Hello folks!
Part of being a nonprofit organization is having regular, public board meetings. The Board of Directors meets several times a year to check in on how things are going, get approval for new projects and key decisions, and celebrate our successes as an arts organization. In order to share these updates more widely, the Board is taking steps to post our meeting minutes and video recordings online.
These resources are now available for our March 20, 2021 meeting!
SFAC Board Meeting – Meeting Agenda – March 20, 2021
SFAC Board Meeting – Video Recording – March 20, 2021 (YouTube)
SFAC Board Meeting – Meeting Minutes – March 20, 2021
Read on for a quick summary of what’s new! Want to learn more? Read the meeting notes above, or reach out to us at <hello@seattleflowarts.org>.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,BJ Burg (they/them)Chair of the Board of Directors
Seattle Flow Arts Collective\n\n[/cs_content_seo][cs_element_text _id=”5″ ]Meeting Highlights
We welcomed our new Executive Director, Arlene Smith! Arlene (she/her) will be working part-time to organize, schedule, and direct the various efforts of the Seattle Flow Arts Collective. Don’t worry, she will also continue to host our long-running FlowShop event every Tuesday night from 7-9:30pm PST.
As Arlene resigned from the board to take the position, we also welcomed Desert Black to his first meeting as the new Vice-President.
The hiring of SFAC’s first staff member marks an important milestone for the local and regional flow arts community! From the beginning of the FlowShop days, it’s always been about paying artists for their talents and time. We are making an investment in our capacity to pay more artists, operate more programs, train and develop our community of volunteers and instructors, and reach a new level of organizational sustainability. This is going to be great!
We are preparing for upcoming grant applications and fundraising events. It feels so good to introduce flow arts to the general public. Whether it’s a workshop, an event, training, or spin jam, all of these are great investments in health and diversity of the community. However, planning and operating all of these events requires tremendous volunteer and financial resources. We are researching and applying for grants from public and private sources to fund our new programs to bring movement arts workshops and community events to more parts of Seattle. Lastly, in May we plan to participate in GiveBIG, a popular annual giving campaign that’s focused on Washington nonprofits.
We are developing new community events to introduce the joy of flow arts to more neighborhoods in Seattle. The local flow arts community has developed around places as much as people. Capitol Hill, Gasworks Park, and Golden Gardens Park are hot spots for flow arts sightings. However beautiful these parts are, we want people in every corner of Seattle to be able to experience the mental and physical benefits of practicing flow arts. So, we are planning to host community events in different parts of Seattle (once it is safe to do so again). The format is still being worked out, but we are very excited to build community and connection as people begin to emerge from what has been an absolutely exhausting pandemic year.
We are developing plans for hosting public fire performances, practices, and fire safety trainings (when it’s safe to do so). The SFAC Fire Arts Committee is engaged with city departments and community partners on topics such as the Seattle fire code, event hosting protocols, and permitting requirements. In addition, members of the committee have been busy at work to develop a comprehensive reference document for fire safety training students and instructors. We plan to share this resource local fire performers and the wider community of fire safety instructors.
So, when will we be able to have a fire jam? There are many event planners in Seattle who are anxiously betting on the course of the pandemic, ourselves included. The City of Seattle Special Events Office is monitoring community health trends and holds regular updates with event planners to share detailed guidance on pandemic-era event regulations. If this summer of the pandemic is similar to last summer, we expect event permits to be issued again sometime this summer. We are working to establish conditions for a return to hosting some in-person events, and hope to share an update soon.
Our next board meeting will be held on May 15, 2021 at 10am PST. Until then, you can stay up to date on FlowShop workshop announcements and other community news by joining our twice-monthly mailing list at the bottom of this page. You can also get updates by following us on social media-just search for “Seattle Flow Arts” on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram!