Community Convenings

Opportunities to learn from others and to discuss the role of Arts & Culture in Summit County, UT
as well as network with the Arts & Culture community .

Our goals/intentions for each Community Convening is to inspire community and fuel creative conversation, showcasing how Arts & Culture can help further a variety of community priorities, and align with the Collective Priorities and Strategic Recommendations in the Project ABC Cultural Plan. We shine a light on current and relevant topics at the forefront of local conversations, while celebrating and learning from those doing innovative work in the Arts & Culture sector in other communities.

upcoming

Details about our next Community Convening coming soon!

Archive

art [NOt] for arts sake - Civic Dialogue through Public Art

11.10.22

Mariam Zulfiqar | director | Artangel

The Arts Council hosted a conversation with Mariam Zulfiqar, director of Artangel about how public art can spark civic dialogue and shape communities—broadening the definition of public art. Mariam values the artist's brain in many ways that other people do not—she has an ability to recognize artists as co-creators of place and story and emphasizes the need to integrate creative minds in community development. Her work, as a curator, gives space for public art to be valued beyond beautification–to be recognized as a platform for intentional conversation that can catalyze change. She shared examples of public art projects from around the world and discussed how these examples inspire and challenge us to expand our thinking about public art throughout Summit County.

Kimball Arts Festival 101: Panel Discussion & Info Session

6.16.22

Hillary Gilson | Director of Kimball Arts Festival | Kimball ARt Center
William Armstrong | Visual Artist
Missy Reitner-Cameron | Visual Artist
Pamela Whitlock | Visual Artist

The Arts Council partnered with the Kimball Art Center to provide a Kimball Arts Festival 101 webinar, inviting veteran Arts Fest panelists to discuss topics such as booth set-up, navigating Park City, load-in/load-out, and tips for your 2023 application. This panel discussion was designed for everyone, whether it's your first-time participating or if you're looking for some new tips and tricks.

Reimagining trails through arts & Culture

3.4.22

Jim Toia | Executive Director | Karl Stirner Arts Trail

In this virtual Community Convening we welcomed Jim Toia, Executive Director of the Karl Stirner Arts Trail in Easton, PA to discuss how his work helps to advance civic dialogue, bolster economic revitalization, and foster cultural pride. We also touched on the arts connection to environmental sustainability and the public stewardship of green infrastructure. Following Jim’s presentation, we hosted a community roundtable to discuss how the ideas presented apply to Summit County; specifically the future plans for the Rail Trail Corridor.

Sustainable Tourism through Arts & Culture

6.25.21

Randy Cohen | Vice President of Research, Americans for the Arts
Crystal Young-Otterstrom | Executive Director, Utah Cultural Alliance
Jennifer Wesselhoff | President and CEO, Park City Chamber/Convention and Visitor Bureau
Vicki Varela | Managing Director, Utah Office of Tourism

This Project ABC Community Convening explored how Arts & Culture Tourism can support our local quality of life in Summit County. The virtual meeting contemplated the various opportunities for local Arts & Culture tourism, considered the economic impact opportunities, and discussed how Arts and Culture tourism can protect, sustain, and strengthen what we love about Summit County. We were joined by four amazing guest speakers who represented national, statewide, and local perspectives. The speakers discussed how they interpret sustainable tourism, why they believe Arts & Culture tourism can help foster local quality of life, and resources for advancing local Arts & Culture tourism in thoughtful and strategic ways. 

Arts & Rural Placekeeping

3.5.21

Lenise Peterman | Mayor of Helper, Utah
Kim Konikow | Executive Director of North Dakota Council on the Arts

The Arts Council of Park City & Summit County hosts a Project ABC Community Convening that explores Arts & Rural Placekeeping. Within this conversation, guest speakers and panelists consider the role of Arts and Culture in celebrating rural communities and the many ways in which Arts and Culture can flourish authentically throughout all areas of Summit County. Guest speakers include Lenise Peterman (Mayor of Helper, Utah) and Kim Konikow (Executive Director of North Dakota Council on the Arts), along with local Arts & Culture leaders and advocates from throughout Eastern Summit County.

Centering Arts & Culture in Community Development

11.5.20

Anna Cawrse | Sasaki Associates, Denver Office Director
Tracy Weil | RiNo Art District, Co-Founder and Executive Director
David Everitt | Park City, Deputy City Manager

This Project ABC Community Convening focused on the role of Arts & Culture in Community Development. Within this topic, we explored Park City’s new Arts and Culture District as well as broader ideas of how Arts & Culture can be a meaningful mechanism for community-focused development. The conversation addressed the PLACES and SPACES collective priorities from the Project ABC Cultural Plan. We were joined by three guest speakers: Anna Cawrse (Sasaki Associates, Denver Office Director), Tracy Weil (RiNo Art District, co-founder and Executive Director), and David Everitt (Park City, Deputy City Manager).

Decolonizing the Arts

7.6.20

Cécile McLorin Salvant | composer, singer, and visual artist
Todd Stoll | Vice President of Education at Jazz at Lincoln Center

Join the Arts Council of Park City & Summit County for a special discussion with renowned singer and three-time Grammy Award Winner, Cécile McLorin Salvant and Vice President of Education for Jazz at Lincoln Center, Todd Stoll to speak about racial equity issues in arts and culture. Our guest speakers will be discussing the idea of decolonization in the arts—how to begin pushing away from eurocentric standards in arts and culture programming. We're thrilled to invite these special guests to share their knowledge and experiences with our community.

Inclusion, diversity, equity & Access

2.14.20

Amir Jackson | Founder + Director of Nurture the Creative Mind

Amir Jackson, Director of Nurture the Creative Mind, speaks about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access. He is the Founder and Director of Nurture the Creative Mind, a youth non profit that empowers and establishes self value in youth through the vehicle of creativity. Through his work with Nurture the Creative Mind Amir has positively impact more than 15,000 young people and has received numerous awards including the Ogden Arts Award, The Newman Civic Fellows Award, and The Red Cross Hero's Recognition Award. Amir is a TEDx fellow, Co-Founder of the NAACP WSU Chapter, currently a Board Member of the Utah Cultural Alliance and WESTAF Diversity and inclusion Board, of which Amir is the Chair Elect.

Shandra Benito | Executive Director of Art Access

Shandra Benito, Executive Director of Art Access in Salt Lake City, UT speaks about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access. She is a social worker, disability rights advocate, trumpet player, and art enthusiast from Seattle, WA. She is a graduate of the University of Washington Masters of Social Work Program and has worked alongside and served many different communities including individuals with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, immigrants, refugees, and native and indigenous people. Most recently, Shandra worked as the head of fundraising at the Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services, while also serving on the City of Seattle Commission for People with Disabilities, and the Legal Voice Violence Against Women Task Force. She is proud to identify as a person with a disability, as a member of the Deaf community, and is thrilled to be able to bring her experiences working toward equality and equal access, non-profit development and fundraising to Art Access and Salt Lake City. Shandra joined Art Access as executive director in January of 2017.

Nubia Peña | Director of Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs

Nubia Peña, Director of Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs speaks about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access. She is the Director for the Utah Office of Multicultural Affairs where their mission is to promote an inclusive climate for Utah's growing diverse community through training, outreach and youth leadership development. She has a decade of experience assisting survivors of domestic abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking, and violent crimes as a Law Enforcement Victim Advocate. Since 2007, Director Peña has served as the Training and Prevention Education Specialist at the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault (UCASA) where she developed trainings on Youth Advocacy for Trafficked Survivors, Social Justice in Prevention Efforts, and Sexual Harassment in the #MeToo Era. She received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law in May 2016. During that year, she was selected as one of 25 law students in the nation to be recognized and highlighted for her social justice activism in the National Jurist, a leading news source in legal education. Due to Director Peña’s longstanding commitment to youth rights, empowerment, and leadership development, she was selected as the recipient of the National Juvenile Justice Network 2019 Emerging Leader Award.