MAI Development Page

MAI Development Page:

This page is an effort to consolidate knowledge on how to plan and execute MAI. We have found the use of Google docs, particularly forms, to be invaluable in registration and execution of this program.

Please add your ideas to this website so that we can preserve and improve this institution.

Event Summary:

Friday:

Check in and art gallery set up.
Dinner
Workshop #1
Ice Breaker
Bed

Saturday:

Breakfast
Workshop #2
Workshop #3
Lunch
Workshop #4
Closing

Timeline:

Here is a general checklist by month:

Summer Before: Begin general planning. Set up a working group (we met once a month). Set a date (usually the third week in April to avoid most other spring activities).

Sept: Start getting 25-30 Artists to commit to the date and workshops (these will be used in the development of your registration). Get facility requests completed. (Sleeping, working, eating).

Oct: Solidify Artists. Work on food pricing.

Nov: Develop a schedule of events. Get your website, and forms started.

Dec: Send out a checklist and reminder to all art teachers in the state as a reminder.

Jan: Solidify your Registration Form (separate students and adults) and website. Assign someone to money collection and accounting.

Feb: Launch website and registration form. Set Deadlines for Registration and Money. Send reminders to teachers. Check on Artists.

Mar: Amass supplies. Plan ice-breaker. By the end of the month, after the deadline, start sorting the students into classes (15 per artist).

April: Plan out responsibilities for all team members. Run through the weekend. The weekend is crazy...plan for flexibility and contingencies.

May: Evaluate your event.

Administrative Set up:

We had four planners and separated into areas of work. Admin, Logistics, Operations, and Command/ Control.

We worked together but develop jobs at each monthly meeting to be completed by the next meeting.

You can solve many of the problems before the event, but keep in mind that the art teachers are going to make a lot of requests and they will not get on the ball until the last minute. They will often mess up your system.

Having good communication during the event is key. Collect cell phone numbers from everyone.

Guard the info.

Sign post everything. Schedules, Workshops, Maps, Contact info, etc. Have a central location/tent set up for coordination.

Advice:

Here is an assortment of ideas:

Kids want to make! Try to make sure your artists know this. (Also good for ice breaker).

Food is expensive....but likely to be the thing that makes your event great. Its hard to find the balance.

Artist will flake out on you. Make sure you have backups.

Test your Registration form and make a seperate one for adults.

There is something out there that would make it so your responses from the Google forms would flow into classes until they fill up. Here is a possible way of doing it (this would save 25-50 hours of work if you can figure it out.)
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qjaFQdj581iQOBziL-MpG_YaDCxTNHlG9TuUytfZwLc/edit#slide=id.g103e2c64f_032