erika nelson


CONFERENCES + THINKTANKS

strategic storytelling



  • Artist-Built Environment Network (ABEN) Convening, Philadelphia PA.  Steering Commmittee.  November 5-8 2025.

  • Kansas Art Network Conference, Wichita KS. Panel: Art(ist) Town of Lucas. July 23-25 2025.

  • Society for Commercial Archeology (SCA) 48th Annual Conference, Niagara Falls, Ontario CA. Paper Session: Artist-Built Environment Network - A Secret Society of Site Stewards.  June 18-21 2025

  • Springboard for the Arts Rural Futures Summit, Fergus Falls MN. Story Circle Leader: Tales from the Art Town Underbelly.  June 11-13 2025

  • ABEN Convening, Sheboygan WI. Steering Committee, Panel: Connecting with Community. Breakout session facilitator: Board Development.  October 3-5 2024

  • College Art Association’s 112th Annual Conference, Chicago Il. Panel: Print on Demand: Evolving Tools for the Creation and Distribution of Activist and Extremist Printed Ephemera. February 14-17 2024

  • Rural Policy Research Institute, Washington D.C. Panel: Collaborations in Rural Arts & Cultural Wealth Practice & Scholarship. 2022

  • ABEN Convening, Columbus GA. Steering Committee. Panel: Site Stewards and Community Collaboration. 2023 

  • Kansas Sampler Foundation Big Rural Brainstorm, Lindsborg KS. Brainstorm facilitator: How can communities encourage creatives to thrive?  April 6, 2023

  • Community Build Arts Conference, Omaha NE. Paper Session: No one expects anything out of Rural Kansas: A permission slip for rural artin’.  2022

  • Kansas Preservation Conference, Online. Artist-Built Preservation of Sites: Kansas. 2020

  • Springboard for the Arts Rural Arts and Culture Summit, Grand Rapids MN. Panel: Spectacular Failures: How Failure Feeds the Creative Spirit. October 3-5, 2019

  • Society for Commercial Archeology Conference, Wisconsin Dells WI. Paper Session: Shaping the View - Perception and Manipulation in Artist-built Environments.  June 5-8, 2019

  • Artists Sharing Knowledge, Salina KS. Panel: Portfolio Careers - Building a Sustainable Career. March 26, 2018

  • National Center for Preservation Technology and Training/John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan WI. The Road Less Traveled: Divine Disorder Conference. Panel: TURN SIGNALS - Current Issues Facing Site Stewards. 2017

  • Rural Arts and Culture Summit University of Minnesota, Morris MN. Session Presenter : Self-Made Art Environments. 2015

  • Kansas Travel and Tourism Heartland Byways Conference, Manhattan KS. Panel: Arts Impact and Partnership in Rural Redevelopment. 2015

  • Society for Commercial Archeology Southwest Detours Conference, Albuquerque NM. Artist Lecture: On the Road with the WLCoWSVoWLTs. 2008

  • National Coalition on Organized Resistance Conference, American University, Washington DC. Speaker: Combating Genericana - Preserving Endangered Public Art. 2006

  • Eccentric Kansans: 30 Years of Vision Conference, Grassroots Art Center, Lucas KS. Panel Moderator: When does “Outsider” become “Insider”? 2004

  • Art Car Symposium, Rice University, Houston TX. Speaker: Grassroots Art Environments as they relate to the Art Car Phenomenon. 2003