Girl About O-Town

As you may know by now, this girlaboutOtown is the reflective type.  I tend to ruminate about ideas and experiences, and I have learned it is best to let my mind take its time and do its work.  Eventually, a perspective always emerges.

My most recent visit to Canada’s National Arts Centre is a perfect example of this approach.  Hosted by the very generous marketing team of Jennifer Covert and Natalie Peachy (@CanadasNAC), I was privileged to be included in their Bloggers Night Out a week ago last Thursday. 

Several Ottawa bloggers were invited to see the Pops Orchestra show “Mysterioso, Music and Magic”.  We were treated to a few fine food selections from Chef Blackie’s new Le Cafe menu with some wine beforehand, and a backstage Q &A session after the show with maestro Jack Everly, Principal Pops Conductor of the NAC Orchestra and visiting magician extraordinaire Joseph Gabriel.  

Mike Thompson of Ottawa Tonite did up this video, which does a great job of documenting the evening’s delightful events – or you can read more by Dani of Postcards of the Mothership, Andrea of a peek inside the fishbowl, Kim of relishing.ca and Julie of coffeewithjulie.   Not surprisingly each blogger describes a different point of view and imparts their unique insight into our magical, musical night out.

For my part, Bloggers Night Out simply confirmed my belief that the dedicated people behind the scenes at Canada’s National Arts Centre are magicians too! 

From marketers and musicians to donors and dancers, these alchemists are not just making the arts to available to a broad audience – they are also creating and shaping our local and national culture. While the breadth and depth of performance offerings at the centre is nothing short of stunning, this deliberately diverse appeal is motivated by much more than just money.  In addition to a clear desire to continue operating, the NAC actively strives to lead, and here is where they really succeed.  

Not only does the NAC support innovation in each of the performing arts fields in which it works – music (classical & contemporary), theatre (French & English), dance and variety – it also engages us directly through its educational activities, community programming and support of emerging artists.  As one of the largest multidisciplinary, bilingual performing arts centres in the world, the NAC is indeed influencing Canada’s culture by creating new connections, inspiring future artistic contributions and enabling the accessible consumption of the arts.  

Bloggers Night Out was just one small piece of this much bigger picture.

The leadership of President and CEO Peter Herrndorf should not be understated either. For a federal institution with a long established tradition and a variety of core constituencies to cater to, it cannot have been easy to embrace technology with enthusiasm, to jump confidently into the conversation underway on the social web, or to change so convincingly to keep up with the times.  

Mr. Herrndorf’s presence on Bloggers Night provides excellent evidence of the NAC’s commitment to progress.  More than just an ‘appearance’, Mr. Herrndorf stayed with us awhile to make our acquaintance, to swap stories, and to pose meaningful questions to help him make the NAC experience even better.  When he inquired “How often do you come? What do you like to see?”, not only was he genuinely open to hearing our opinions, it was obvious Mr. Herrndorf was  listening intently and that our responses actually mattered to him.

So, for those who might suggest that the NAC was simply wining and dining a bunch of bloggers in their own institutional interest, this girlaboutOtown respectfully disagrees. 

Make no mistake, as far as interests go, the NAC never stops finding new ways to work on behalf of ours!  

Photo credit Marc Fowler, via the NAC.