Born from a Downtown Master Plan initiative, and made possible by the Dan Lucas Memorial Fund, Asheville-Buncombe’s 1st Annual Creative Sector Summit is a 2-day conference assembling creative professionals, leaders of community organizations and businesses, and key stakeholders for networking, education, and collaboration.
Recognizing the substantially different perspectives of independent entrepreneurs compared to organizations and businesses, the event has devoted a ½ day to each.
March 16th – Independent Creative Professionals meet at 5:30pm at The Asheville Masonic Temple.
March 17th – Representatives of Organizations, Businesses, and Stakeholders meet at 1:30pm at the Hilton in Biltmore Park.
Events will also be web-cast live at www.ashevillearts.com.
“The Summit is essentially the catalyst for a much broader campaign,” explains Graham Hackett, Program Director of the Asheville Area Arts Council, who’s spearheading the effort.
“We plan to cast the net wide to get a good look at the scope and dynamics of our unique creative community. Moreover, we’re going to activate the best strategies to enhance the creative sector’s capacity and impact to benefit our community and the economy.”
By “we” Hackett refers to the first members of the Creative Sector Coalition, a broad range of collaborators contributing to the Summit, including: The City of Asheville, The Asheville Area Arts Council, Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau, The Downtown Commission, Diana Wortham Theatre, The Civic Center, North Carolina Stage Company, Arts 2 People, The Orange Peel, The Altamont Theatre Company, The Performance Center in Asheville, Mountain BizWorks, The YMI Cultural Center, The Media Arts Project, and more, with support from state agencies including The North Carolina Arts Council, and arts advocacy giant Arts NC.
SUMMIT presenters will outline:
• The Downtown Master Plan Arts and Culture Initiatives
• The Americans for the Arts Economic Impact Study
• Current City of Asheville programs and resources
• Asheville Area Arts Council grants, initiatives, and facilities
• Arts2People’s Artist Resource Center
The Summit also features a keynote address by Janet Kagan, head of the Public Art Collaborative, known throughout the state and beyond for successfully coordinating stakeholders and advancing legislation to maximize use of creative resources to strengthen communities.
Online registration at http://www.ashevillearts.com begins March 1st.
For more information, email [email protected].
