of our industry. What's a professional arts administrator to do?

Join your colleagues in Madison for two days in November for an honest, compelling, and collaborative conversation on the past and future of arts participation, guided by two provocateurs with special insights on the subject.

Alan S. Brown is a noted author, researcher, and management consultant in the nonprofit arts industry. He was the author of the largest private study of classical music audiences ever undertaken in the U.S., and is a leading consultant on issues of audience values. Alan has reconsidered and restructured the way we look at arts participation. His insights will launch our conversation.

Lynne Conner is a teacher, scholar, and consultant, whose work suggests a rather radical thing: the current norm of passive audience behavior is a recent development, not a long-standing fact. Throughout history, she has found, audiences have been actively involved in the art they engage with -- yelling, nudging, booing, and reshaping the flow of each event. Lynne will bring her perspective on history and her current work with Pittsburgh arts organizations to fuel the fire.

Special Career Roundtable on Day Two
After 35 years the earliest graduates of the Bolz Center are now approaching possible retirement, which provides us all with a singular opportunity to examine a Bolz Center career in arts management from the beginning, in the middle, and as it reaches completion. In recognition of this accomplishment, day two of this fall's Collegium will be an open, facilitated discussion among fellow grads about their careers as they relate to realistic expectations, lessons learned, measures of success, and choices available. So, whether you are in or out of art management, just graduating, in mid-career, or eyeing retirement, here is your chance to exchange perspectives about the past and explore options for the future. Bring your questions, observations, and lessons learned to a lively dialogue unique to the Bolz Center and its graduates.

In between the volleys among speakers, alumni, students, and local arts leaders, there will be time to mix, mingle, and reminisce; to experience Madison and the newly completed Overture Center for the Arts; and to reconnect with old friends while forging a few new friendships, as well.

It's fall. It's Madison. It's a group of exceptionally fun and insightful people. It's a topic that makes a difference in your work, your thinking, and your life. Come help us connect the dots.