ICC’s Cultural Advocacy Day this week at Historical Building
Classical guitarist, creativity guru Robert Bluestone headlines
For Immediate Release February 15, 2009
(DES MOINES, Iowa) – Iowa’s cultural art leaders, workers and supporters will gather in Des Moines this week for the Iowa Cultural Coalition’s annual Cultural Advocacy Day.
CAD begins at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010, at the State Historical Building, 600 E. Locust Street in Des Moines, and is free and open to the public. The event brings together cultural creatives from across the state to speak with legislators; connect with fellow artists and organizations; and attend workshops designed for artists and cultural arts organizations.
Keynote speaker Robert Bluestone kicks off the event with his presentation, “Iowa 20/20: Making the Arts Part of the Fabric of Iowans’ Everyday Lives.” During his speech, Bluestone will explore how Iowa’s cultural arts organizations can capitalize on emerging opportunities and become powerful engines of innovation and prosperity in their communities.
Bluestone’s participation in Iowa 20/20 has been fully sponsored by Arts Midwest’s Performing Arts Fund in partnership with the Iowa Arts Council and funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions by General Mills Foundation and Land O’Lakes Foundation. Arts Midwest is a non-profit regional arts organization headquartered in Minneapolis that serves audiences, arts organizations and artists in nine Midwestern states.
As a classical guitarist, Bluestone received a full scholarship for the Andrés Segovia Masterclass in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and has toured the world to critical acclaim for 30 years. He has spent 20 years speaking to businesses, communities, and educational, nonprofit and healthcare groups from Alaska to Texas. In 1992, he founded Woven Harmony, Ltd., with his wife, Rebecca.
Following Bluestone’s presentation, the event will continue with legislative discussions, workshops, and a Memorandums of Understanding signing ceremony with Iowa’s newest Great Places. The afternoon schedule follows:
- 1 p.m. – Turning Creation to Commodity Through Proper Tax Planning workshop
- 1 p.m. – Historic Resource Development Program Grants workshop
- 1:30 p.m. – Great Places Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony
- 2 p.m. – Finding Leadership in Making Places Great workshop
- 2 p.m. – Disaster Preparedness of Collecting Institutions workshop
- 2 p.m. – CHAT (Culture, History, Arts Teams) social media meeting
- 3 and 4:15 p.m. – So What Do You Do When You Get Back Home? workshop
The day will conclude with a reception at 5 p.m. for participants and legislators. The reception will include music, food by Café Baratta’s and wine served by the Northwest Iowa Grape Growers Association and Garden Winery. The reception is sponsored by the Iowa Gaming Association.
Visit ICC’s Web site at www.iowaculturalcoalition.org for more information about the event and workshops.
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The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs is responsible for developing the state’s interest in the areas of the arts, history and other cultural matters with the advice and assistance from its two divisions: the State Historical Society of Iowa and the Iowa Arts Council. DCA preserves, researches, interprets and promotes an awareness and understanding of local, state and regional history and stimulates and encourages the study and presentation of the performing and fine arts and public interest and participation in them. It implements tourism-related art and history projects as directed by the General Assembly and designs a comprehensive, statewide, long-range plan with the assistance of the Iowa Arts Council to develop the arts in Iowa. More information about DCA is available at www.culturalaffairs.org.
