DES MOINES – Nearly 300 Iowa artists, nonprofit professionals and community leaders will gather in Ankeny this summer to celebrate the arts in Iowa with state and national experts during the 2018 Iowa Arts Summit.
The day-long conference features dynamic breakout sessions, networking opportunities, an interactive Artist Lounge, live music by Iowa artists and the presentation of the 2018 Governor's Arts Awards. Artists, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, nonprofit professionals and community leaders are encouraged to attend along with Iowans who support the arts. Early online registration is available through June 15.
The summit features 12 breakout sessions that address current topics and issues in Iowa's cultural arts industry, including:
- Pitching art projects and events to the media, with Jacqueline Halbloom from Iowa Public Radio, Diana Nollen from the Cedar Rapids Gazette, and other media insiders.
- Attracting film and television projects to communities, with Liz Gilman from Produce Iowa.
- Inviting the public into the creative process, with Deborah Fisher from A Blade of Grass in New York City.
- Tapping into federal funding and other resources, with Tom Simplot from the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C.
- Using art to focus a long-term community vision, with Caroline Vincent from Metro Arts in Nashville.
Other sessions focus on strategic capitalization strategies, Iowa Arts Council grant funding opportunities and programs, city-based artists-in-residence, creating inclusive communities through the arts, organizing artists-in-residence programs, advocating for the arts and re-thinking art education in k-12, art schools and museums.
Early online registration is $50 through June 15 and $75 through July 30, and includes an opening-night reception 5-7 p.m. Aug. 2 at the Des Moines Art Center featuring docent tours and music by Matthew Coley, an internationally acclaimed performer and director of the Heartland Marimba Festival.
In addition, Shana Liu of Luther College will perform at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 3 at the FFA Enrichment Center during registration and breakfast. The award-winning multi-instrumentalist is pursuing a double-major in neuroscience and piano performance, has won numerous statewide talent competitions and received a 2017 Iowa Scholarship for the Arts from the Iowa Arts Council.
If you go:
What: 2018 Iowa Arts Summit
When: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p,m. Aug. 3
Where: FFA Enrichment Center, 1055 SW Prairie Trail Parkway in Ankeny
Registration: Online registrations are $50 through June 15 and $75 through July 30
More: Opening Night Reception 5-7 p.m. Aug. 2 at the Des Moines Art Center, 4700 Grand Avenue in Des Moines
The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and its three divisions – the Iowa Arts Council, Produce Iowa - State Office of Media Production and the State Historical Society of Iowa – empower Iowa to build and sustain culturally vibrant communities by connecting Iowans to the people, places and points of pride that define our state. The department’s work enables Iowa to be recognized as a state that fosters creativity and serves as a catalyst for innovation where the stories of Iowa are preserved and communicated to connect past, present and future generations.