Creative People Power in the Northwoods
Friday, October 4, 9:00am – 10:30am
Location: Wilcox Theater, Reif Center for Performing Arts
Opening Performance: Annie Humphrey
Moderator: Whitney Kimball Coe (Center for Rural Strategies), Moira Villiard (American Community Indian Housing Organization), Delina White (Anishinaabe fashion designer and bead work artist), Annie Humphrey (Native American Music Awards 2018 Artist of the Year), Sonja Merrild (Grand Rapids Arts & Culture Commission/Blandin Foundation), Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux (Mayor of Grand Marais)
The overall theme of this year’s Rural Arts and Culture Summit is “Creative People Power,” inspired by Springboard for the Arts’ recently released report and framework for combining creativity-centered and people-centered development to build strong, healthy, and resilient communities. To kick off our time together, we’ll hear from creative leaders in the Northwoods of Minnesota, to learn about what creative people power looks like in the context of this region which, like many rural regions across the country, is experiencing dramatic shifts in economic, social, cultural and environmental identity. Moderated by Whitney Kimball Coe, the director of the National Rural Assembly, this conversation will illuminate the experiences of artists making a living in the region, leaders incorporating art and culture into local challenges, their hopes for the future of the communities they call home, and the implications of these experiences and ideas in the national rural development field.
