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## The 5th Biennial Arts & Culture Summit will be held on Tuesday, September 24 at Mechanics' Hall. 

Tuesday, September 24, 2024 

The Arts & Culture Summit is an annual convening of Portland’s Arts Community. As part of Creative Portland’s [Cultural Planning Process](/cultural-plan-update), the Summit was designed to address the [strategic priorities](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AvlyyB1FbiPuxB5kbQRDootqkOlnmvIj/view) identified by the community, including the branding of Portland as a creative center.

Participants run the gamut of the creative ecosystem, including artists, arts leaders, administrators, business owners, creative entrepreneurs, designers, students, politicians, and more. 

We believe that as Portland experiences rapid growth, now is the time to collaborate, nurture, grow, and sustain the arts, the core foundation of the creative economy. This summit serves as both annual check-in and springboard to attract participation and engagement from working groups interested in plan implementation. 
 
## 5th Biennial Arts & Culture Summit

We are at capacity for our morning session, but you may still register for lunchtime networking and afternoon breakout sessions. To get on a waitlist, please contact Creative Portland's Office Manager, Walks Tall Keith at 207-370-4784 or via email at programassistant@creativeportland.com

[REGISTRATION IS FREE AND REQUIRED](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeN717Jc9UiMf0fwoHMd6jXkR0pV6myI__8mVzvQPyiuFxDgQ/viewform?usp=sf_link)

[SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 AGENDA](https://creative-portland-api-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/ACS_Panel_Chart_v_1d_250a6f1756.pdf)

## [DONATE TO THE ARTS & CULTURE SUMMIT](https://creativeportland.giv.sh/6709)

We are at capacity for Mechanics' Hall. To get on a waitlist, please contact Creative Portland's Office Manager, Walks Tall Keith at 207-370-4784 or via email at programassistant@creativeportland.com 

**Coffee Reception** 8:30am - 9:00am (Mechanics' Hall)

**Morning Sessions** 9:00am -12:30pm (Mechanics' Hall)
- Cultural Plan Implementation Update & REPORT OUT
- Report Card - State of the Arts in Maine
- Public Art Initiatives in Greater Portland 
- Arts Community Communication - streamlined systems

**Lunch and Networking** 12:30pm - 1:30pm (Creative Portland)
- Books by Maine Authors for Sale (Mechanics’ Hall library) 
- Lunch & drinks + Vendor/Orgs Display (Creative Portland)

**Afternoon Sessions** 1:30pm - 4:30pm
-  Funding Resources & Opportunities for Arts & Cultural Orgs - 1:30pm-2:30pm (Mechanics’ Hall) 
- Funding Resources & Opportunities for Artists - 1:30pm-2:30pm (Creative Portland)
- Venue Spaces - how to secure rehearsal & maker spaces (discussion includes creative placemaking and other space issues) 2:30pm-3:30pm (Mechanics' Hall)
- Staying in Maine: Artist Opportunities (how local higher ed institutions, patrons, developers and arts collectives can provide opportunities - 2:30-3:30pm (Mechanics’ Hall)
- Inclusive Practices/DEI Programs - 3:30pm-4:30pm (SPACE)
- Stimulating & Revitalizing Business in Portland’s Arts District 3:30-4:30pm (Mechanics' Hall)

 **Happy Hour** 4:30pm - 6:00pm
- Unwind and network at SPACE









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The All Day Agenda - September 24, 2024

The Fourth Biennial Arts & Culture Summit was hosted by Creative Portland on September 20, 2022 at Cove Street Arts.

Topics discussed included a Cultural Plan Implementation Update, Creative Bus Shelter Initiative, Summer Stage Series, Cultural App to increase access to the arts, Community Solidarity & Sustainability, Funding for the Arts, and Inclusion. 

[Agenda & Panelists - 2022 Arts & Culture Summit](https://creative-portland-api-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/Agenda_Arts_and_Culture_Summit_2022_cf2eaf772e.pdf)


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The Third Biennial Arts & Culture Summit was hosted by Creative Portland on September 22, 2020. This year it took the form of a webinar - a cultural community "check in" during the pandemic. 

Watch the webinar [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXKuPL4PXbc). 

Topics discussed included a "State of the Arts" local update; an economic update regarding relief programs and successful fundraising; community initiatives such as Black Lives Matter, public art and social messaging, and the City Public Health Campaign; and an update on Creative Portland's Arts Messaging Campaign, including the Creative Bus Shelter Initiative and Creative Portland app.

[Agenda & Panelists - 2020 Arts & Culture Webinar](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l6IZyUIRWUt9I0LdMcdpLyfGgS30SUcB/view?usp=sharing)

[2020 Steering Committee](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MpCsJ96pP5xiCC14xMcYnLiq3gXErWSR/view?usp=sharing)

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Creative Portland presented the Second Biennial Arts & Culture Summit on June 18, 2019 at Ocean Gateway in collaboration with the City of Portland, and sponsored by Thompson’s Point, Live + Work in Maine, Cove Street Arts and Startup Maine. Artists, arts administrators, creative entrepreneurs, designers, planners, architects, students, nonprofit leaders, politicians, community stakeholders, city staff, angel investors, and private business leaders were invited to participate in this all day event (9am - 5pm) to address internal strategic planning and cultural plan implementation for Portland’s arts and cultural community. Private investment opportunities for arts impact and cultural tourism opportunities were also addressed.

[Agenda - 2019 Arts & Culture Summit](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vVfAipHf1pS7y9ZN8YMdSddJoE5nfAkc/view?usp=sharing)

[2019 Steering Committee and Panelists](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YIrnLixyV_owYNIw7T5eRum9lYQFgjt6/view?usp=sharing)

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Creative Portland hosted a milestone event on May 31, 2018 - an inaugural Arts & Culture Summit of over 70 arts and cultural leaders, held at One Longfellow Square. Participants included executive directors of nonprofit organizations, creative business owners, general managers, city partners, artists who represent broad groups, artists, and representatives from the city planning and economic development departments at the City of Portland. 

Speakers discussed the state of the creative economy in Portland, based on the American for the Arts (AFTA) AEP5 study and the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) Creative Ground survey on jobs in the creative economy. Dinah Minot, Executive Director of Creative Portland, acknowledged the hard work and passionate commitment of each cultural leader in the room, and then delivered a brief summary and overview of the first two phases of the cultural planning process, an initiative that Creative Portland launched in 2016 to update the last cultural plan, Creating Community, published twenty years prior in 1998. 

Phases one and two of the cultural planning process dissected top initiatives identified in the past and current needs expressed in interviews and focus groups, many of which were facilitated by an outside consultant, Civic Moxie, from Boston. Providing a platform for ongoing conversations, community partnerships and strategies for implementation, participants were asked to fill out a brief survey and to gauge interest in an annual summit with workshops, best practice consultants, and public comment. 


[Agenda - 2018 Arts & Culture Summit](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4ref293zG1VaWpRZ2M4Q3h1NGJQd1pFMGcxYnZ1dVo0SXV3/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-8CdNT-Pr2R8KjvtwymuBIg)

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Arts & Culture Summit 