Growing and Strengthening the Arts

Anne Katz, Executive Director of Arts Wisconsin.

Amy Ludwigsen, Executive Director of Door Shakespeare.

National Arts & Humanities Month (NAHM) is a coast-to-coast collective recognition of the importance of culture in America. It is designed to encourage all Americans to explore new facets of the arts and humanities in their lives, and to begin a lifelong habit of active participation in the arts.

I am grateful to take this opportunity to introduce the Creative Summit initiative, facilitated by Arts Wisconsin that will travel the state over the course of this winter and fall.

The Creative Summit will bring together activists from the community and across the region to network, learn, share and strategize about the ways in which the arts and creative sector can help grow and strengthen Wisconsin for economic vitality, education for the 21st century, healthy and vibrant communities, and engaged residents.

The Peninsula Arts and Humanities Alliance (PAHA) is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a Creative Summit for Door County and surrounding communities on Thursday, Nov. 20.

Anne Katz, Executive Director of Arts Wisconsin, will attend and facilitate the Summit. The agenda will include presentations on ideas, trends and initiatives for the arts and creative sector, and small group discussions about current and future opportunities for artistic and creative growth.

While working with Anne to arrange the details of the upcoming summit hosted by PAHA, I had the opportunity to ask her a few questions regarding the creative summits.

Amy Ludwigsen (AL): What inspired these summits to take place? This looks to be the first year this kind of tour is being taken, so how did this idea come about?

Anne Katz (AK): It’s been a while since we’ve done a full-fledged tour of the state, with so many Creative Summits planned. It seemed like a good time to do it, with so much going on in arts, arts education and creative economy-wise around Wisconsin. Arts Wisconsin has been hosting these kinds of meetings and bringing people together for over 20 years. We’ve called the meetings regional meetings, community meetings, town meetings, listening sessions, and just plain ol’ meetings. Sometimes we’ve done them with other statewide partners, like the Wisconsin Arts Board and Wisconsin Humanities Council, and sometimes we’ve done them on our own. The reason to do them has been the same throughout: to bring people together to learn and network, to discuss issues of importance in and to the arts and the community, to share info on what’s happening statewide and beyond, to learn what’s happening on the local level. It’s crucial that Arts Wisconsin keep those lines of communication open with the people doing the work on the ground. It’s really the best part of my job, to get to visit so many wonderful places and hear so many great stories from such creative people.

AL: What are the common denominators or themes you have noticed so far in the two summits that have taken place? Do you expect those themes to carry through or change as you travel through the variety of towns/cities on the schedule?

AK: In some ways the themes of the meetings have been similar this year and over the past 20 years, too: how global issues impact daily life in a community, what works and what doesn’t, how to evaluate and assess what works and what doesn’t, how to keep connecting and moving forward. The rate of change seems to have accelerated but it always comes down to civic engagement and creative expression – how to keep reaching people and keep moving forward. Everyone is trying to figure out how to come up with new ideas and engage their audiences while the world changes rapidly around us.

AL: What do you hope to take away and leave each community with after the event?

AK: More knowledge about what’s going on around Wisconsin and more stories of the power, benefits, impact and value of the arts on the local level; strengthening relationships with new and old friends and colleagues; why the work that’s happening in Wisconsin’s communities matters to the state’s future; inspiration, energy and enthusiasm.

The Creative Summit in Door County will take place on Thursday, Nov. 20 at the Birch Creek Music Performance Center, 3821 County Rd. E in Egg Harbor. More details will be announced shortly. More information can be found at artswisconsin.org and americansforthearts.org/events/national-arts-and-humanities-month.