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PROGRAM


CANADIAN ARTS MARKETING, DEVELOPMENT & TICKETING CONFERENCE, TORONTO

07.14.26 - 07.15.26

PLENARIES & KEYNOTES

Imagining a New Future for the Arts: Relevance and Resurgence

Let’s face it:  we all may have to imagine a new future for our work.  In the face of general societal disruption and economic uncertainty, how can the arts reach out to audiences and donors and engage them in such a way that they see how vital we are to the future of our communities?  What will it take for us to have a marketing, audience development and philanthropic resurgence?  How can we do it?

Kay Sprinkel Grace, whose work and board service are currently focused on the importance of imagining  new models for organizational renewal and greater stability, will open our Arts Reach San Francisco Conference in July with a challenge to us to use our crisis as an opportunity to construct a more dynamic future through collaborative projects, innovative outreach, distinctive programming and messages that convey the substantial impact and purpose of arts in our society.  Kay’s workshop, “Reimagining Our Model,” will provide a hands-on opportunity to do some planning for the future.
Kay Sprinkel Grace
Founder and Principal, Transforming Philanthropy

 

Workshop: Reimagining Our Work

To imagine a new future for the arts, we will need to reimagine the organizational model we have used for decades. Only then, can we create a new future. Reimagining is not daydreaming. It is the hard work of taking your vision and translating it into action. And giving up old ideas that hold you back. How does it affect staffing? Messaging? Marketing? Fundraising? Stewardship? Kay Sprinkel Grace’s workshop will help you evaluate current practices for their capacity to “reinvent the future” and set you on a course to make changes that can elevate your organization, your community’s perception of it and their desire to support and advance its programming, mission and goals.
Kay Sprinkel Grace
Founder and Principal, Transforming Philanthropy

 

BREAKOUTS AND PANELS

Getting Started with AI: Practical Solutions for Arts Executives

Many arts executives say they’re curious about AI — but hesitate because they don’t know where to start. This 50-minute session opens the door with no tech jargon, just real examples, tools, and ways you can begin using AI immediately. 

This session is designed especially for executive, marketing, and development leaders in arts organizations. You’ll see how viewing AI not as a search engine, but as a conversation partner, changes what AI can do for you. 

What You’ll Take Away: 
  • Understanding AI Technology: A clear, jargon-free explanation of how tools like ChatGPT work — and why they matter for cultural organizations. 
  • How to Talk to AI: Learn how to ask the right questions, structure prompts for better results, and use AI as a partner — not just a tool. 
  • Leadership Uses of AI: See how AI can support leadership-level thinking with real-world examples for planning, decision-making, and exploring scenarios. 
  • Introducing AI to Your Team: Learn an approach for identifying internal champions, training them effectively, and building momentum. 
  • Ethics & the Law: Get basic information on AI’s risks, limitations, and evolving regulations. 
  • Everyday AI — From Tasks to Insights: Discover how AI can help with practical, surprisingly useful real-life tasks — from generating social media content to drafting donor letters and summarizing board materials. 
We’ll also touch on leadership and ethical considerations to help you use AI responsibly and build trust with staff and stakeholders. 
By the end of the session, you will have: 
  • Clarity on where to begin using AI in your role 
  • Sample prompts and exercises you can implement immediately 
  • Examples of how you can use AI both in daily life and across your organization 
Eugene Carr
Founder of Patron Manager and Arts-Technology.com

 

AI in Action: Helpful Tools and Creative Applications

If you were in the first AI session or if you’re looking to go beyond the basics, this session is designed for arts leaders who have some understanding of how to prompt AI and want to learn more about its creative and next-level applications. In this 50‐minute session, you’ll see how AI can enhance storytelling, customer engagement, problem‐solving, and content creation across your organization. 

Topics will include: 
  • Creating images, short videos, and lifelike avatars — including voice cloning — for marketing campaigns, donor engagement, and board presentations. 
  • Using AI for customer service: building instant FAQs, chatbots, and using screenshots for troubleshooting. 
  • Evaluating cost, implementation, and quality control to ensure tools fit your organization’s capacity. 
You’ll leave with fresh inspiration, curated resources, and practical ideas you can start experimenting with immediately
Eugene Carr
Founder of Patron Manager and Arts-Technology.com

 


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As someone working in the Canadian arts sector, I’ve found Arts Reach to be uniquely tailored to our specific challenges and opportunities. If you can only attend one professional development conference, this is the one—especially if you have tickets to sell or fundraising goals to achieve.

The sessions are practical, relevant, and rooted in the realities we face here in Canada. It’s a rare combination of inspiration, knowledge-sharing, and community that keeps me coming back.

Keith Tomasek
Director of Marketing and Digital Strategy
The Blyth Festival

Our Sponsors

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    Dream Warrior Group provides graceful yet technologically savvy solutions for Arts organizations. The goal-driven services focus on audience and action. As your technology advocate, we will be your ally and can manage and fully implement your online presence. Our services (à la carte or contracted) include: Web site design and development, e-marketing, e-promotion, social media management and optimization. We implement your message in a digital environment.

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    Substrakt is a leading digital agency specialising in the arts and culture sector. We partner with over 70 cultural organisations around the world to create digital experiences that connect people to art, ideas and each other. We’re here to make cultural experiences more accessible, engaging and impactful through thoughtful design, smart technology and strategic thinking.

    We offer a full suite of digital services, including the design and development of websites and digital products, alongside strategic consultancy, training and ongoing support. Our consultancy work spans areas such as digital strategy, content strategy, SEO, user research, accessibility and analytics.

    We’re proud to work with some of the world’s most inspiring cultural organisations, including the National Theatre, PAC NYC, Malmö Opera, Henry Moore Foundation, Shakespeare's Globe, Scottish Ballet, Kettle’s Yard, Leeds Heritage Theatres, Southbank Centre, and the Folger Shakespeare Library.

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    InstantEncore connects Arts & Culture Organizations with their communities through beautifully designed, affordable and easy to navigate digital engagement tools. IE partners with Arts Organizations to bring their mobile apps and digital programs to life, ensuring a positive experience for audiences of all ages.

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    BroadwayWorld is the largest theatre site on the internet, covering Broadway, the West End and beyond to 100 US cities, 45 countries and in 12 languages worldwide. With over six million monthly visitors, BroadwayWorld delivers complete up-to-the-minute Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional theatre news, in-depth interviews, extraordinary photo coverage, entertaining video features, lively message boards, ticket discounts, reviews, and more.

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    F+H Partners offers tailored development and planning services for arts and culture organizations of all sizes. With our extensive experience as advancement professionals and consultants, we collaborate directly with you to strengthen your fundraising and deepen your impact. Our personalized approach, informed by best practices and pragmatic solutions, has contributed to millions of dollars raised for our partners. We focus on building organizational capacity, ensuring you internalize the tools and processes for long-term success by actively working with you to translate robust plans into ongoing achievements.

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    Spektrix is a complete solution for ticketing, marketing, fundraising, and CRM, designed specifically for the performing arts. With world-class technology and support, Spektrix helps 650+ organizations across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. grow their revenue and deepen patron relationships. Powerful, intuitive software, at-a-glance insights, frequent and seamless upgrades, training, support, and strategic consultation with experienced professionals come at no additional cost - making Spektrix the fastest-growing solution for arts organizations today.

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    CourseStorm is an easy-to-use class registration and marketing platform perfect for arts & culture education programs and kids camps. Our cloud-based system offers a single platform to manage individual and group course registration, payment processing, rosters, waitlists, attendance tracking, customizable registration forms, class communication, and more. Learn more at https://www.coursestorm.com

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    NEW Marketing Solutions is a full-service marketing and audience development firm built around the audience development trifecta: marketing, ticketing, and experience.

    The focus is always your audience — creating seamless, data-informed strategies that connect from first impression to lasting relationship. With deep experience in ticketing, subscriptions, group sales, and audience development (plus fluency in Tessitura, social media, email, and more), the goal is to turn your ambitious ideas into real-life systems that actually work.

    Because when marketing listens, audiences respond. And when data is used thoughtfully, it delights. Join us at one of our free Executive Roundtable Discussions. Get more intel and your invites at NEW-MarketingSolutions.com/events.

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    EleeHub was founded in 2021 to address a critical gap in the nonprofit marketing domain. It became evident that most nonprofits could be categorized into three groups: those unaware of the Google Ad Grant, those who had attempted to utilize it but were deterred by its complexity, and those engaged with costly consultants yielding minimal or expensive outcomes. EleeHub emerged as a beacon for small to mid-sized nonprofits seeking an efficient, cost-effective, and impactful marketing strategy.

    As a certified Google Partner, EleeHub champions the belief that all nonprofits should fully utilize the Google Ad Grant, with professional assistance, to optimize their outcomes. The EleeHub team brings together over thirty years of collective expertise in nonprofit marketing and Google Ads, positioning itself as a leading force in the sector.  https://www.eleehub.com/

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    Elevent is the multi-event ticketing & membership platform made to modernize all things ticketing for professionalized venues, festivals, and seasonal event organizers. White-label by design, high-scale, omnichannel, and holistically blended with a real CRM, Elevent digitally transforms your event organization into what you envision. https://readyset.goelevent.com/

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Schedule

July 14, 2026:
Opening Plenary (Program starts at 8:45 a.m.)
Keynote
Breakouts
Lunch on Your Own
Breakouts
Opening Reception with one-on-ones

July 15, 2026:
Breakouts
Networking Reception with one-on-ones
Lunch with the Experts
Closing Plenary
Conference ends at 3:45 p.m.
Program and speakers subject to change.

Among other benefits, Arts Reach Members receive significant discounts on conference registration. Join NOW!