Since 1993, the NYS ARTS Rural Arts Program has been providing support and technical assistance to a group of designated rural art councils and art centers throughout New York State to help them strengthen their organizations and community involvement and support. The program is grounded in basic organization building and creating a network of information exchange as well as a statewide identity for the Rural Partners. Further, the Rural Arts Program links the Rural Partners directly with all peer organizations, services and information provided through NYS ARTS membership. It is the only statewide program in the country specifically designed to deliver direct, fast and effective help to rural organizations.
To attain these goals, the Rural Arts Program provides:

Dedicated NYS ARTS staff assistance for Rural Partners and developing organizations:

The Rural Arts Director is available full time to assist Rural Partners with organizational stabilization and growth; keep them updated and informed on issues, trends and opportunities in the field, and help them network with other Rural Partners and the statewide NYS ARTS field.

Onsite visits and ongoing technical and personalized assistance, provided by the Rural Arts Director to Rural Partners and their boards, with customized follow up and recommendations. The Director is also available by phone and email to answer specific questions, and provide requested research information and referrals.

Courtesy visits are scheduled at sites with new organizational directors, to introduce the NYS ARTS and Rural Arts Program, and to help the new staff person get up to speed.

Board Tune-up, a 30-minute personalized session with the NYS ARTS Rural Arts Director to assist a board in dealing with a specific issue, evaluating and improving their performance, or guidance on next steps in organizational development. These are scheduled during regular board meetings, and board members have access to requested follow-up information. Board Tune-up topics include: Board Roles & Responsibilities, Board Recruitment & Training, Organizational Assessment, Planning and Priorities, Building Community Support.

Information, research, and networking:

The Rural Partnership is a distinct group within NYS ARTS, and enjoys some unique services to help them share information with their peers. This includes:

The Annual Rurals Gathering at the ARTS SUMMIT NYS ARTS statewide gathering is an extremely useful opportunity to pull all the Rural Partners together to share information and discuss issues of interest to rural areas, and plan future services that will help them in their work.

Research and publications on issues affecting rural cultural organizations. The changing demographics of upstate New York, effective fundraising in rural communities, building a donor base, and building new audiences are among the topics that have been researched and published by the Rural Arts Director.
View our 2009 Rural Partners Survey results.

The Rural Arts Network (RAN) list serve is a discreet network for use only by the Rural Partners. Rural Partners use it to raise questions and get responses/answers from their peers, and the NYS ARTS uses it to share information. Researched articles and notices of interest to rural groups get published here first, then are shared on the NYS ARTS website. Regular Rurals columns appear in the NYS ARTS Member Memo.

Rural Conversations: at times when issues surface that affect the Rural Partnership as a whole, NYS ARTS provides a statewide venue through scheduled conference calls for the Rural Partners to discuss these issues and work on solutions with each other.

Workshops: