Sponsors — Promoting the Residency

• Obtain the artist's publicity packet containing black and white photos and a news release well in advance of the residency.
• Inform your organization and school about the upcoming residency.
• Meet with the Artist in Residence Committee and take inventory of what media contacts you have. Assign responsibilities for writing news articles and making calls. This is the time for the artist and committee to define the important ideas to be shared with the community. You should provide information about the artist, art discipline and why this experience is valuable to learners involved in the residency.
• Inform newspapers and other local news media about your residency plans. Call them before the residency to discuss publicity opportunities.
• Make full use of on-site media, such as the school, district or organization newsletter, mailing lists, bulletin boards, banners, flyers, marquees, closed circuit TV and announcements, web sites and distance learning broadcasts.
• Verify facility and space availability for planned public presentations and sharings.
• Invite those who authorize your work -- parents, caregivers, governing boards, elected officials, community members, etc. -- so they can better understand the vision and goals of your arts learning work. Their direct involvement can make a difference in future support of arts learning programming.
• Keep elected officials and key policy-makers informed about the importance of the residency to learning and community life.
• Send news clippings, photos regular and electronic (however, we need black and white photos for most publications), newsletters, videos or other publicity to the OAC for documentation and future promotional use. (There is more on this topic under the sections "Photo Documentation and Video Documentation.”)
• Arrange with photographers to provide copies of photos published in newspapers along with their written permission for use by the OAC for educational purposes. Include these images on a CD-ROM or as negatives with your Final Report.