Public forum coming for emergency prep in arts
College of Charleston forum free, open to public
Vivid imagery of wildfires is on everyone’s minds and memories of Hurricane Helene’s path through the Southeast linger. With that backdrop, the College of Charleston School of the Arts’ Arts Exchange speaker series is back with a timely topic.
Extreme weather is seemingly more frequent and hurricane season looming, and the S.C. Arts Commission encourages #SCArtists and arts organizations to engage in preparation year-round. This event is a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of emergency preparedness and arts leadership while connecting with professionals dedicated to preserving the performing arts:
- Janet Newcomb, executive director of the National Coalition for Arts Preparedness & Emergency Response (NCAPER) and performing arts coordinator of the Performing Arts Readiness (PAR) Project.
- Tom Clareson, project director of the PAR Project and senior consultant for digital & preservation services at LYRASIS.
Produced by the college’s arts management program, this multidisciplinary series invites artists and arts leaders to engage in meaningful conversations with faculty, staff, students and the community each semester in the newly renovated, on campus Simons Center for the Arts. Attendees can deepen their understanding of this vital initiative and its impact on the cultural sector.
Details
- Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, 1:45-2:45 p.m.
- Simons Center Recital Hall, 54 St. Philip St., Charleston
- Free and open to the public
- Event on the web
The National Coalition for Arts Preparedness & Emergency Response (NCAPER) was formed in 2006 in response to the significant losses and devastation artists and creative economies suffered in the wake of 21st-century disasters. As a voluntary task force of national, regional, state, and local arts organizations, public agencies, and foundations, the coalition helps ensure that artists, arts/cultural organizations, cultural funders, and arts businesses have the capacity and ability to respond effectively to disasters and emergencies affecting the arts and culture sector.
The Performing Arts Readiness (PAR) Project is an initiative dedicated to equipping performing arts organizations with the tools and knowledge they need to prepare for and recover from disasters and emergencies. Learn how this national project supports the performing arts field through grants, mentoring programs, resources, and training designed to safeguard institutions and foster resilience in the face of unexpected crises.
For more information about NCAPER and the PAR Project, visit ncaper.org and performingartsreadiness.org .
Meet the experts
Throughout her career in arts management and education and prior to becoming executive director of the National Coalition for Arts Preparedness & Emergency Response and the Performing Arts Coordinator for the Performing Arts Readiness Project in 2017, Janet Newcomb directed 10 arts organizations, including the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, four arts councils in New York and South Carolina, and a community arts center. Jan served as director of grants at the S.C. Arts Commission and taught modern dance at the universities of Buffalo and South Carolina. In 2009, Jan began consulting on leadership transition and development for arts organizations; her clients include Long Wharf Theatre, Lexington Philharmonic, Miami Summer Music Festival, South Arts, and others. In 2015, she designed and was asked to direct the Master’s in Leadership in the Arts & Entertainment Industries Program at NYIT in Manhattan. She is the 2017 recipient of the Lifetime Service Award from The Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes. Jan works virtually out of her home in Columbia and holds a bachelor’s in music from Hood College and a master’s in dance from George Washington University.
Tom Clareson is project director of the Performing Arts Readiness (PAR) project. He serves as senior consultant for digital & preservation services at LYRASIS, consulting and teaching nationally and internationally on preservation, disaster preparedness, digitization, digital preservation, special collections/archives, remote storage, funding, strategic planning, and advocacy for libraries, archives, and museums. Clareson serves as vice president on the board of directors of the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, and the board of directors of Lancaster Chorale (Ohio).