Several thousand people are expected to converge on New York City, Jan. 9-13, 2015 for the annual conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP). Now in its 58th year, the global performing arts marketplace and conference will feature more than 1000 artist showcases, a large EXPO Hall featuring nearly 400 exhibitors, daily plenary sessions and keynote speakers, and a wide array of professional development workshops and forums. For the first time in its history, select sessions and plenaries will live stream free for industry professionals, artists and the public.

APAPnyc2015The theme for the 2015 conference is “Together,” and it is one that arts professionals will be threaded through the plenary sessions and professional development tracks aimed at expanding the reach and relevance of the presenting field through collective action. Key industry trends and issues to be addressed include targeting untapped and more diverse audiences, working with artists to better draw, engage and sustain those audiences, and using performance to make a social or humanitarian impact on individuals and their communities. Sessions will highlight case examples of programs and projects where APAP members have successfully collaborated with their peers and other partners, in addition to innovative business strategies and tools that are critical to thriving in the business of performing arts presenting.

“Our plenary sessions bring together performing arts professionals to hear from some of the most inspiring thought leaders and creative artists from around the world who influence our field and our future,” said Mario Garcia Durham, president and CEO of APAP. “This year we take that opportunity to honor and champion the creativity, collaboration and reciprocity that effects important change in the communities we serve together.”


Free Live Streaming of Select Sessions Makes Its APAP Conference Debut

Among the conference’s featured speakers will be Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, activist and humanitarian Angelique Kidjo; Inuit throat singer and Polaris Music Prize winner Tanya Tagaq, who also was honored for Pushing the Boundaries during the recent 2014 Canadian Folk Music Awards; and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, whose 2014 release, The River & The Thread, has drawn much critical acclaim and was the most-played album on Americana radio during 2014 according to the Americana Music Association.

Along with other members of the Content Creators Coalition (c3), an artists advocacy group, Cash will participate in a special session on Monday morning, Jan. 12, entitled “The Music Business and the Digital Age.” Panelists will explore fair compensation for creators in the digital age, how this affects arts presenters, and how to help support the artists whose livelihoods are interwoven with those of presenters.

Tagaq will be part of a keynote plenary on “The Arts as Levelers of Experience” on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 10, from 12-1:30 p.m. EST. Kidjo will close the conference on Tuesday morning, Jan. 13, from 10-11 a.m. with her inspirational perspective on arts and humanity. Both Tagaq’s and Kidjo‘s plenary sessions will stream live, as will several other plenary and professional development sessions during the conference. Those wishing to listen-in online must complete a sign-up form that appears, along with information abut the live streaming sessions, in a drop-down menu under Programs and Events on the conference website – apapnyc.org.

Folk and Roots Artists to Showcase Their Talents

Dozens of performers from the folk, roots and singer-songwriter communities in the U.S., Canada and several other countries will showcase their talents during the conference. Among them will be Acoustic Eidolon, Mike Aiken, The Amigos Band, Balsam Range, Barnya, Beausoleil avec Michel Doucet, Rory Block, Allison Brown, Calle Sur, Caravan of Thieves, Tom Chapin, Cherish The Ladies, Dala, Danu, Guy Davis, KJ Denhert, Dom Flemons, Julie Fowlis, Vicki Genfan, Seth Glier, The High Kings, The Jammin Divas, The Klezmatics, The Kruger Brothers, Claire Lynch Band, Kate MacLeod, Matuto, Mike & Ruthy, Miss Tess & the Talkbacks, Mr. Sun (new American string music featuring noted violinist Darol Anger), Ellis Paul, The Pine Hill Project (Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell), The Prodigals, Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, Red Molly, Steve Riley & Mamou Playboys, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, Sultans of String, Taarka, Vienna Teng, April Verch, Susan Werner and David Wilcox. Alaska-based fiddler and poet Ken Waldman presents roots music variety showcases featuring a number of acts at Brooklyn’s Jalopy Theatre on Thursday night and at the Manhattan nightclub Don’t Tell Mama on Friday.

As in years past, conference exhibition halls will teem with booking agents and presenters eager to speak with them, and there’ll be a whole lot of networking opportunities.

Several pre-conference forums also are slated. These include a two-day World Music Pre-conference (Jan. 8-9) featuring workshops and panel discussions arranged by music PR firm Rock Paper Scissors. Thursday’s programming focuses on best practices and technology for artists and labels, while Friday’s sessions are geared more towards presenters, agents and managers.

A Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, APAP is a national service, advocacy and membership organization dedicated to developing and supporting a robust performing arts presenters field and the professionals who work within it.

Editor’s Note: As I have since 2007, I will be attending the APAP Conference and reporting on select highlights afterwards.