Zeiterion Performing Arts Center Strategic Plan 2024-2027
In early 2023, The Z embarked on a strategic planning process with an ambitious intention: to completely reinvent the model for a performing arts center from the inside out, to make it an organization FOR the community WITH the community. This entailed questioning how decisions (such as what gets presented) are made and by whom, building community amongst the audiences, artists, staff, and volunteers, and doing the hard work of unlearning old ways and building a culture of justice and belonging.
What follows is the strategic plan that emerged from that ambition – which speaks authentically and vulnerably to what will need to change, as well as to what we envision in terms of a new model.
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Zeiterion Perfoming Art Center 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
Our Vision
Our Values
We envision a vibrant, bustling center for the performing arts that is a beacon of creative energy and a valuable civic asset for New Bedford and beyond.
Imagination
Our Mission The Zeiterion Performing Arts Center’s mission is to steward our historic theater as a gathering place for performing arts experiences where learning, connection, and creative expression thrive.
GOAL 5
GOAL 4
GOAL 1
ZEITERION PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Strategic Plan 2024-2027
Imagination is our starting point for creativity, empathy, and evolution. We endeavor to use imagination to find creative solutions, to present visionary artists, and to inspire understanding of the world around us.
Connection The performing arts connect us to others and to ourselves. We strive to foster connections in which reciprocity flourishes; between artist and audience, in our partnerships with our peers, and through cooperative collaboration with our city and our community.
Equity We acknowledge the segregated history of the performing arts and our role in the inequitable representation on our stage and in our audiences, staff, and board. We will actively work to dismantle systemic racism and injustice and nurture a safe and inclusive culture.
GOAL 2
Transparency GOAL 3
See following pages for Goals and Strategies.
We seek to be a trusted resource and partner. With open communication and honesty, we will forge meaningful relationships that cultivate shared ownership and true belonging.
Discovery Through the performing arts, we discover who we are and who we hope to be. We reflect on our past and look toward the future humbly with open hearts, constant curiosity, and a spirit of possibility.
Zeiterion Perfoming Art Center 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
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GOAL 1:
Steward our renovated historic building and activate it as a valuable public resource 1
Rationale: One of the studies that preceded the strategic planning process was a market study that surveyed community members about their relationship to The Z. While some had close relationships, others did not find The Z to be welcoming. The Z’s mission includes stewarding the historic facility, owned by the City of New Bedford, which means activating the building as a public resource and fostering a sense of belonging for all.
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Zeiterion Perfoming Art Center 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
GOAL 1 Strategy 1
Complete the capital renovation and restoration of the historic building
Strategy 3
Reimagine how the community will utilize the Z and its newly renovated spaces
• Restore the Z’s treasured cultural spaces to their original historic beauty
• Extend the hours the Z is open and ensure more opportunities to use the space
• Utilize state-of-the-art equipment and ensure the space is fully accessible to the community2
• Develop and continually refine equitable guidelines for the use of the new spaces by businesses and other nonprofit organizations
• Activate new spaces to expand the Z’s programming and support new revenue streams
• Create clear incoming and outgoing channels of communication so the community understands how they can engage with the Z
• Strengthen the Z’s education programs through its new movement studio and classroom spaces
• Clarify space rental terms and pricing structure including opportunities for free use of the space by community groups, etc.
Strategy 2
• Market and facilitate space rentals for community education events
Celebrate the reopening of the newly renovated building as an expression of the Z’s new mission • Include community partners in the visioning and planning process • Kick off the reopening with a season of extraordinary experiences and programs • Foster community ownership of, and belonging in, the new space
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The responsible care and protection of something considered worth
caring for and preserving. 2
When we use the word community in this plan, we mean our
community of audiences, artists, presenters, patrons, community members in the Southcoast region, and community partners.
Zeiterion Perfoming Art Center 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
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GOAL 2:
Reimagine the Z’s programming by amplifying diverse voices that engage the Z’s community 3
Rationale: The community feedback also revealed that The Z was proactive about asking the community for input, but there was insufficient follow-through on this feedback. In this planning process, we explored the voices who curated our programming. The result is a more inclusive curation model, which hopefully, will yield a slate of programs that appeal to a wider audience.
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Zeiterion Perfoming Art Center 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
GOAL 2 Strategy 1
Center diverse voices in the curation of programs • Create a programming team (staff and/or artists and community members) • Shift away from centralized decision-making by creating/refining a rubric to be used as a guide in making programming decisions • Take risks that challenge white normative programming • Invite artists and community collaborators to provide feedback and ideas on programming plans, either by serving on the programming team or by providing feedback
Strategy 2
Amplify the work of a diverse range of artists • Balance presenting national touring artists with local or undiscovered artists • Make space for emerging artists to make and share their work
Strategy 3
Cultivate a rich mix of cultures, backgrounds, identities, and generations in our audiences • Create a cross-functional audience development team and ensure they have the resources to implement ideas and strategies • Identify target audience groups (demographics), develop specific strategies targeted at those audience groups, and evaluate the results • Hold focus groups with target audience groups to determine the barriers that need to be removed and use that to inform specific strategies to make those audiences feel welcomed • Create engaging and inclusive audience experiences, and ensure multiple entry points for audiences to engage with the organization’s work • Expand programming beyond the stage and ensure it reflects New Bedford’s specific demographics and the new audiences we want to build
Strategy 4
Ensure students of all ages have access to performing arts experiences that foster imagination and creative expression • Expand the Z’s partnerships with local schools and universities to build student audiences, foster creative self-expression, and advance arts career opportunities • Curate off-stage educational events to celebrate diverse cultures linked to programs
Zeiterion Perfoming Art Center 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
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GOAL 3:
Cultivate creative expression and community connection by building mutually beneficial partnerships and collaborations in the Greater New Bedford community Rationale: The ambition to become a more inclusive center means rethinking the “traditional” model of partnership, which is based on a transactional and, at times, a somewhat extractive relationship. We are broadening our definition of partnership to be rooted in an authentic exchange of value and one that is nurtured long term. The renovation of The Z will offer several new spaces and therefore new opportunities for partnership and collaboration that will foster a greater sense of community ownership in the building.
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Zeiterion Perfoming Art Center 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
GOAL 3 Strategy 1
Based on desired goals, identify civic, business, and nonprofit organizations, and individuals within the local ecosystem with whom to partner • Define the goals of mutually beneficial partnerships, create a prioritized list of groups, focus on complementary strengths, and develop relationship-building strategies for each • Offer and/or support programs beyond the downtown community – in other neighborhoods of the city • Develop long-term, reciprocal partnerships with New Bedford-based organizations and individuals
Strategy 2
Deepen and expand the resident company program through artistic partnerships to be a more inclusive home for the performing arts • Articulate the goals and guidelines for resident companies including use of space, collaborative marketing opportunities, and mutual audience building • Forge new artistic partnerships that offer audiences new perspectives, to complement the resident company program, that offer audiences new perspectives • Partner with existing resident companies to foster inclusive programming
• Increase our visibility in the community outside of our building or programming
Zeiterion Perfoming Art Center 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
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GOAL 4:
Build and enhance the Z’s organizational capacity Rationale: To lay the groundwork for our fundraising campaign for the restoration and renovation, we commissioned a business plan that outlined a thoughtful staffing and organizational plan to bolster the increased facility spaces and demands. In addition, through introspective and generative conversations around the planning process, we decided to leverage the opportunity of strategic planning to address capacity issues. This will help us build a more resilient, effective, and inclusive organization.
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Zeiterion Perfoming Art Center 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
GOAL 4 Strategy 1
Grow the board and enhance its effectiveness at stewarding the mission • Recruit leaders of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and identities to more effectively reflect the community and mission • Build a culture of connection and relationship cultivation throughout the organization • Regularly assess the board’s performance • Create a leadership succession plan
Strategy 2
Become a learning organization by using data to continually improve our practices • Share decision-making and leadership practices with staff • Empower staff to use data to help make decisions in alignment with overall strategy (i.e. develop a rubric for program evaluation) • Expand professional development to all departments and incorporate learning from multiple sources
Strategy 3
Ensure a robust and resilient financial model • Increase contributed income by building donor relationships with individuals, private foundations, and government agencies • Increase revenue from rentals, anticipating the needs of users and delivering excellent services to boost income • Align the annual budget to the strategic plan goals • Utilize business analytics to ensure a healthy, sustainable financial model • Create a long-term capital strategy (i.e., facility and operating reserves, working capital, risk capital)
Strategy 4
Strengthen human resources practices • Create hiring networks to encourage diverse candidates and local hiring • Provide consistent, ongoing training in diversity, equity, and inclusion to all staff, volunteers, and board members • Increase opportunities for the volunteers and part-time staff to participate in various areas of the organization • Clarify staff roles as the staff grows in size • Engage in succession planning for key staff positions to ensure continuity
Zeiterion Perfoming Art Center 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
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GOAL 5:
Unlearn oppressive behaviors and embrace a culture of justice and inclusion Rationale: To be a performing arts center that is a true gathering space for the community means a deep commitment to unlearn past practices that do not serve this aspiration and to learn new ones that foster justice, inclusion, and belonging.
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Zeiterion Perfoming Art Center 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
GOAL 5 Strategy 1
Reduce the culture of urgency3 • Clarify how good decisions will be made in an atmosphere of urgency
Strategy 3
Enhance communications across the organization • Ensure more expansive, frequent, and transparent communication within the organization
• Make time and space for idea generation among staff, and ensure accountability to see ideas through
• Create informal opportunities for the staff and board to get to know one another.
• Build and customize systems, create realistic work plans and timelines, and streamline internal procedures and practices
Strategy 2
Develop antidotes to the standard of perfectionism so we can learn as we grow1 • Acknowledge what is working well before analyzing “problems” where possible • Create a learning environment, where mistakes are expected and can lead to positive outcomes • Develop a culture of appreciation for the people doing the work • Articulate clear metrics to evaluate our policies and practices through an equity lens
The tactics here are informed by White Supremacy Culture by Tema Okun 3
Zeiterion Perfoming Art Center 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
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Zeiterion Performing Arts Center Strategic Plan 2024-2027 zeiterion.org/about/strategicplan