With more than 20 years of leadership and management work in both non- and for- profit environments, Mary Ellen O’Loughlin will be executive director of Saratoga ArtsFest for the 2011 event, which will run from June 9-12.
O’Loughlin, of Wilton, joined Saratoga ArtsFest in September 2009 as promotions manager, later serving as a consultant to the board in strategic planning. In her new role, she will work closely with the ArtsFest board, community organizations and local volunteers to organize the annual four-day arts celebration, and also work toward sustaining it in the coming years.
One of my primary responsibilties focuses on executing the festival, but also deploying a strategic plan that the board approved this past June, said O’Loughlin. `Over the next couple years, we will focus on ways to grow the arts audience as well as foster partnerships and community relationships.`
Details and specific events, artists or other such components of next year’s festival have yet to be fully developed, said O’Loughlin, but should be set by early 2011.
`Programming is always an exciting piece and is in development now, so I’m not sure where that’s going to land yet. We will have a better idea by February,` said O’Loughlin. `We’re taking a look at that now and going through marketing processes and a plan to better define exactly how we will do that.`
O’Loughlin said there are two key skills she will bring with her from her former position to her newest one.
`One thing I learned was the benefit of informed decision making and how to go about setting measurable, specific goals with data; and how to collect and interpret that data,` said O’Loughlin. `Technology is another thing. I think the arts industry as a whole is really starting to take a look at technology and different ways to maximize the way that our community is using it to interact.`
An area that could benefit from tapping into the technology side of things is ArtsFest’s arts pass, which gives access to the full four-day festival.
`The arts pass gives access to 75 or more events, put on by 55 plus partners, supported by more than 100 volunteers and venues across Saratoga Springs for those four days,` said O’Loughlin. `In addition, that pass provides an added value by giving discounts to arts performances across the city year-round. It comes down to communicating that year-round benefit in a way that is meaningful.`
Promoting the arts pass will be a large part of O’Loughlin’s marketing strategy and effort this year, she said, and she has plans to work with current partners within the festival’s existing netowrk to reach more people.
Four other new people have been appointed to the Saratoga ArtsFest board of directors: Amy Bloom of Saratoga Springs, associate director of Ethics Across the Curriculum Program at Union College; Lynne Gelber of Saratoga Springs, chair of the board for Saratoga Chamber Players and professor emerita of French at Skidmore College; Jeffrey Segrave of Wilton, dean of Special Programs at Skidmore College; and Natalie I. Wait of Wilton, associate with the law firm of Lemery Greisler LLC.
`As SaratogaArtsFest enters its fifth year, these experienced professionals with diverse backgrounds bring important skills and ideas to move us ahead,` said Marie Glotzbach, president of the SaratogaArtsFest board of directors in a statement. `We are grateful for the contributions they will make to ensure the festival’s continued partnership with our many arts organizations and community leaders to celebrate the arts and promote cultural tourism in Saratoga.`
Saratoga ArtsFest 2011 will run from June 9-12. For more information about the event, visit www.SaratogaArtsFest.org.
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