From Rust Belt to Artist Belt II (RBAB2) on Thursday, Sept. 17th, and Friday, Sept. 18th, 2009

Submitted by lmcshane on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 05:22.
09/17/2009 - 06:00
09/18/2009 - 06:59
Etc/GMT-4

CPAC invites you to join us at From Rust Belt to Artist Belt II (RBAB2) on Thursday, Sept. 17th, and Friday, Sept. 18th, 2009, in Cleveland's Gordon Square Arts District.  During this two-day event you will have an opportunity to see artist-based community development firsthand and explore the neighborhood’s institutions, including Cleveland Public Theatre, 78th Street Studios, the historic Arcade and the newly renovated Capitol Theatre.

Our national and international experts will show you how innovative thinkers are using the industrial Midwest’s unique mix of assets, including its extensive network of community development corporations, its established arts and culture sector and its multitude of vacant properties, to reimagine the “Rust Belt” as the Artist Belt.  Our experts will address the practical considerations artists and community developers should think about when forming partnerships and undertaking their own projects.  

A keynote speech will be presented by Ralf Ebert, Director of STADTart and Culture and Planning Consultant for the City of Dortmund, Germany on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 17th at 9:00 a.m.  STADTart is a well-established German consultancy in the field of culture, creativity and urban development.  It is conducting applied research and feasibility studies and coordinating policy advice for local and regional governments, for developers and for private corporations.  Ralf Ebert has published numerous reports on culture and creative industries, on culture-related tourism and marketing for regions, leisure parks, developmental strategies for culture and creative industries in traditional industrial regions. Please click here to see a full schedule.

REGISTRATION

Join us as we move From Rust Belt to Artist Belt!

General admission for two-day event is $175, which includes a continental breakfast and boxed lunch for each day of the conference.

Register Online (General Admission $175)

A limited number of artist scholarships are also available on a first-come-first-serve basis, lowering the rate to $100.  Artists should use the artist scholarship form to register for the event and take advantage of this special offer. 

Artist Scholarship Form ($100 mail or fax)

A group discount rate is being offered to those attending in groups of 5 or more. The group discount rate is $157.50 per person.  To register as a group, please select one member of your group to serve as the primary contact.  The primary contact and all group members’ registration forms should be submitted at the same time along with one payment for the entire group.

Group Registration Form (5 or more $157.50 per person mail or fax)

The official hotel of From Rust Belt to Artist Belt II is the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. Reserve a room prior to Thursday, September 10th, 2009 and receive a discounted rate. Click here and enter check-in date.

Please contact Kristin Tarajack, CPAC Research Manager, at 216-575-0331, x124 or klt [at] cpacbiz [dot] org for additional questions.

 

For information on the first From Rust Belt to Artist Belt summit, please click here.

To learn more about the strengths and challenges the industrial midwest faces with this creative compass initiative, please view the information presented in CPAC's white paper available here.

Brought to you with generous support from:

Charter One Bank, Continental Airlines, Dominion, Fifth Third Bank, Ford Foundation, Key Bank, Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), & Ohio Arts Council (OAC).

Additional support from:

The Cleveland Foundation, Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, The George Gund Foundation, The John P. Murphy Foundation, The Kulas Foundation and The Thomas H. White Foundation.

Action creates change

lmcshane,

This sounds great.  I wonder if Trubek will be there?

In a prior post made about the looming doom of the 300 Central Viaduct building, I wrote a  comment about changes that have occured in Atlanta; transforming beautiful, yet abandoned or badly neglected (historically relavent) sites into thriving communities.  Obviously I am not a citizen of Cleveland, but I do care about what happens there.  And because The City of Atlanta has a similar past as Cleveland, namely a burnt-out, forsaken inner-core, I think it might prove wise and prudent to investigate some of the projects for renewal that have occured here...sourcing ideas for implementation there.

Hence please read this post here, which provides a couple links to a 1906 building once used for the cotton industry, now being a repurposed as a mixed-use work/live dwelling for artist and artisans. 

The building is called Studioplex.

As well, there is a section of town here in Atlanta called Castleberry Hill.  20 years ago when I lived in that area, which (fyi) is walking distance from the Atlanta Breuer, most people wouldn't be caught dead there after sundown.  In fact, I was once assaulted just outside the  front door of my former studio.  Nonetheless, over the last two decades, Castleberry Hill has been the recipient of much public and private investment, and shines today as an uber-chic urban paradise. 

(Example of a typical loft in the Castleberry Hill neighborhood)

I don't live there anymore, but I'm considering moving back.  Some of the rents have gone up considerably, but many of the lofts are rent-controlled, making them very affordable for the poor and working class.  Overall, the place is quite fabulous, giving New York's SoHo a run for the money.  I'm even working on a story about the area, in hopes of having it published in a national periodical.

It's not enough just to talk about what could or shoud be.  Action creates change.

There is much hope for Cleveland.  Expect great and wonderful things!

Eternity

Fixing America

  There is a great need for skilled labor to help fix the burnt-out forsaken inner core of the City, whether it be Cleveland, Detroit or Atlanta. 

On that note--I will try to get some sleep, get over a cold and contemplate the first Writers and Readers presentation in Cleveland.
 

Jamaica Kincaid--Tuesday, September 22--see details HERE.

I hope to see REALNEO represented--and to continue our civil discussion on how to remake NEO, I will prime the pump by paying for margaritas at Mi Pueblo.