Discover Jersey Arts communities at the ABC Cultural Planning conference

New Jersey cities, towns and other communities are invited to highlight their arts and cultural activities at the Arts Build Communities Cultural Planning Leadership conference.  The conference will be February 11, 9 to 4 pm, at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

Any community with at least one representative at the conference will have the chance to provide brochures and other handouts, or have tabletop displays to promote their community.  Communities will get a lot of visibility: The exhibits will be in the same area that participants get their meals and walk through to go from session to session.  Because of space limitations, each community will share a table with another community.

Space is limited and is provided on a first-come, first-served basis to those registered for the conference.

This opportunity is eligible only to workshop registrants and is for the purpose of promoting arts activities in communities.  For example, an arts organization based in Vineland is welcome to exhibit information about Vineland and the arts and cultural organizations in the community.  In other words, the purpose is to promote the community, not a single organization.

Registrants from the same community should work together on a display.  To reserve a space and find out if other members of your community are registered for the conference, please contact Conference Manager Deborah Schulze at schulze@eden.rutgers.edu or 732-932-3822, x635

As of January 26, cultural and policy professionals from the following communities are registered for the conference:

Atlantic Highlands, Barnegat, Basking Ridge, Blackwood, Branchburg, Chatham, Cranbury, Englewood, Freehold, Hoboken, Holmdel, Millville, Montclair, New Brunswick, Newark, Oceanville, Perth Amboy Princeton, Rahway, Toms River, West Long Branch, West Orange, and Woodbridge,

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More speakers announced for ABC Cultural Planning Leadership Program

A number of people involved in creative placemaking in New Jersey will be speaking and facilitating sessions at the upcoming Arts Build Communities Cultural Planning Leadership conference, February 11 at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

Here are the scheduled speakers and facilitators:

• Gary Steuer, Chief Cultural Officer and Director, Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, City of Philadelphia
• Joseph Barris, Supervising Planner, Monmouth County Planning Board
• Morris Bellamy, Former Manager, Arts and Culture and Former Manager, Community Development, City of Melbourne, Australia
• Mary Eileen Fouratt, Executive Director, Monmouth County Arts Council
• Tom Gilmour, Director of Commerce, Asbury Park
• Ben Goldman, Executive Director, City Without Walls, Newark
• Pat Hutchinson, Chair, Belmar Arts Council, Belmar
• James Kennedy, Executive Director, Rahway Arts District and former Mayor, Rahway
• Stuart Koperweis, President, Making Public-Private Partnerships Simple! and former President, Jersey City Economic Development Corporation, Jersey City
• Taneshia Nash Laird, Executive Director, Trenton Downtown Association
• Gail Levinson, Chair, Valley Arts, Orange
• Marianne Lods, Executive Director, Glasstown Arts District and Millville Redevelopment Corporation
• Leonardo Vazquez, Director, Arts Build Communities, Rutgers University

For more information, or to register for the conference, please visit: http://policy.rutgers.edu/PDI/abc/2011_ABC_Leadership_Program_Flyer[1].pdf

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Gary Steuer, Philadelphia's Chief Cultural Officer, to headline Arts Build Communities Cultural Planning Conference

Arts Build Communities is pleased to announce that Gary P. Steuer, Philadelphia's Chief Cultural Officer and Director of the city's Office of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming ABC Cultural Planning Leadership Conference.

The conference, at Rutgers University in New Brunswick on February 11, from 9 am to 4 pm, will focus on building, growing and sustaining creative communities.  Participants will learn from the success stories of community and cultural leaders, and explore ideas for their own communities in workshops.

Gary Steuer has headed Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy since 2008. The Office’s charge is increasing the public’s access to and awareness of the arts, arts education and cultural opportunities and activities, coordinating the efforts of City agencies and cultural institutions, and promoting public and private investment in the creative economy sector.

As Chief Cultural Officer, he serves as a member of the Mayor’s Cabinet, advising the Mayor and all City agencies on cultural and creative economy issues. Before joining the Nutter administration, Mr. Steuer was the Vice President for Private-Sector Affairs at Americans for the Arts, and had the additional title of Executive Director of the Art and Business Council of Americans for the Arts. He was responsible for leading efforts to stimulate more private sector support for the arts, including promoting partnerships between the arts and business sectors. Mr. Steuer served for ten years as the President and CEO of the Arts & Business Council Inc. before and during its merger with Americans for the Arts. Earlier in his career he was a theatre producer, both in the commercial and nonprofit theatre, served as a program director for the New York State Council on the Arts, and was an aide to a United States Congressman. He has written, lectured and taught extensively on arts management and policy issues and has served on many boards of directors and funding and advisory panels for local, statewide and national organizations. 

Learn more about or register for the conference


To read Gary Steuer's blog, go to http://artscultureandcreativeeconomy.blogspot.com

Arts Build Communities (ABC) helps community and cultural leaders make better decisions in connecting the arts and community and economic development.   ABC is produced by the Professional Development Institute of Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.

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ABC Leadership Program to focus on building, growing and sustaining creative communities

Whether you're just starting to think about making the arts a bigger part of your community's fabric, or you're a leader in a community that is a regional arts destination, you can get a lot from the upcoming Arts Build Communities Cultural Planning Leadership Conference.

The conference will highlight new ideas and opportunities for building, growing and sustaining creative communities.  Participants will explore best practices, learn about creative financing and other resources, and build connections with experienced and successful peers.  Participants will also get a guide with resources for building creative communities and an opportunity to get coaching to help them turn their ideas into action.

The conference will be on February 11, from 9 am to 4 pm, at Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy in downtown New Brunswick, New Jersey.  There will be two tracks:  One for those starting out in arts-based community and economic development, and another for experienced community and cultural leaders who want to build on their success.

In the morning, participants will hear from experts and successful practitioners.  In the afternoon workshops, facilitators will help participants learn to use the tools to build their own strategies.

Here is the preliminary agenda for the event:

8:30 to 9:30: Networking breakfast and registration
9:30 to 9:45: Welcome
9:45 to 10:30: Keynote address: (Speaker to be announced)
10:30 to 10:45: Break
10:45 to noon: Breakout sessions
     Session A: Best practices for starting arts-based community and economic development
     Session B: Resources for sustaining and growing arts-based community and economic development
12 to 1: Lunch (provided)
1 to 1:30: From ideas to action: The ABC community coaching initiative
1:30 to 2:45: Workshops
     Workshop A: Planning for successful creative communities and economies
     Workshop B: Tools for growing your community's arts market
     Workshop C: Regional strategies for sustaining creative communities and economies
2:45 to 3: Break
3 to 4 pm: Takeaways and reports


Register for the conference
For more information: Deborah Schulze, 732-932-3822, x635 or schulze@eden.rutgers.edu

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Arts Build Communities Leadership Program conference: February 11, 2011

The Arts Build Communities Leadership Program is designed for civic and cultural leaders who want to be more effective in building sustainable communities and local economies through the arts.

Participants will get expert advice in building customized and more cost-effective strategies for their communities.  The Leadership Program has two parts.

It begins February 11, 2011, with an all-day conference on arts-based community development and economic development.  Experts will share their advice and experiences, and be candid about the benefits and challenges of this work.  The conference, at Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, is open to everyone.  The cost is $50, which includes meals and a free electronic resource guide.

The next part of the program runs from March to July 2011.  In this part of the program, community-based teams will plan custom strategies for their communities.  The teams will get technical assistance and coaching from experts in cultural planning, community and economic development, leadership and organizational development, and public policy.

All conference participants will be invited to participate in the second part of the program.  Up to 10 teams will be selected, and each team must have at least one elected official (or high-ranking public administrator) and a cultural professional.  Each team can have up to 10 members.

In September, the teams will return to Rutgers for a one-day convocation to share their experiences.  The convocation will be open to the public.

Register for the February 11 conference
Applications for the full program will be available by January 2011.
For more information, please contact Deborah Schulze at 732-932-3822, x635 or schulze@eden.rutgers.edu

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Learn how to build arts-friendly communities through Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program and Arts Build Communities.

Arts-friendly places like Santa Fe, Asheville, or Sarasota don't just happen.  They are developed and sustained by committed leaders and artists.  If you want to make your community more supportive of the arts, consider taking courses in cultural planning and development from Rutgers University’s Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program.

BOCEP Deep Learning courses can teach you skills and help you think more critically about what might work -- or won't -- in your community.   These classes are designed to be affordable to busy people.  Every course is entirely online.  There are no scheduled meetings, but you can share ideas with professionals from around the country and the world.

Courses in cultural planning and development run from September to June. The first in the series -- Cultural Economic Development Studio -- starts September 22 and runs until October 30.  Learners will work with the arts and business communities in Somerville, NJ to explore what it will take to make the small central New Jersey town an arts destination.  Learners will work together in exploring the secrets of successful arts destinations, conduct a competitive analysis and prepare strategies for Somerville.

Participants in this and other BOCEP Deep Learning courses can learn from and share ideas with cultural and public affairs professionals.  Courses are open to everyone.

Other upcoming courses in this track include:

*Cultural Heritage Tourism Planning 

 *Leadership for Cultural Planning

 *Programming Cultural Uses

 *Cultural Community Development Studio

Each course costs $295. Sscholarships of up to $50 are available to everyone who gets this announcement.  (To get the scholarship, please use promotion code: BGBBS)  You can also earn a Bloustein Professional Certificate in Cultural Planning and Development.  (It is the only certificate of its kind offered by a school of planning and public policy.) More classes are being developed for 2011.

The Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program and Arts Build Communities work to build leadership for public affairs and urban planning in the 21st century.  BOCEP offers high quality continuing education courses in cultural planning, community and economic development, land use law, leadership and professional practice, and urban design.  Arts Build Communities conducts practical research and offers technical assistance to communities in New Jersey.  ABC works to help cultural and civic leaders make better choices in connecting the arts and community and economic development.  Both initiatives are produced by the Professional Development Institute of Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.

For more on our courses or programs, please visit http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/pdi or contact Programs Manager Swena Gulati at 732-932-3822, x636 or swena@rutgers.edu

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Cultural planning and development courses can help you be more influential in your community

Do you want the arts to be more supported in your community?  You have to do more than show pretty pictures and say the arts are special.  You have to show how the arts can improve quality of life and build more prosperous communities.  A Bloustein Professional Certificate in Cultural Planning and Development can help.

Part of the Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program (BOCEP), and in connection with Arts Build Communities,  our Deep Learning courses in cultural planning and development can give you the knowledge and tools to help make the arts a bigger part of your community's future.

BOCEP is offering at least four courses in arts-based economic and community development between September 2010 and July 2011.  All Deep Learning courses are online and instructor-led:

• Cultural Economic Development Studio, September 15 to October 23, 2010 
• Site Planning Analysis, November 3 to December 18, 2010, 
• Leadership for Cultural Planning, January 5 to February 12, 2011 
• Cultural Heritage Tourism Planning, February 23 to April 2, 2011

At least two more courses are in development for Spring and Summer 2011.

These courses are practical, interactive and convenient.  They are designed to help you choose better strategies for connecting the arts with community and economic development.  The courses are for busy people who don't have the time or resources to commit to many meetings, but want a lot more than they get in conferences or one-day workshops.   There are no required meetings, but you get the time and opportunity to share ideas with professionals and other smart people from around the United States.  The courses are open to anyone who has an interest in cultural planning, community planning, or economic development.

In a Deep Learning course, you learn in several ways -- engaging in online discussions with other smart professionals; getting guidance from the instructor, a seasoned professional who also leads the conversations among classmates; taking quizzes to test your learning; or in some classes, working on real projects for real clients.  In previous urban design studio courses, learners have created a form-based code for a commercial corridor in Virginia and a transit-oriented design plan for Perth Amboy, NJ.

Learners who pass at least three courses can earn a Bloustein Professional Certificate of Completion, and earn hours toward a Master Practitioner or Expert Practitioner Professional Certificate.

Every urban design course is also eligible for 14 American Institute of Certified Planners Certification Maintenance credits.

BOCEP is produced by the Professional Development Institute of Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.  Bloustein is one of the top schools and leading centers of planning knowledge in the United States.

For more information on urban design or any other Deep Learning courses, please visit the Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program or contact Program Manager Swena Gulati by email or at 732-932-3822, x636.

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