By: Christine Horn
When it comes time for you to commit yourself to getting involved in your community, there is no shortage of options. Louisville has grown up, and while this comes as no surprise to those of us who have been involved in the process, a quick glance around will offer a bevy of activities to even the most discriminating where one can lend time, talent and treasure.
For me, I’m a lover of arts. Fine arts, performing arts, culinary arts, interactive arts…art in any form; anything created with a directed passion and a unique, particular point of view. Being a member of NeXt! has allowed me to pursue that passion against a backdrop of business, my other love.
For Louisville to continue to thrive as a cultural, entrepreneurship and arts mecca, we need both artists and artistic-minded businesspeople and leadership in our community. This is a niche that the NeXt! program fills well.
With unmatched access to the inner workings of all of the Fund for the Arts partners, NeXt! has offered me the ability to get a comprehensive view of much of the hard work and strategy that goes into developing a vibrant arts community. Reviewing budgets, fundraising techniques, promotional plans and creative schedules as well as brainstorming ideas to excite the larger community has allowed me the opportunity to offer input into future strategies in a real and relevant way.
The arts across the nation are facing major hurdles today, and Louisville is unfortunately not immune to these problems. Communities from here to Timbuktu are struggling to find new ways to generate engagement with a subset of the population that consumes media in a way unlike ever before. This group of young professionals will become the leaders of tomorrow, and the NeXt! program offers us the opportunity to see the impact we can have on our city and our arts partners.
The breadth of partnerships from which NeXt! members study…from the locally revered Walden Theatre to the internationally renowned Actors Theatre to the breathtakingly modern approach underway at the Kentucky Opera…allows for both a comprehensive view of the arts while still offering the surprise of falling in love with an art form you never expected.
Becoming engaged in NeXt! has offered me the vehicle by which I can express my love of arts while using the skills I have honed in the professional world to generate ideas, excitement and to fulfill my commitment to help take the arts in Louisville to the next phase.
Will you be NeXt!?
Christine Horn
Advertising Account Director
Red7e
For more information on the NeXt! Leadership Development Program visit: www.fundforthearts.com/next-leadership-development-program
