Keynote speakers announced for the 7th annual Creative Industries Summit

Emily Williams

DENVER – April 2, 2018 – Colorado Creative Industries (CCI) today announced the keynote speakers for the seventh annual Colorado Creative Industries Summit held May 10-11, 2018 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Greeley Lincoln Park in Greeley, Colo. The annual Summit is the only statewide convening for Colorado’s creative community leaders, artists and organizations to connect, learn and get inspired. The two-day schedule is filled with exhibits, performances, networking, speakers, classes and workshops.

“Colorado has incredible talent working across the creative sector,” said Margaret Hunt, director of CCI. “We look forward to bringing together creatives from throughout the state for an exchange of ideas and best practices as we work toward the common goal of a robust creative sector in Colorado.”

The conference will host more than 30 distinguished national and local panelists and speakers, including cultural leaders, artists, business experts and creative community developers.

Keynote speakers include:

Stephen Goldsmith – Stephen is an artist who started a community development corporation developing safe, affordable living and workspaces where people could take risks in Salt Lake City. His installations in the city’s public spaces include The Temporary Museum of Permanent Change and his work on the Katrina Furniture Project have been platforms for community participation. As Director of the Center for the Living City, he oversees projects including the Observe! program which engages young women and girls around the world in finding ways to amplify their voices and nurture creative responses to problems they face in the places they love.

Appointed Planning Director for Salt Lake City in 2000, he was the first artist/planning director in the U.S., where he produced an international symposium on vision and ethics in city building during the 2002 Olympics. He now runs the undergraduate degree program in urban ecology in the Department of Architecture + Planning at the University of Utah.

Jay Salinas, The Wormfarm Institute –  Jay is an artist, farmer and educator. In 2000, together with his partner Donna Neuwirth, they formed the Wormfarm Institute, an award-winning nonprofit whose mission is to integrate culture and agriculture. Wormfarm creates a range of community cultural events like the nationally recognized Fermentation Fest & Farm/ Art DTour that just completed its 7th year.

Trained as a sculptor, Jay has developed and implemented innovative and successful art curricula for both at-risk youth and at the university level. He has also taught sustainable farming techniques to farmers across the nation and continues to work with growers with diverse backgrounds and abilities to build sustainable food systems. Jay holds a BFA & MFA in Sculpture.

Sample breakout session topics include (full schedule available online):

• Hip Hop to improvise a better community – Armando Silva, Artist/Dance Teacher

• Creativity Connects: Forging Collaborative, Mutually-Beneficial Partnerships Between the Arts and Other Sectors- Ann Meier Baker, National Endowment for the Arts

• “Let’s Get Inky” !! :: Follow the Trail to Linoleum Block Carving & Printing ::- Denise Newberry, CabinPress Studio Proprietress

• The Future of Me: Four-steps to Business Success for Creatives- Kevin Yoshida, Creativity Lab of Colorado and Ideate Design and William Marino, Creativity Lab of Colorado and 40 West Arts District

The lead sponsors for the conference are the University of Northern Colorado and Colorado Small Business Development Center. Additional sponsors include the City of Greeley, Greeley Creative District, 105.5 the Colorado Sound, KUNC, Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority, DU University College Arts and Culture, CU Boulder Office of Outreach and Engagement, Colorado Lending Source, Greeley Downtown Development Authority and Visit Greeley.

The Governor’s Creative Leadership Awards luncheon will be the culminating event of the Summit. The Creative Leadership Awards celebrate organizations and individuals that have demonstrated a significant commitment to Colorado’s creative landscape through advocacy, vision, collaboration or innovation.

An early bird price of $150 is available for conference attendees who register before April 3, 2018. For more information and to register for the conference please visit coloradocreativeindustries.org/summit.