Professional development in unexpected places
When you’re thinking about professional development and continuing education, don’t sleep on your local cultural institutions. Yes, really!
Big-name conferences get lots of attention but some of my favorite gatherings lately have been hosted by local institutions in my city.
I recently participated in the Denver Art Museum Avenir Institute’s inaugural symposium, focused on building community through textile arts. The Institute hosted a global assortment of people doing impactful creative work. The highlight for me was Jordana Martin, founder of TATTER (they are incredible, check them out). Yes, that’s my knitting in my lap, because what better time to knit a sweater than a textile symposium?
In March I attended the Colorado Arts & Health Convening hosted by Denver Botanic Gardens. DBG brought together professionals who are working at the intersection of arts and health in Colorado, with a focus on applying the work to address challenges our communities face around health and whole-person wellness.
You might not think of either event as connected to leadership development or coaching, but both had direct tie-ins to community building, individual and collective well-being, and art as a venue for development and growth.
Another benefit of smaller-venue convenings is intimacy: at both events, the audience was small enough that the sessions could feel more like a conversation than a series of slide decks, but large enough to create an interesting mix of people in the room and generate real energy. It can be tough to find that kind of experience at a large-scale event where every room has hundreds of people in it.
Bonus: if dropping several hundred - or thousand - dollars isn’t in your professional development budget, events like these are an incredible bargain. I didn’t pay more than $40 for either of these full-day events, which both included food and drinks.
Do you seek out professional development at local institutions? I’d love to know who hosts your favorite educational gatherings.
And if you’re thinking about what professional development looks like for you or your team, let’s connect to talk about how I can help!