NCCAkron hosts free event: ‘Reimagining the Nonprofit’
As part of its 10th anniversary programming and capstone Creative Administration Research (CAR) Summit Convening, the National Center for Choreography–Akron (NCCAkron) presents a free event with national artists and thought leaders commenting on and reimagining the nonprofit model. Reimagining the Nonprofit will take place at the historic Goodyear Theater on Sunday, June 21, 3:30-5pm, with perspectives from across dance, music, software technology, philanthropy, law, and public service.
Stemming from NCCAkron’s CAR approach where artists and leaders are encouraged to ask different questions instead of seeking the same answers, the community is invited to experience and hear from speakers including: Bonnie Brooks (Falls Church, VA), Alejandra Duque Cifuentes (Lacey, WA), Adam Fong (San Francisco, CA), Hope Mohr (San Francisco, CA), Matthew Radick of Monkeypod (Seattle, WA), DeMarcus Akeem Suggs (Memphis, TN) and Kate Wallich (Los Angeles, CA).
This open-to-the-public event is part of NCCAkron’s 2026 Creative Administration Research (CAR) Summit Convening; the event will be documented and later shared publicly through NCCMedia. It is free to attend with RSVP: https://www.nccakron.org/event-details/reimagining-the-nonprofit
NCCAkron Founding Executive/Artistic Director Christy Bolingbroke shares, “Ten years in, our artist alumni have reflected back to us that in addition to being a space for rigorous play and positive failure, one of NCCAkron’s greatest impacts has been as a convener. Being a process-based organization, we also acknowledge navigating the nonprofit field does not have a singular path or formula. The work is ongoing. This event and our CAR Summit Convening are opportunities to try on someone else’s perspective, to build a more nimble mental muscle, and to experiment by imagination with leaders and thinkers bringing their point of view from across the sector and the country to Akron for one weekend.”
The result of $1.75 million of support from the Mellon Foundation over six years, the CAR program challenges artists and arts leaders to think beyond “best practices.” Based on the premise that there isn’t just one way of making art so there shouldn’t be only one way of doing the business of art, the program launched in 2020 and has cultivated a think tank of 26 artist teams across 19 states. The book Artists on Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography alsoemerged from the CAR program, edited by Tonya Lockyer and published by the University of Akron Press (2024). For the 2026 Summit, NCCAkron brings together 80+ CAR alumni, choreographers, arts administrators, and thought leaders to gather, to celebrate, to physicalize their administrative thinking and dreaming, and to create new shared reference experiences to inform future work.
NCCAkron is one of only two national centers for choreography in the U.S. Nationally recognized for redefining support for dance artists and thought leaders, to date, NCCAkron has worked with 800+ choreographers from 100 U.S. cities as they explore, experiment, and shape the future of the art form. The organization also offers audiences opportunities to experiment with and understand dance through conversations, events, podcasts, and books.
L to R, top row: Alejandra Duque Cifuentes (photo Jennyroso Photography); DeMarcus Akeem Suggs (photo Larshay Watson); Adam Fong (photo courtesy of Fong); Bonnie Brooks (photo courtesy of Brooks). L to R, lower row: Matthew Radick (photo courtesy of Radick); Kate Wallich (photo Ben Lindbloom); Hope Mohr (photo courtesy of Mohr).