Consulting for Arts
and Nonprofits
Recent Projects
-
Panel review of multi-million-dollar U.S. Department of Education Assistance in Arts Education grant program
-
Panel review and editing of Colorado Academic Standards for the Arts
-
Writing art-related copy for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
-
Production of 12 hours of professional development in arts education standards for the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE)
-
Mentoring of the current Fine Arts Program Advisor at ADE
-
Restructuring of management model for Command Construction Inc.
-
Provided holiday support for Tanarah Luxe Floral at Oaklawn Casino and Resort
-
Participated in production of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism Motorcycle Guide
Services
Create | Advocate | Navigate
Create
Creating programs, projects, and partnerships to find that place where a community, its arts and culture, and its leadership intersect is Lana’s specialty. This coalition-building is seen in her work to bring together the Arkansas Department of Education, Arkansas Arts Council, Arkansans for the Arts, institutions of higher education, and professional teaching associations. As a leader in this area, Lana has presented sessions at national conferences and created collaborations to bring strategic opportunities to a wide variety of organizations.
Advocate
Lana has spent her career advocating for people, for organizations, and for communities. She is one of the founding board members of Arkansans for the Arts. She was one of the organizers of the first Arts Advocacy Day at the Arkansas State Capitol and coordinated regional Arkansas Arts Roundtables, conversations about culture and community that reached a wide variety of sectors. She was named the 2019 Advocate of Note by the Arkansas Music Educators Association. For Lana, advocacy means promoting the cause about which her client is most passionate.
Navigate
Programs, projects, and conversations mean nothing without a resourceful and innovative project manager to implement ideas and drive movement toward a goal. Lana’s project management skills include revising the strategic plan, bylaws, and operating policies for her national professional association (SEADAE) as well as for the Arkansas Community Theatre Association. As Executive Director of a nonprofit arts organization, she navigated the process of becoming a 501(c)3, recruiting and training board members, strategic planning, fundraising, and developing stakeholders. At the Arkansas Department of Education, Lana led the revision of the Arkansas Academic Standards for Fine Arts in both 2014 and 2019.
About Lana
Creative & Strategic Consultant
A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Lana Hallmark has over 40 years’ experience in a wide variety of arts, education, and charitable endeavors. She spent an enjoyable twenty years teaching high school theatre and communications, coaching competitive forensics, and participating in local community theatre and film.
In 1999, opened 111 Arch Street Theater, now known as Center on the Square. Four years later, she led the theatre through the process of becoming
a community-based nonprofit organization and served for twelve years as Executive and Artistic Director. The theatre is currently in its 22nd season, and its continuing success is testimony to her passionate approach to everything
she does, as well as to her combination of good business sense and love
of the arts. Throughout the process of leading the theatre’s transition to a
successful nonprofit, Lana Hallmark discovered a new interest. Everything
about the nonprofit world fascinated her, and in 2009, she began graduate
coursework in the field of nonprofit management. She took every opportunity
to gather information, form relationships, and participate in every aspect of
her new field.
In 2011, Lana Hallmark became the Fine Arts Program Advisor for the
Arkansas Department of Education, working to provide academic leadership
and advocacy for almost half a million public school students in music,
theatre, visual art, and dance. Expertise and professionalism allowed her to
work at the national level through influential national organizations with the
most respected arts educators in the country. Her specialty in this work was
to bring together public school and community arts programs to benefit
students and communities.
Having recently retired from her position at the Arkansas Department of
Education, she continues to be a part of this leadership network to create,
advocate, and navigate in the world of arts education and in the nonprofit sector.
Lana Hallmark CAN is her most recent endeavor.