March 10-11, 2010 | The Biltmore Hotel, Providence, RI
New
England is at the
forefront of the creative community movement. In a period of economic
uncertainty, many individual communities are achieving success by tapping into
one of their greatest natural resources - the
creative sector.
Is
your community thinking about the creative economy?
How
can a regional network of creative communities help strengthen your work?
The City of Providence and the New England Foundation for the Arts invite New
England's creative
sector to highlight projects and talk about how cities,
towns, and regions can leverage these activities to enhance their communities. This conference is
targeted at those working on creative sector development in their city, town,
or region - arts administrators, artists, government officials, business and
civic leaders, students, and funders.
Hotel rooms available at special conference
rate of $139/night if booked before February 14, 2010.Details about registration will be posted soon.
For more information call Stephanie Fortunato, 401-421-2489 x456 or sfortunato [at] providenceri.com.
Creativity
matters in all aspects of society. If you want to reconnect with your
inherent creativity and explore new ways of expressing it, don't miss this
series, which will be held at 2 p.m. on the second Sunday of each month at
The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm in New Milford, Connecticut. The series will
cover topics about creativity in all forms (including, but not limited to,
arts) -- creative thinking, creative communities, creativity
and education, creativity in organizations, creative persons, the creative
process, creative aging, creativity and movement, creativity
and spirituality, and more. In the first session on January 10, come and
explore the general topic of "what is creativity?" -- plus, who has it,
and how one can tap into more creativity both ersonally and
professionally. Steven Dahlberg,
who will host the series, also will lead
the kick-off session in January. Dahlberg is the
head of the International
Centre for Creativity and Imagination and teaches "Creativity +
Social Change" at the University of Connecticut.
The Department of Art, Culture + Tourism received $30,000
from the Rhode Island Foundation to undertake a feasibility study of the Greater Providence Cultural Authority.Establishing a Cultural
Authority is one of the key recommendations called for by the community. The
goal is to centralize, strengthen, and coordinate downtown
cultural activities.
The Department of Art, Culture + Tourism is now accepting
proposals to facilitate exploratory research leading to the establishment of a
Greater Providence Cultural Authority. The deadline to submit proposals is
December 1, 2009 at noon, 12:00 p.m. EST.Download the RFP
Five local artists were selected to represent the 2009
series of the BUY ART Providence buttons now available to the public on
November 19, 2009 at all BUY ART venues and viewable online.
The open call for art received over 80 local artist submissions. Jenine
Bressner (glasswork), Jungil Hong (print making), Seung-Hea Lee (metalsmith
jewelry), Angel Luis Quinonez (painting) and Susan Starkweather (drawing) were
chosen by a jury to represent the 2009 BUY ART Providence buttons.
Mayor David N. Cicilline's BUY ART Providence highlights the
sale of locally produced original art and art experiences in Providence, RI.
The program works to collectively promote galleries, individual artists, art
retailers, museums and performing arts venues throughout the city by providing
limited edition I BUY ART buttons as a creative thank you to each person
purchasing art from a BUY ART Providence
participant. The program's web site serves as an online "one-stop
shop," unifying the city's art sellers under one roof so consumers can
click through to view and purchase art created or sold in Providence.
The City of Providence ran a Summer Youth Employment
Program that employed 260 youth ages 14-24. The program was run through the
Department of Art, Culture + Tourism and the majority of youth worked with art
and community-based organizations. Employment was from July 6 to August 28.
The youth spent the first week in workforce readiness
training, where they did skill assessments, learned how to write resumes,
search and apply for jobs, read a pay stub, and received customer service training.
During the training week, youth met with future employers at a program
sponsored Job Fair and chose which of the 25 job sites they would like to work at
for the rest of the summer. Throughout the summer the youth also visited the Exeter and GraftonJobCorpsCenters and learned about
the career training offered there.
The program was designed so that youth could have a
meaningful work experience, earn money, and gain skills and experiences that
will help them gain future employment. Upon successful completion of the
program, youth can also submit their work portfolio for an academic credit.
The majority of the jobs were community beautification and
environmental education projects, mural painting, film-making, and documentary
photography, in addition to jobs assisting with the Recreation Department’s
Basketball Leagues and Day Camp. The Department of Art, Culture + Tourism
partnered with individual teaching artists and local art and community
organizations who provided work experiences, training, instruction and
supervision.
Clips of the summer youth programs available online.
Creative Providence Cultural Assessment Findings Report (
Art New England Dec 09 -Jan 10
