Keynotes & Presentations

COMING UP

Watch recordings of past presentations below, and check back soon for updates!

PAST

From the Ground Up at IdeasCityWS Beta Bonfire
A panel discussion with Allison Orr and From the Ground Up Collaborators
December 10, 2020 at 5PM EST/4PM CST

Forklift’s Founder & Artistic Director Allison Orr will be speaking in a virtual panel discussion about From the Ground Up through the lens of workforce development. The event is part of the IdeasCity Winston-Salem series and is open to the public. Watch here

Creative Placemaking 101
A Webinar with Krissie Marty & Lynn Osgood
February 26, 2020

Forklift’s Associate Artistic Director Krissie Marty was featured on a webinar with Engaging Local Government Leaders and Lynn Osgood (CivicArts). “Creative Placemaking 101” explored what creative placemaking is, different ways artists work with city staff, and the ways you can incorporate arts and culture into all aspects of your community and public service. Read More

Finding Work/Life Balance in the Arts
A Webinar with Allison Orr
February 19, 2020

Forklift’s Founder & Artistic Director Allison Orr was featured on a webinar about work/life balance hosted by the Texas Commission on the Arts. Allison shared tips on making time for the creative process, family, and relaxation for busy arts professionals. Watch the webinar and check out the Resource List.

When Artists and Municipalities Partner for the Public Good
A Webinar with Krissie Marty & Lynn Osgood
February 19, 2020

How can artists and municipal leaders work together to bring innovative creative capacities to achieve civic goals, improve the workings of government, and benefit community residents? Forklift’s Associate Artistic Director Krissie Marty and Lynn Osgood (Civic Arts) addressed this question and more in a webinar with Americans for the Arts. Read More

Residency at Wesleyan University
Middletown, CT
December 2-6, 2019

In an ongoing workshop program with students, Allison Orr and Gretchen LaMotte visited Wesleyan University to workshop creative presentations developed by students and collaborating Physical Plant employees. These students have embedded with Physical Plant for the semester as part of their Intro to Environmental Studies course. Read More

Marking History, Making Art
Oakwood Cemetery Chapel, Austin, TX
November 21, 2019

Forklift’s Associate Artistic Director Krissie Marty was featured in a panel and discussion around how artists working in community can honor that group’s history and sense of place as they create their work. The panel was hosted by Sightlines, Big Medium, Preservation Austin, and Oakwood Cemetery and moderated by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin. Read More

National Conference for Community Arts Education
Austin, TX
November 2, 2019

Assistant Choreographer Gretchen LaMotte, Community Engagement Coordinator Miriam Conner, and Lynn Osgood of partner organization Civic Arts hosted a site visit and workshop at Givens Neighborhood Pool for the 2019 Conference for Community Arts Education.

National Recreation and Parks Association Conference
Baltimore, MD
September 24, 2019

Forklift’s Associate Artistic Director Krissie Marty presented alongside collaborators and cast members Jodi Jay (Aquatic Division Manager) and Paul Slutes (Aquatic Maintenance Supervisor) about their artist-municipal collaboration on My Park, My Pool, My City. This workshop shared tools for partnering with artists with municipal parks and recreation staff from across the country. Read More

Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit | West
Albuquerque, NM
February 7-9, 2019

Forklift’s Associate Artistic Director Krissie Marty, Lynn Osgood of Civic Arts, and Paul Slutes of Austin Aquatics presented two sessions of “Embodied Listening/Embedded Reflection: Arts-Based, Community-Focused Practices” at the Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit in Albuquerque. Led by the National Consortium for Creative Placemaking, ArtPlace America, the City of Albuquerque, and the University of New Mexico, the summit included a series of seminars, workshops, and peer exchanges investigating how creative placemaking can address community needs. Conference Recap

Creative Placemaking Webinar with LISC & the NEA
December 12, 2018

Forklift artists Allison Orr and Krissie Marty, alongside Aquatic Maintenance Supervisor Paul Slutes, were featured on “Digging Deep: Community Engagement Methods & Techniques” at the invitation of  the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The second in a series of webinars on creative placemaking, the discussion focused on the collaboration and community leadership exemplified in My Park, My Pool, My City. Watch the webinar

Residency at Wesleyan University – November 2018
Middletown, CT
November 28-30, 2018

Allison Orr and Gretchen LaMotte visited Wesleyan University to support creative presentations by students and partnering Physical Plant employees who had been working together throughout the semester.  Read More

Residency at Wesleyan University – September 2018
Middletown, CT
September 10-12, 2018

Allison Orr and Gretchen LaMotte visited Wesleyan University as guest speakers in Dance and Environmental Studies classes. A small cohort of students prepared to dive into the process by embedding with and job shadowing Physical Plant staff throughout the semester.

Keep Texas Beautiful 2018 Conference
Georgetown, TX
June 11 – 13, 2018

Allison Orr was the keynote speaker at the 51st annual Keep Texas Beautiful conference. Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) is a network of dedicated Texans working together to make our state the best place to live, work and play. At the 2018 conference, KTB examined how strengthening the connection between people and the places they share helps communities large and small shape their public realm in order to maximize the value of the places they work and play, together.

ICAF Summer School 2018
Barcelona, Spain
July 22 – 27, 2018

Allison Orr and Krissie Marty were featured artist-facilitators at the International Community Arts Festival’s 2018 Summer School in Barcelona. The Summer School took place under the umbrella of the El Grec 2018 Festival de Barcelona. It was a week of exciting encounters, hands-on experience and in-depth dialogue between colleagues from all over the world, all centered on the theme of Changing Perspectives. Experienced professionals and young artists alike had the opportunity to develop their skills and reflect on their work.

Dance | USA 2018 Dance Forum at APAP
New York Hilton Midtown
January 12, 2018

Allison Orr and Krissie Marty were panelists at the 2018 Dance Forum, a pre-conference event at APAP, presented by Dance/USA. The event brought together a wide variety of individuals working in the dance industry to explore concepts of relevance, community, place-based work, and truth telling – creating dance in and for today’s society. The event was presented workshop-style with opportunities to dialogue with peers and speakers from across the country in both large and small group conversations. Dance Forum was free and open to the entire dance community; APAP registration was not required.

Residency at Wesleyan University – September 2017
Middletown, CT
September 13-17, 2017

Allison Orr visited Wesleyan University to teach, lead a workshop, and screen Trash Dance. Along with Forklift artist and Wesleyan alumna Clara Pinsky, Allison lead a workshop entitled “How to Pull Off the Impossible—a workshop for artists, activists, and artist-activists” in Forklift’s process of community-based art making.

International Community Arts Festival 2017
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
March 29 – April 2, 2017

Forklift artists Krissie Marty and Allison Orr were featured artists in residence at the 2017 International Community Arts Festival. Together Krissie and Allison worked with local trash collectors on a short performance, screened Trash Dance, and lead a workshop on “Community Dance US Style.” Read More

APAP | NYC Annual Global Performing Arts Conference
New York Hilton Midtown
January 8, 2017

Artistic Director Allison Orr spoke alongside artists Jonah Bokaer, Eddie Cota, Hadi Eldebek, Jawole Will Jo Zollar in an APAP plenary session moderated by Will Power. “The Creative Team: Finding the Flow Together” addressed questions around key factors that are shifting the making, producing and presenting of work to more effectively connect with contemporary audiences while meeting the financial and other objectives of all who have invested in the process. Watch the Panel

National Arts Marketing Project Conference
Austin Hilton Hotel
November 14, 2016

Forklift artists Allison Orr and Krissie Marty hosted “Art Across the City: Community-Based Collaborations in Austin,” a panel conversation with Forklift performers Don Anderson and Allen Small, along with Lynn Osgood of GoCollaborative and artist Michael Garcia of Drawing Lines. The discussion addressed how cross-sector partnerships built morale, changed citizen’s perceptions, and created new audiences. The session included short performance clips, the nuts and bolts of how these projects happened, and conversations between organizers, artists, and city staff on how to support successful collaborations and create effective engagement strategies in your community.

Annual Meeting of the National Performance Network
Austin Sheraton at the Capitol Hotel
December 2, 2016

Forklift artists Allison Orr and Krissie Marty lead “Idea Forum: Art-Making In and With Community” on community-based social practice with a panel of city employees who have performed in the company’s large-scale civic spectacles. Topics included collaboration, the creative process and the impact these projects have had on participants personally and on their work environments. Artists and city workers offered insights and advice on about art making that addresses issues of race, class, culture and artistic privilege (who gets to make art and where). Watch the Panel