From Passion to Career: How Lucas Miller Built a Business Around Art and Science
ARTS Redefined with Angela Meleca
Release Date: 11/23/2024
What happens when food insecurity and arts funding collide?
ARTS Redefined with Angela Meleca
What happens when food insecurity and arts funding collide? In this conversation, Angela Meleca and Lynnette Shy (Confluence Arts Solutions) explore how we can discuss the artsâ impact in a world where millions face hunger and crises of basic needs. Angela challenges arts leaders to reframe their messaging so it isnât tone-deaf to broader societal strugglesâarguing that art is food for the human spirit. Together, they unpack how arts participation strengthens empathy, confidence, and belongingâthe same human outcomes that sustain communities through hardship. The two discuss...
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Stop Selling Your Shortfalls
ARTS Redefined with Angela Meleca
When your funding pitch starts with a budget gap, you position your organization as a cost. When you start with the gap in your community, you position yourself as the solution â and solutions get funded. In this episode of ARTS Redefined, Angela Meleca shares how arts leaders can shift their messaging to lead with impact, not shortfalls. Drawing from more than $160 million in secured arts funding, Angela walks you through three practical steps to identify the community gap you fill, measure the change you create, and make every pitch about outcomes funders value. Ready to reframe your...
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Why We Keep Proving the Wrong Case for Arts Funding
ARTS Redefined with Angela Meleca
Are you still trying to prove your value with ticket sales and attendance numbersâonly to see funding stay flat or disappear altogether? In this episode of ARTS Redefined, Angela Meleca exposes why the traditional case for arts funding no longer worksâand what we must do differently if we want sustainable investment in the arts. Youâll hear how 20 arts organizations are already utilizing real-time data to demonstrate outcomes that truly matter: confidence, belonging, creative skills, and job readiness. This is the kind of evidence funders valueâand the case that will shift how...
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When Words Disappear: Leading with DEI in Our DNA
ARTS Redefined with Angela Meleca
Across the country, DEI language is quietly being erasedâfrom strategic plans to university websites. But if the words are gone, what remains? In this episode of ARTS Redefined, Angela Meleca sits down with a group of arts policy students from Miami University to explore what it means to lead with values when the language is no longer safe. Together, they reflect on how equity can live in actions, decisions, and institutional practicesâeven when the acronym disappears. This candid conversation moves beyond performative allyship and toward a deeper question: What does it truly mean to embed...
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This Will Change Arts Funding Forever
ARTS Redefined with Angela Meleca
If your organization serves 100 students, what happens to those students? In this episode, Alan Harrison, author of Scene Change, delivers a sobering truth: producing art is no longer enough. In a post-NEA world, funders will demand data, not anecdotes. We unpack: Why arts nonprofits are losing fundingâand relevance The difference between teaching and educating What it means to become a movement instead of just a mission How to survive this shift by measuring impact in real-time This episode is for arts leaders, funders, and policymakers who know itâs time to stop justifying...
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Future-Proofing the Arts: Skills, Strategy, and Impact
ARTS Redefined with Angela Meleca
What does it take to future-proof the arts? In this episode of ARTS Redefined, Angela P. Meleca is joined by arts entrepreneur and professor Jeffrey Nytch to address the pressing need for new skills, models, and approaches to make a lasting impact. Angela and Jeffrey explore why arts organizations must move beyond adapting â and start leading â by getting proximate to the communities they serve, building strategic partnerships, and embracing bold programming. They discuss: Why transferable skills from the arts are critical to the innovation economy How creativity strengthens STEM...
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The Power of Perseverance and Community in the Arts
ARTS Redefined with Angela Meleca
In this episode of ARTS Redefined, Angela P. Meleca sits down with Wilma K. Mullet, Executive Director of the Tuscarawas Arts Partnership, for a powerful conversation about resilience, resourcefulness, and redefining what the arts mean to a community. Wilma shares the challenges and triumphs of leading a rural arts organization in Tuscarawas County, Ohioâfrom navigating funding limitations to building coalitions across sectors. They explore the vital role of public officials in supporting the arts, the importance of building trust, and how community can be a lifeline for artists and...
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Unleashing Creativity with Crayola: Victoria Lozano on Why Itâs a Life Skill, Not an Extra
ARTS Redefined with Angela Meleca
What if creativity isnât just something kids doâbut something we all need to thrive? In this episode of ARTS Redefined, Angela Meleca is joined by Victoria Lozano, EVP of Marketing at Crayola. Together, they discuss why creativity is one of the most critical life skills we can nurtureânot just in children, but across every profession. From reimagining Crayolaâs brand to launching the global Crayola Creativity Week, Victoria shares how the company is helping to redefine how we think about the arts in education and beyond. Takeaways include: Creativity is a behavior, not just a talent ...
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There is no failureâonly giving up. | Neno Littlewood
ARTS Redefined with Angela Meleca
In this episode of ARTS Redefined, Angela Meleca sits down with writer, creative mentor, and Rebel Writers Workshop founder Neno Littlewood for a refreshingly honest conversation about how we create, evolve, and keep goingâeven when life gets messy. From navigating ADHD and dyslexia to building a creative business and reshaping her personal identity, Neno shares how embracing her storyâand the imperfect drafts along the wayâbecame her greatest source of power. This is for every arts leader, creator, and nonprofit professional whoâs ever felt stuck or sidelined by perfectionism,...
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Is Fundraising an Art? Matt Hugg on Creative Strategies for Arts Nonprofits
ARTS Redefined with Angela Meleca
Is it possible that arts fundraising is its own art form? In this episode of ARTS Redefined, Angela Meleca is joined by Matt Huggâfounder of Nonprofit.Courses and expert in nonprofit fundraising. Together, they challenge conventional approaches to development and explore how creativity isnât just for the stage or the canvasâitâs the secret weapon in donor relationships, storytelling, and fundraising. If you're an arts leader tired of transactional fundraising and ready to connect more authentically with your supporters, this conversation is a must-listen. Youâll learn: Why...
info_outlineWhat does it take to turn your passion into a thriving career? Lucas Miller, the Singing Zoologist, shares how he combined music, science, and storytelling to build a sustainable business that educates and inspires. Tune in for practical tips on finding your niche, embracing authenticity, and treating your Art like a business.
Can Prairie Dogs Talk? A Song You'll Never Forget! đŸđ” | ARTS Redefined
Chapters
00:00 Navigating the Artistic Journey
02:50 The Business of Art
05:54 Finding Your Niche
09:06 The Role of Education in Art
12:07 Art as a Medium for Communication
15:05 Authenticity in Artistic Expression
18:06 Adapting to Change: The Pandemic's Impact
21:39 Navigating Post-Pandemic Performances
24:41 Adapting to New Audience Dynamics
26:03 Valuing Artistic Work
29:05 Treating Art as a Business
32:15 The Role of Management in Artistic Growth
34:43 Defining Art and Creativity
39:12 The Joy of Problem Solving in Art
Find Lucas Miller on YouTibe https://www.youtube.com/@singingzoo