The conference responds to the need for creative solutions to distressed economies whether in small rural towns, impoverished neighborhoods, or communities without resources and infrastructure.
704 Green Valley Road
Greensboro NC 27408
336.379.8200
* Mention the Cross-Currents Conference and receive the Group Rate
* Booking Code: 10S99E
1. Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU)
(Approximately 70 minutes by Car to Hotel.)
2. Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO)
(Approximately 10 minutes by Car to Hotel.
Proximity Hotel provides complimentary shuttle service with advance reservation.)
From growing methods to delivery systems, and from repurposed buildings to networks of producers, rural communities are at the forefront of demonstrating innovation throughout our economic food chain. Artists and artisans serve multiple functions in rural communities, as purveyors of culture, as authentic historians of craft and tradition, and increasingly as effective, innovators integral to successful revitalization and economic development strategies. What today may be considered fine art and high craft were always fundamental skills for self-sufficiency in rural America.
Nowhere is this history more evident than in North Carolina, where such ingenuity launched the Penland School of Crafts, Black Mountain College, and the careers of thousands of individuals and hundreds of small businesses that made small towns strong with their eyes and hands.
Speakers and stories will unite solutions to pressing needs, forge new directions for local and regional economic and social well-being, and demonstrate how to nurture and support entrepreneurs and creatives. Participating practitioners will learn how to create opportunities for collaborative work across diverse sectors to realign community assets into new tangible demonstrations of commerce and place; contribute to a broader narrative about the role rural America plays nationally; increase their knowledge about the arts in strengthening the econimic health of communities; and, explore and refine models of collaboration among artists/arts organizations, entrepreneurs, agencies, and public and private sectors.
Artists-artisans-designers, rural leaders and advocates, elected and agency representatives, CSAs and CDCs, food producers and distributors, policy researchers and scholars, entrepreneurs and small business owners who seek creative approaches to ensuring greater quality of life within their communities.
(When you enroll, please select a maximum of THREE categories that best describe your expertise or represents an area that you would like to learn more about.)
What promising practices exist to build the entrepreneurial skills of artists and farmers? How are artists being connected to manufacturing opportunities? (ie: mentoring and apprentice programs, artists in residence in culinary arts programs, agripreneur training, rapid prototyping and innovative industrial design)
What physical, organizational, and social infrastructure can more effectively support the creative and ag sectors? What unique models exist across rural and urban America that might inform how we move forward? (ie: repurposing Main Street buildings, developing community alliances, organizing a food hub)
What models exist for identifying rural cultural and agricultural assets and building on those assets to create viable economic opportunities?
How can local food entrepreneurs and local artisans better engage with demand to grow opportunities?(ie: unique food distribution models; niche value-added agriculture; arts incubators and aggregators; food processing, packaging, and distribution; fabrication; etc.)
How do you make the case for the impact that arts and agriculture have on rural places? How can you attract investors to move your work forward?
How are local, state, and federal resources being used to support arts and agriculture? What models exist for effective, supportive policy?
Wednesday 3 September 2014
Workshops from 12:30pm – 4:30pm
$50 per session; sessions run concurrently
