CAA News
New Annual Conference Rotation
Commencing with its next Annual Conference, CAA will embark on a rotation among three major cities for its future annual meetings. These cities are Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York—the sites, respectively, of the forthcoming 2009, 2010, and 2011 conferences.
This mainstreaming of the conference into what the meetings industry calls first-tier cities is the result of Board of Directors–approved priorities that were codified in the CAA Strategic Plan of 2005–2010. The strategic objective of the plan in addressing the conference was to “further CAA’s leadership role in the field and emphasize [its] national perspective and commitment to membership across the country” through two means: collaborating with other organizations to sponsor regional events around the country and locating the conference in three to five major cities.
The decision to hold the conference in major cities was driven by three basic considerations. These cities are located in the regions where CAA membership is strongest. They also represent areas that posses the greatest concentration of educational and cultural organizations dedicated to the visual arts. Finally, because these cities will attract the greatest attendance and more exhibitors, they will result in a positive economic return for CAA and its members.
For balance, it should be noted that CAA participates in the regional congresses and meetings of some of its affiliated societies and allied organizations, and it intends to increase these efforts. Further, through an Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation grant, CAA currently organizes professional-development workshops for underserved locations across the United States. Such activities will enhance CAA’s presence on a regional level and aid efforts to increase membership recruitment and retention throughout the Americas and abroad.