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An annual gathering of artists, community leaders, educators, and other professionals exploring how arts and cultural activities help make communities more inclusive, connected, and resilient.
Pre-registration for the Summit is now closed. We will resume in-person registration in Chapel Hill. Please review the printable agenda for dates/times/locations.
View the Printable AgendaThe full Summit agenda, session descriptions, speaker bios, and other details are available in Airmeet.
View the Schedule in AirmeetFor a quick reference of schedule topics and locations, download our Schedule at a Glance
Download the Schedule at a GlanceSouth Arts, in partnership with Creative Placemaking Communities, is bringing the 2022 Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit: South & Appalachia to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Summit is designed to facilitate a network of artists, civic and cultural leaders, educators, public officials, and more from around the South to work in unison to build new and stronger partnerships, projects, programs, and policies. The experiences created at the summit will inform, inspire and empower the voices of those in the community.
Sign up for email updates about the Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit
Join us November 1 for a virtual pre-conference and in person November 3-4, 2022, to experience what the Summit has to offer: its peer-to-peer exchanges, professional development, research roundtables, and much more. The Summit is more than a gathering. It’s a place for creative placemakers working, living, or interested in the South to grow their strength and their community.
Pre-registration for the Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit is now closed. We will re-open registration in-person in Chapel Hill for walk-up purchases. Please review our printable agenda for registration dates/times/locations.
If you need invoicing or other assistance with your registration, please contact Jessyca Holland at jholland@southarts.org or 404.874.7244 x823.
Dr. Akilah Watkins is President and Chief Executive Officer for the Center for Community Progress (Community Progress), America’s nonprofit leader for turning “Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places.” A 25-year national thought leader, conference speaker, and nonprofit executive, Dr. Watkins' work began at the age of 14 when she led efforts to convert a vacant lot and abandoned home into a community center in Roosevelt, New York. Since then, she’s served as an executive leader for nonprofits and community development initiatives which includes work with the Obama administration, NeighborWorks America, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Center for the Study of Social Policy. Her career’s work has focused on helping people, communities, and local and federal government drive impactful reform for key issues including land banking, property vacancy, childhood obesity, community health, and economic development.
Jeff Bell is the Executive Director of the North Carolina Arts Council. Previously, he was the Arts Innovation Coordinator for the City of Wilson, which included being the Executive Director of the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park. He attended UNC Wilmington and received two bachelor of arts degrees, one in Art History and one in Studio Art and received his MFA from UNC Greensboro. Previously, Bell was the Registrar at Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, The Exhibitions and Gallery Manager at Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh and the Museum Manager at 21c Museum Hotel in Durham. He has curated exhibitions at CAM Raleigh, 21c Museum Hotel and at the Ackland Art Museum at UNC Chapel Hill. His artwork has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the state and the region. Bell lives in Wilson, NC with his wife Amanda Duncan, and their four boys.
The Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit is your chance to connect with arts, culture, public policy and urban design professionals from across South and Appalachia. Attendees will gain valuable knowledge and build your placemaking skills, experience a burgeoning city and placemaking hub in Chapel Hill, and get inspired and empowered to build new and better partnerships, projects, programs and policies. Whether you are joining us for the virtual pre-conference on November 1, 2022, the in-person in Chapel Hill on November 3-4, 2022, or both experiences, attendees will have access to informative and engaging workshops and sessions.
The 2022 Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit agenda, session, and workshop listings for the virtual pre-conference on November 1, 2022, as well as the in-person convenings on November 3-4, 2022, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, may be viewed on our Airmeet platform. Please note that the Summit team is continuing to add sessions to the agenda, and all content is subject to change.
View the Full Summit Agenda in Airmeet Download the Print-Friendly Schedule at a Glance
Some of the workshops attendees will experience include:
A full agenda and schedule will be posted in the coming weeks.
Whether you are planning to join us for a single day or extending your visit to Chapel Hill for the entire weekend, make the most of your trip. The Creative Placemaking team has put together a list of hotels local to the conference, tips on getting to & around the area, and more. Visit our Travel & Accommodations page for details.
The Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit connects, informs, inspires and empowers hundreds of artists, civic and cultural leaders, educators, public officials and more from around the South. Through the Summit participants can build new or better partnerships, projects, programs and policies. The Summit offers a wide range of experiences, including peer exchanges, research roundtables, training sessions, and more.
See Which Organizations Will Be Attending the 2022 Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit
Creative placemaking happens when artists and arts organizations join their neighbors in shaping their community’s future, working together on place-based community outcomes.
Creative Placemaking CommunitiesFor questions about the Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit, contact Jessyca Holland.
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