Creative Placemaking Speaker Series: Ann Markusen 

The topic of creative placemaking - in which public & private partnerships use arts, culture, and creativity activities to strategically shape the physical and social character of a place - has come to the forefront of conversation around the future of Austin. The Cultural Arts Division invites you to a series of public events to learn more about the topic and how it can be applied here in Austin.

Speaker: Ann Markusen
Markusen is a professor in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and Director of the Project on Regional and Industrial Economics (PRIE). PRIE’s Arts Economy Initiative is a decades-long project that has engaged in research and policy, advising on artists’ careers and contributions, arts and cultural organizations efforts, and creative placemaking; all as regional economic and quality of life stimulants and as contributors to urban revitalization. Markusen’s presentation will explore what makes a successful creative placemaking project – how it happens, who are the initiators and partners, where do the energies and resources come from, and what are the livability and economic development outcomes that have the potential to radically change the future of American towns and cities.

Doors will open at 6:30 pm for a reception, presentation will begin at 7 pm. Free parking is available at the Asian American Resource Center.

This event is supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.