There is still time to register for the Kentucky Arts Council’s fifth annual Kentucky Creative Industry Summit, Nov. 30 at the Georgetown College Conference Center, 100 Crawford Drive in Georgetown.
The summit, which is co-sponsored by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, has evolved in the five years since its inauguration in December 2014 in Louisville. That year, the focus was on the newly released Kentucky Creative Industry Report, marking the first time a comprehensive study had been done to measure the overall economic footprint of the arts, artists, arts organizations and other creative entrepreneurs in Kentucky.
“Over the last five years the summit has grown into the largest learning opportunity in Kentucky for those in the creative industry which, I think, demonstrates the success of the arts council’s creative industry initiatives,” said Emily B. Moses, arts council executive staff advisor and summit organizer. “Our artists want these opportunities and we’re glad we can continue to provide them.”
In each of its iterations, the summit has traveled around the state, never happening in the same city twice.
“We’ve made every effort to serve each region of the state with this important gathering, and we’ve had a warm welcome in each community that’s hosted the summit,” said Chris Cathers, arts council interim executive director. “That’s a testament not only to the valuable learning opportunities we offer but also to the commitment to the creative industry demonstrated by community leaders in those areas.”
The summit has given the arts council an effective platform to have conversations with a larger audience of the state’s creative entrepreneurs, Moses said. Those networking opportunities have allowed the arts council to expand its own partnerships outside of the traditional arts community, including Kentucky’s burgeoning video gaming industry in 2016 and healing arts within the military veteran community in 2017.
“One of the main goals of this work was to create a mechanism for the arts council to connect the arts community with those interested in using the arts to increase community, economic and business development,” Moses said. “We do that regularly and it’s work we’re very proud to have intentionally and strategically initiated several years ago.”
Among the presenters on the 2018 summit agenda are Elaine Grogan Luttrull, CPA, owner of Minerva Financial Arts in Columbus, Ohio, and attorney Jim Grace, executive director of the Arts & Business Council in Boston, Mass. Luttrull will give artists the tools to build the skills and habits necessary for money to support an artist’s creative practice rather than detract from it. She will put artists through a creative budgeting workshop that she says “won’t feel like a workshop at all.”
In a separate session, Luttrull will help artists who own their own businesses navigate the sales tax changes reflected in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision.
In his sessions, Grace will empower artists with the negotiation skills that will prepare them to ask for – and get – what they want to achieve their artistic goals. He’ll also shine a light on the sensitive topic of intellectual property, answering questions about trademark, copyright, and contracts that protect artists and their work.
Beth Flowers, director of the nationally recognized AIR Institute at Berea College, will discuss the crucial role that artists, arts advocates, and community and business leaders have in forging the future for arts and a thriving atmosphere for arts entrepreneurs in Kentucky. Flowers’ presentation will be highly interactive and promote lively discussion among summit participants. The outcome will help the arts council prioritize and explore new ways to address the needs of Kentucky’s creative industry.
To learn more about the summit presenters, visit the arts council’s website.
Summit registration is $30 and can be completed online. College students can attend for free by contacting Moses at emilyb.moses@ky.gov or 502-892-3109.
