Reflections From Our Desert Staff Retreat

Last week, the Level Ground staff team ventured to the desert for what we hope will be an annual staff retreat. Rebekah Neel, our Artist Community Manager, shares some reflections from our time away.

Over the course of the last year and a half Level Ground has grown in its dreams and plan for the future, along with successfully adapting to the ever-changing reality of operating during a pandemic. We’ve launched an artist collective, supported 3 resident artists through their first solo shows, published an art magazine, and hosted multiple small virtual gathering spaces for artists (to name a few things). That’s pretty outstanding for a group of people who managed to avoid in-person meetings since March 2020! Now that we’re emerging into this weird “post”-pandemic limbo where things are happening, but there is still a virus to take account of, our team knew we needed to carve out the time and space to plan our next steps together, in the same room. So last week, the four of us on the Level Ground staff team (we’re all vaccinated) headed to the desert for a highly anticipated staff retreat.

This staff retreat was the first chance we’ve had to share space, meals, and planning sessions together in person. Something happens when you are sharing space that doesn’t come as easily through a Zoom screen. Plus, who knew that Miso Smoked Gouda Toast would be so good… now I know.

Throughout the second half of 2020 Level Ground worked with our artists and board to create a Strategic Plan for the future of Level Ground. At the beginning of 2021 we finalized this plan and have been working to wrap up some of the first action steps. Now felt like the right time to create some space for thinking critically about the many moving parts that are coming next. How do we plan for conflict resolution? What are the next steps to shift the hierarchy model of the non-profit into the flat co-operative model we are aiming for? What kinds of benefits can we offer the artists in our collective? Not to give anything away, but we solved all the problems on this retreat : )

Me living my best post-it note planning dreams! (Photo by Leslie Foster)

While folx that lean more introverted have been given the space often denied by society during the course of this pandemic, extroverted leaning folx – such as myself – have often struggled to connect with that exciting productivity and collaborative flow state that we get working in person. Honestly, just having the chance to talk things out without the mute and unmute function really got me excited to keep growing and creating with this powerhouse team.

In the coming months and years, Level Ground is excited to be shifting our community and artist collective into an artist-run co-operative. This is a big transition, one that definitely won’t happen overnight, but after a couple days in the desert, we know where to start and what our next steps are, and that is really exciting.