Creative Placemaking Symposium: Art and Design as Civic Action

In celebration of the University of Maryland’s new Creative Placemaking Minor, please join us for a one-day symposium considering how the fields of art and design can be leveraged in the service of social justice, democracy, and equitable communities. 

Youtube Recording

Presentation topics

• Elevating arts, culture and design to support healthy communities
• Arts-based and community-led placemaking and keeping
• Student-centered civic engagement
• Creating diverse and inclusive built environment discourse and action

List of speakers and their bios.

“Story + Place” workshops led by poet, dancer, and urban planner Amy Shimshon-Santo will take place on:

• [Workshop] Tuesday, February 28 from 4:30 - 6:30 pm in the Jiménez-Porter Writer's House
• [Workshop] Thursday, March 2 from 6:30 - 9:00 pm in the Parren J. Mitchell Art-Sociology Building, Michelle Smith Collaboratory, 1211B
   
• [Poetry Reading and Info Session] Friday, March 3 from 12:30 - 1:30 pm in the Kibel Gallery

Schedule

2:00 PM     Welcome & Opening Remarks:

• Patrick Warfield, Director, Arts for All, University of Maryland
• Stephanie Shonekan, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities
• Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson (pre-recorded), Chair, National Endowment for the Arts
• Ronit Eisenbach, Director, Creative Placemaking Collaborative & Minor (Presentation)

2:30 PM     SESSION I: Designing for Participation: Creative Campus Voting Project

• Stephanie Rowden, Sound Artist, Associate Professor of Studio Art, University of Michigan
• Hannah Smotrich, Visual Communications Designer, Associate Professor of Design, University of Michigan
• Madeline Shepherd, University of Michigan student, Stamps School, BFA '22
• Ren Strawn, University of Michigan student, Stamps School, BFA '23
• Ben Leavitt, University of Michigan student,  LSA, '24

3:00 PM     Q&A

3:20 PM     10-minute break

3:30 PM     KEYNOTE
Jen Hughes, Senior Advisor to the Chair on Partnerships, Expansion, & Innovation
National Endowment for the Arts  (presentation)

4:00 PM     SESSION II: In Place: Artists + Designers as Catalysts + Accomplices (Presentations)

• Mēlani N. Douglass, Healer, conceptual artist and curator, Founder, Family Arts Museum
• Omar Hakeem, AIA, Founder and Principal, To Be Done Studio
• Irfana Jetha Noorani, Cultural organizer, artist, producer and administrator
• Amy Shimshon-Santo, Urban Planner, Poet, Dancer, Urban Planner, Creative Placemaking Visiting Artist
   

4:30 PM     Q&A

4:50 PM     10-minute Break

5:00 PM     SESSION III: Thriving in Place: The 11th Street Bridge Park (Presentations)

• Brenda H. Jones, Community Advocate, Founder, Parklands Community Center
• Scott Kratz, Senior Vice President, Building Bridges Across the River, Director, 11th Street Bridge Park
• Vaughn Perry, Director, Skyland Workforce Center, Building Bridges Across the River

5:40 PM     Q&A

5:50 PM     Concluding Remarks

Dawn Jourdan, Dean, School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation

6:00 PM     Reception

Partners/Sponsors:

• Arts for All
• The College of Arts and Humanities
• The School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
• The Lombardo Architecture Program Lecture Fund
• The National Center for Smart Growth - Maryland Creative Placemaking Collaborative