Thanks in no small part to the NEA’s Our Town program and its sister consortium of funding partners, ArtPlace, there has been a lot of activity – both actual and in the blogosphere — during the last two years about creative placemaking and the metrics used to evaluate the success of creative placemaking projects.  When the Pave Program in Arts Entrepreneurship started planning for its third biennial symposium, we decided to focus on this important topic: Entrepreneurship, the Arts, and Creative Placemaking.  Pave has put together a stellar two-day program, culminating in participation in an Our Town/ArtPlace funded creative placemaking project special event, “The Feast on the Street.”

What better way to anchor the symposium than to hear from one of the co-authors of the NEA’s definitional report on Creative Placemaking, Ann Markusen.  She will deliver the keynote address on Arts Entrepreneurship and Creative Placemaking on the evening of April 12.  The event kicks off earlier that day with opening remarks by Roberto Bedoya of the Tucson/Pima Arts Council, who, while firmly embracing the concept of creative placemaking, has also reminded us to look at its activities with a critical eye. Interactive workshops have been a hallmark of the Pave program’s symposium approach.  The first of these will be led by Laura Zabel of Springboard for the Arts.  She promises to mark the place of the symposium with a workshop artifact.  On day two, Michael Rohd of Sojourn Theatre will lead a workshop on “civic practice,” and the third workshop is being led by the Phoenix chapter of the Americans for the Arts “Emerging Arts Leaders” program.  Attendees will also have an opportunity to hear student arts entrepreneurs pitch their arts venture ideas and provide feedback to them.

Pave is thankful for the support of the ASU School of Theatre and Film, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, and ASU Art Museum, all of whose support has enabled up to keep the cost for attendance at the very low price of $75, which includes a Friday evening reception, and breakfast and box lunch on Saturday.

You can register for the Third Biennial Pave Symposium through the RegOnline system.

I hope to see you in Tempe in April!