Image: shutterstock.com

Looking to take your interest and involvement in the arts to the next level? Want to learn more about what it takes to be on the board of an arts group?  Curious about how your business skills might be useful to a North Texas non-profit?

You might be a good candidate for the 2014-2015 Leadership Arts Institute, and now’s the time to apply. Business Council for the Arts is accepting applications until Aug. 1.

The Leadership Arts program was started by Ray Nasher to help business professionals spark their passions for the arts.  The Leadership Arts class meets every month for 10 sessions to learn from professionals from a variety of arts organizations. Each class also plans and executes a significant project to benefit the arts. (We at Art&Seek are extremely grateful to 2011 Leadership Arts for helping us create and pay for the Art&Seek calendar app.) And BCA links its  graduates directly to opportunities to serve on the boards of a variety of arts and culture non-profits.

Sound good? Read more after the jump and on the BCA website or  contact Juliana Rogers at [email protected], or call Business Council for the Arts at 972-991-8300 ext. 602.

Business Council for the Arts Now Accepting Applications for 2014-2015 Leadership Arts Institute

DALLAS, Texas (July 21, 2014) – Business Council for the Arts (BCA) is now accepting applications for the 2014-2015 Leadership Arts Institute, a program founded in 1989 by businessman and philanthropist Raymond D. Nasher, to develop the next generation of business and arts leaders to advocate for, and support, local cultural organizations.. The deadline to apply is August 1, 2014.
“Leadership Arts is a proven program that has given business leaders the opportunity to grow within the community. It is incredible to see the individual’s growth in leadership as they change the face of arts and culture in North Texas while serving as great representatives for their company. Nearly every non-profit now has grown by having Leadership Arts graduates on its board of directors,” said Katherine Wager, CEO of Business Council for the Arts.
The program provides training in leadership, nonprofit board best practices and knowledge of current critical issues affecting regional cultural institutions in North Texas. The methodology consists of ten seminars led by expert speakers, and an annual project that serves as a practicum.
Upon completion of the program, graduates are individually matched to serve on nonprofit boards of directors of arts and cultural agencies. The program has a strong legacy of more than 900 graduates who have served on over 300 boards throughout the region. Graduates of Leadership Arts provide North Texas cultural organizations with a wide range of business expertise, as well as best practices in board leadership.

To learn more or apply for Leadership Arts 2014-2015, contact Juliana Rogers at [email protected], or call Business Council for the Arts at 972-991-8300 ext. 602.

Leadership Arts Testimonials

“Leadership Arts Institute gave me the tools and insight to understand the impact of the arts in North Texas. I feel equipped for board service and leadership that will elevate Dallas’ profile as an artistic, cultural and economic center.” –Tatum H. Rodgers, Community Site Manager, Big Thought

“What an honor to be accepted into the 2013-14 class! As a born and raised Dallas-ite, It seems like only yesterday that our Downtown was only skyscrapers, and now we have an internationally renowned and thriving arts district. This change is, in part, due to the efforts of the team at the BCA and all the arts advocates that graduate from the Leadership Arts Institute… trained and ready to make a significant impact on all of the arts boards in Dallas. If you have an interest in supporting the arts, have no higher recommendation than to apply for this program.” –Wendi McGowan-Ellis, Commissioned Painter and Design Blogger

“The Leadership Arts Institute is a fantastic way to learn more about the Dallas Arts Community and how I could best leverage my resources to be a part of an effective board and contribute to my community. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be more than just a patron of the arts and truly be a part of the arts community as a business professional.” –Heidi K. Murray, Chief Operating Officer, Leadership Women

Business Professionals graduating from BCA’s Leadership Arts program have been placed on the following nonprofit board of directors:
African American Lawyers Section for the State Bar of Texas
African American Museum
AIA Latinos in Architecture
Alberta Bair Theater
Alley Theatre
America Scores Dallas
American Business Council- United Arab Emirates
American Foundation for the Blind
American Institute of Graphic Arts
Apex Arts League
Arthouse at the Jones Center
Arts Culture and Education
Arts Distrcit Chorale
Arts District Friends
Arts Leadership Council
Asian Film Festival of Dallas
AT&T Performance Arts Center President Advisory Council
AT&T Performing Arts Center
Austin Fine Arts Alliance
Ballet Austin
Barristers for Babies Committee
Behringer Harvard Funds
Big Thought
Booker T. Washington Advisory Board
Business Council for the Arts
CASA
Catholic Charities of Dallas, Inc.
Catholic Counseling Services
Center for Nonprofit Management
Central Allocation Committee of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
Charleston Southern University
ChildCareGroup
Children’s Cancer Fund of Dallas
Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas
City of Cedar Hill Economic Development Corporation Board
City of University Park Finance Committee
Collin County Community College District
Creative Arts Center of Dallas
Dallas Arboretum’s ArtScape Committee
Dallas Bar Association
Dallas Bar Association Antitrust & Trade Regulation Section
Dallas Black Dance Theatre
Dallas Business Committee for the Arts (BCA)
Dallas Center for Performing Arts Marquee Circle
Dallas Children’s Advocatcy Center Foundation
Dallas Children’s Theatre
Dallas Gun Club
Dallas Historical Society
Dallas Museum of Art
Dallas Opera
Dallas Press Club
Dallas Reads
Dallas Summer Musicals
Dallas Supporters of the Fort Worth/ Dallas Ballet
Dallas Symphony Association
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Innovators
Dallas Texas Exes
Dallas Theater Center
Dallas Visual Arts Center (Dallas Contemporary)
Dallas Wind Symphony
Dallas Zoological Society
DallasCite
Dance Council of North Texas
DFW International Airport Diversity Council
DMS Board of Dallas County
Downtown Dallas: The Association
Downtown Improvement District
Downtown Partnership
EASL
Executives-in Action
FFMC
Field Scovell Scholarship Foundation
Fine Arts Chamber Players
Friends of Fair Park
Friends of the Dallas Public Library
Friends of WRR
Garza County Airport
Gentileschi Aegis Gallery Association
Global Business Travel Association
Go Oak Cliff
Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber
Greater Dallas Youth Orchestras
Heart of a Warrior Foundation
Hispanic Bankers Association
Holocaust Museum Houston
Home Health Services Agency
Human Rights Initiative
I Live here, I Give Here
IABC
Institute for Energy Efficiency
International Aviation Womens Association
J.L. Turner Legal Association
Jesters
Johnston County Arts Council
Junior Achievement
Junior Players Guild
Kitchen Dog Theater
La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas
Lakewood Service League
Leadership Arts Alumni
Leadership Arts Alumni Steering Committee
Leadership Dallas Alumni Advisory Council
Leadership Texas
Library Board
Lone Star Wind Orchestra
McKinney Arts Commission
McKinney Avenue Contemporary
McKinney Youth Leadership
Museum of Nature and Science
Nasher Foundation
Nasher Sculpture Center
National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms
National Endowment for the Arts
New Media Consortium Midea
North Texas Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
North Texas Public Broadcasting- KERA
Office of Cultural Affairs City of Dallas
Project X Theatre
Refugee and Empowerment Services
Salvation Army of Tulsa
Securities Section of the Dallas Bar Association
Shakespeare Dallas
Society for Professional Journalists
St. Cecilla Catholic School
State Bar of Texas Committee
State Bar of Texas Legal Aspect of the Art Committee
State Bar of Texas Women and the Law
Taylor University National Alumni Council
Texas Ballet Theater
Texas Board of Legal Specialization
Texas Sculpture Association
Texas Winds Outreach
The Dallas Center for Contemporary Art
The Dallas Opera
The Science Place
Theatre Action Project
Theatre Three
Thomas Edison Charter Schools
TITAS
Trafford Healthcare
UNB Varsity Reds
Undermain Theater
Voice of Change
WaterTower Theatre
West End Association
Women’s Alliance
Workforce Solution
YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas
Young Audiences of North Texas (Big Thought)
Zale Lipshy University Hospital at Southwestern Medical Center
Zula B. Wylie Library Board

About Business Council for the Arts
Business Council for the Arts (BCA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1988 as an initiative of the Dallas Citizen’s Council by Raymond D. Nasher and other local business leaders. We unite commerce and culture, serving as a connector and convener between businesses, municipalities and arts and cultural organizations. BCA fosters strategic corporate investment in the arts to build world-class communities with programs and consulting services, which benefit more than 100 member companies and hundreds of arts organizations. Our members have the opportunity to engage in a multitude of programs that develop leadership skills and encourage creative thinking, as well as touch on important business issues such as diversity, employee engagement and retention. Visit ntbca.org for more information.