Archive for January, 2015

16Jan

What can cities and state governments do to foster creative development? [video]

In The Art of Placemaking Conference Videos by Tim Blankenship / 2015/01/16 / No Comments

Creative communities: what are the ingredients of building a creative community? What can cities and state governments do to encourage creative development? How do we break down the silos and encourage collaborations? Come listen and discuss with a panel of creative placemakers working inside government to connect and navigate the landscape of planning, economic development, education, transportation and the arts.

In this panel discussion moderator Jack Becker, the publisher of Public Art Review, asks creative placemaking civic leaders to talk about how city, state, and even federal government agencies can work with artists and community organizers to foster creative initiatives that will help develop creative and resilient communities. Panelists for this discussion include: Gülgün Kayim, Director of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, City of Minneapolis; Kip Bergstrom, Deputy Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development; Marty Pottenger, director, Art at Work, Portland, ME; Lynne McCormack, Director, Department of Art Culture + Tourism, City of Providence, RI and Erin Williams, Cultural Development Officer for the City of Worcester, MA and Executive Director of the Worcester Cultural Coalition.

15Jan

Putting Creativity to Work (video)

In The Art of Placemaking Conference Videos by Tim Blankenship / 2015/01/15 / No Comments

Creative Placemaking with People at the Center

Since 1975, writer, performer, director and activist Marty Pottenger has created multidisciplinary placemaking performances, plays, arts-based civic dialogues, and community arts projects throughout the United States.

In this captivating talk Marty Pottenger shares her experiences bringing the arts into lives the ordinary citizens who might not normally have opportunities to engage in creative placemaking.

“What if [the principles of creative placemaking were] applied to municipal practices? What if the Federal government starts freezing up? The state government starts freezing up? And the challenges only increase? Who’s going to be really on the dime to actually figure out what to do, and I came up with municipal governments to figure out how to incorporate and integrate arts making and arts projects to tackle non-arts problems.”

Her work with Art at Work in Portland, ME has taught her the importance evaluating how creative projects influence their audiences, “who brings their family, who talks about it, who talks to you about it, how are they experiencing the culture?” The Thin Blue Lines: Police Project was a national initiative to strengthen community resiliency and municipal government through arts projects and municipal staff, unions, politicians, the public and artists.