Award-winning playwright and performer, Will Power, and arts education leader, Eric Booth, presented year's keynote addresses at the Guild's 74th annual Conference for Community Arts Education in Boston.

Will Power is known across the globe as one of the most provocative and fresh voices in the world of art - not only for his acclaimed theatrical performances and contributions to the world of hip hop, but also for his ongoing work with teens through the U.S., across Africa and the former Soviet Union.  Through performance and dialogue with other arts leaders, Will shared his approach to building youth participation in the arts.  He spoke during the Opening Plenary, Thursday, November 10, 9:45 - 11:15am.

Arts educator and author Eric Booth challenges us to move beyond what he calls "a culture of scarcity" and embrace the expansive, creative impulses that got us into the arts in the first place.  Increasing lifelong learning opportunities in the arts requires that we, the arts sector, come out of our "silos" (as diverse organizations, disciplines, etc.) to identify and act upon our common ground, especially in this time of limited resources when our competing impulse is often to hunker down and focus in.  By continuing to identify our areas of intersection, we can better leverage shared resources, exchange models of best practice, identify new areas for innovation and growth, and more boldly demonstrate the positive impact of our work.  Booth spoke during the Friday Morning Plenary, November 11, 10:00 - 11:30am.