Operating Support Grant

Early on the Downtown Duluth Arts Collective instituted by-laws to assist in determining governance procedures. The collective operates from a consensus building model of decision making, so that member groups have the ability to give feedback at anytime and have buy-in to the decision making process. Each member organization has an equal vote in decision making. As a group DDAC discusses decisions, votes on each issue, and revisits the effectiveness of each decision at subsequent meetings. We have solicited feedback from member venues during a ?check in and assessment? period which has taken place on a yearly basis at DDAC meetings, as well as a member survey implemented in January 2021. In addition, DDAC established an Executive board to make routine decisions on behalf of the larger group. The executive board is responsible to the collective, seeks approval for financial decisions and new initiatives, and reaches out monthly to check in with each member venue. DDAC's Executive board serves in a function of connecting group members month to month, updating members to new developments within the collective, and reaching out to each member to see how things are working for them. This has developed accountability in relationships with members at a one-to-one level. In addition to one-on-one communications, the DDAC board has requested member feedback in the form on online surveys and in-meeting polls with specific questions that are used to inform the direction DDAC takes as well as needed programmatic changes. We have found it increasingly important to check the pulse of the community we serve to identify the need of our member venues so we can plan our services accordingly. We also ask participants in the virtual arts walks and panels for feedback about their experience and ideas for future programming. Feedback is then brought to DDAC meetings, assessed and solutions are implemented. A recent example of evaluating and addressing constituent needs is reflected in the DDAC board's decision to plan and direct our resources towards a targeted marketing campaign, utilizing local and mainstream media sources such as KUMD and the Duluth News Tribune, to highlight the work and program offerings at each of our member venues in F21. This marketing campaign is in response to our January 2121 member poll which indicated pandemic and construction related challenges many of the Downtown Duluth organizations are experiencing. The Downtown Duluth Arts Collective (DDAC) is a grassroots collective of artists, business people, gallerists, and teachers. Additionally, we are individuals firmly rooted in our community through active participation in the arts and support of local resources. One area of major strength in this regard is the sheer number of members from our wide variety of venues. As we engage in conversation with our member venues, community members, and other arts organizations, we've located new ways to invite an inclusive audience to our facilities and happenings. One benefit of our virtual events, which we have and continue to implement as a result of the pandemic, has been a greater accessibility for the elderly, those who live outside our immediate community, or people who might not have time or the comfort level to attend in person events in Downtown Duluth. This increased approachability has brought the "real factor" to our artist panels and resulting discussions because there was a diversity of people in attendance, rather than mostly like-minded individuals. As a group we have discussed and located techniques to break down the cliques or intimidation that "outsiders" might feel due to the fact that Duluth has such a close-knit community of artists and art enthusiasts. An example of this is when we discussed incorporating more programs within events, such as live music, arts activities and organized artist talks in order to broaden the appeal and decrease the chances for potentially awkward social situations. Instead, parti