Arts Disaster and Crisis Preparedness Conference 2026

Arts Disaster and Crisis Preparedness Conference 2026

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8:15am EDT

Registration & Continental Breakfast Ballroom A

8:45am EDT

Welcome & Opening Remarks Ballroom A

9:00am EDT

Keynote: Designing for Hope: The Power of Art and Evaluation in Disaster Response Ballroom ARaquel Farrell-Kirk • Stacey Kesten

9:45am EDT

Networking & Refreshment Break Ballroom A

10:00am EDT

UK Robinson Center: To Rebuild>To Refocus>To Recover 330DDaniel Wilson Safeguarding Community Celebrations: Lessons from Greenup County’s Between Two Rivers Arts & Preparedness Project 330EMelissa Bond • Anne Stephens The Art of Paying it Forward Brockman Senate Chamber (2nd floor)Jordan Phemister • Jill Celaya • Elizabeth Riley • Al Chandler • Helen Siewers A Guided Tour of Readiness, Response, and Recovery Resources: Navigate the landscape of support for artists and arts organizations 375Mollie Quinlan-Hayes • Emily Sollenberger Legacy Planning and Archiving for the Active Artist: What you’ve created merits preservation 330CTom Clareson • Anne Huang The Healing Power of Dance 231EveMarie Bessenbach

10:30am EDT

Interdisciplinary Links from Appalachian Water Humanities Cooperative 330DNicole Marks • Kathryn Newfont • Kopana Terry • Matthew Strandmark EmComm for All: Basic radio communication for resilient communities 330ESamuel Lockridge

11:00am EDT

Networking & Refreshment Break 330AB

11:15am EDT

Community Identity and the Perception of Post-Hurricane Arts Engagement: A Regional Case Study of Northwest Florida and Coastal Alabama 330ECrystal King Wallner Fire Behavior, Salvage, and Prevention for Arts and Cultural Organizations 231Jared Yax Disasters, Data, and Decision-Making: Finding and Understanding Local Disaster-Related Data 375Julie N. Zimmerman • Jeff Young Revealing Our Fragile Future: How Architecture Can Make Climate Vulnerability Visible Brockman Senate Chamber (2nd floor)Morris (Marty) Hylton III • Jennifer Wellock NCAPER Learning Sprint: Risk Assessment, Business Continuity, Navigating Crises and Legacy Planning 330DMollie Quinlan-Hayes • Tom Clareson • Mital Lyons-Warren Rampart: Readiness and Legacy Planning for Musicians 330CGene Meneray • Ashlye Keaton

11:45am EDT

Arts Emergency Management in Higher Education: A New Pedagogy for Resilience 231Rachel Shane • Leah Hamilton Creative Resilience: How Arts-Based Practices Support Community Healing 330EShelly Krajny

12:15pm EDT

Lunch & Networking Ballroom A

1:15pm EDT

Roundtable Discussion #1: Arts in Disaster: A Conversation Around Tools for Community Connection and Wellbeing 231Heather Spooner • Sara Baicich Roundtable Discussion #2: Retreating to Advance: CAReNet's artist-led approach to disaster relief and recovery 375Sarah M. Schmitt • Kiana Mahjub Roundtable Discussion #3: The Arts and Post Disaster Recovery Resource Brockman Senate Chamber (2nd floor)Lucia Girado • Crystal King Wallner • Jennifer Kuo • Maya Farooq Roundtable Discussion #4: Local Arts Agencies: Essential Infrastructure for Disaster Readiness, Response, and Recovery 330DMital Lyons-Warren • Eleanor Billington Roundtable Discussion #5: What Does Resilience Look Like To You? An Emergency Management Perspective, from Preparedness and Mitigation to Response and Recovery 330ELaurel Wood Roundtable Discussion #6: Connection as Prevention: Building Arts, Health, and Community Response Networks After Disaster 330CMoira Pirsch • Erin Brothers • Hoku Pavao

2:00pm EDT

Networking & Refreshment Break 330AB

2:15pm EDT

ArtShine: Illuminating the Healing Potential of the Arts 330ETimothy Deaton-Conway • Lindsey Branson Cultural Emergency Response Map: Safeguarding Puerto Rico’s Heritage 330CHilda Teresa Ayala González National Efforts, Local Impact: Insights from the NEA and Creative Forces Arts in Disaster Programming Brockman Senate Chamber (2nd floor)Heather Spooner • Bill O'Brien • Eleanor Billington • Sara Kass • Sara Baicich After the Storm: Storybooks and other Arts-Based Practices for Children’s Disaster Readiness and Recovery 330DNicole Breazeale • David Weisenhorn • Jessica Evans • Natese Dockery • Melissa Bond Lost in Translation: When Arts Administrators and Emergency Managers Speak Different Languages 375Cameron Baxter Lewis Movement Choirs for Community Resilience 231Amy Schwartzman

2:45pm EDT

From Comic Book Inker to Crisis Leader 330EJason York Stronger Together: Forging a Rural Arts and Culture Disaster Resilience Network in Vermont 330CAmy Cunningham

3:15pm EDT

Networking & Refreshment Break 330AB

3:30pm EDT

From Fly Loft to Rescue Loft: Using Theatre Spaces for High Rescue Training 330CAlicia Jay The Late Recovery Gap: Make-Break-Transform, an Arts-Based Framework for Community-Led Recovery 330EMichelle Rene Hill From Forecast to First Response: An All‑Hazards Panel for Arts and Culture with a Meteorologist and an Emergency Manager Brockman Senate Chamber (2nd floor)Jane Marie Wix • Jason York • Leah Hamilton • Melissa Bond Creative Disasters: Movement workshop for disaster storytelling 231Wyn Batson • Taiga Christie • Nicole Garneau • Rachel O'Hanlon-Rodriguez In the Wake of Disasters: Defining and Mitigating Traumas 375Rachel Hooper Risk Assessment: Spot Vulnerabilities Before They Become Emergencies 330DMichelle Dobbins • Tom Clareson

4:00pm EDT

Case Study: A Cultural Treasure Engulfed in Flames 330EJoshua Prentice The Alianza Cultural para Emergencias de Puerto Rico: Building Connections and Resilience through Educational Innitiatives 330CHilda Teresa Ayala González

4:45pm EDT

Closing Plenary Performance: "Down by the River" Ballroom AJulie Hobbs

5:30pm EDT

Closing Reception Ballroom A