The Pillow's Leadership Forum on Presenting International Work concluded with a focus group of approximately 15 participants who further refined the observations of the larger group and identified next steps. "What we heard was an elevated conversation for global participation," said a presenter in summing up the content and spirit of the weekend's deliberations. Another remarked, "There is much more of a field-wide emphasis on rigorous practice--a shift from looking at ourselves as a field to looking at ourselves as a global community. There is a readiness to acknowledge superior knowledge in other places and figure out how it can be tapped."

Describing the weekend as a pivotal gathering, a participant observed, "There is a community growing up around this work. People are trying to declare what holds us back and this moves us forward. What we witnessed was new ways of getting the wheels turning and thinking about these issues."

The mood surrounding international work is changing, focus group participants agreed. The notion of "America first" is being supplanted by a recognition that domestic and international activities must work in tandem. The artistic health of the nation requires activity on both fronts. "The split between international and national is a false dichotomy," said a participant. "We must find new language to express this."

The focus group began its analysis by identifying the dominant themes and issues that surfaced throughout the weekend. These have been highlighted in the introductory section of this report and include:

• advocacy
• curatorial commitment/dramaturgy
• broadening the discussion
• reciprocity
• creation and commissioning
• strategies for funding and financing

Focus group participants then turned their attention to next steps. In the absence of established structures for follow up (the Leadership Forum is a once yearly convening whose subject varies from summer to summer), participants identified a variety of immediate actions that need to be put in motion as well as a preliminary framework to insure continuity of discussion. In the short-term, it was determined that the following things should occur:

1. set up a list-serve to facilitate ongoing communication among participants;
2. disseminate the list of actions volunteered by members of the group, and develop structures for reporting and follow-up;
3. forward the meeting documentation to the full body of the International Presenters Forum (IPF) so it can, it is hoped, take as many of the next steps identified as appropriate or possible, thereby creating a direct link between the groundwork laid by the Forum and the future mandate of the International Presenters Forum (IPF) at Arts International;
4. expand and diversify the membership of IPF so it can more effectively carry out its work.

The focus group also identified three "big picture" questions that should guide future efforts to analyze and prioritize the findings of the Forum:

• What systems and structures are necessary to work through suggestions that surfaced? How will they be developed?
• What is in our power to accomplish that has great impact?
• What actions can be accomplished individually? What actions can be accomplished collectively, without major infusions of money? Which actions cannot go forward until "missing pieces" are put in place?
• What are these gaps? How can they be filled and which organizations – funders, presenters, managers, consortia or service organizations, are in the best position to carry forth this work?

In her opening remarks to the Presenters Forum, Ella Baff noted, "Two things happen when people travel: some shut down, but most open up; curiosity is engaged. We bring other intelligences to the unfamiliar, even though we may feel ignorant in a new environment." Although she was referring to the benefits of international exchange, her remarks apply equally to the weekend at Jacob's Pillow. Away from the pressures of their daily work, members of the presenting community identified multiple ways to enrich the cultural landscape through increased and more effective international presenting.

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