New Cities Summit puts spotlight on Dallas’ thriving art scene
• New Cities Summit takes place on June 17-19 at Winspear Opera House, Dallas, bringing global leaders and thinkers to Dallas Arts District
• Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN), a network of the world’s most important cultural districts, headquartered in Dallas, will convene during the New Cities Summit to
set a strategy for the year ahead
Dallas, Texas – April 10, 2014. On June 17-19, global thought leaders will convene in the Dallas Arts District, for the New Cities Summit, the leading event on the future of the urban world. The Summit will shine a spotlight on the Dallas Arts District, which is the largest arts district in the U.S. and fast becoming one of the most important cultural hubs in the world. The event will also highlight the vibrant arts scene in neighboring Fort Worth.
The role of culture in cities will be one of the key topics discussed in high profile panels, inspiring keynotes and interactive breakout sessions at the three-day New Cities Summit, which takes place at the Norman Foster-designed Winspear Opera House. This year, the event’s theme is “Re-imagining Cities: Transforming the 21st Century Metropolis.”
The cultural strands of the Summit will feature speakers including Karen Brooks Hopkins, President, Brooklyn Academy of Music; Rip Rapson, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Kresge Foundation; Jamie Bennett, Executive Director, ArtPlace America and Tarek Cherkaoui, Chief Strategy Officer, Qatar Museums Authority.
Some of the cultural highlights taking place during the Summit include Shen Wei Dance Arts – a stand-out show by the legendary Chinese American choreographer at the Winspear Opera House, and the exhibition Nur: Light in Art and Science from the Islamic World at the Dallas Museum of Art, as well as a showcase of new acquisitions drawn exclusively from the DMA’s strong collection of contemporary art. Meanwhile, the Meadows Museum of Art will present one of the most significant collections of Spanish drawings, including works by Murillo, Goya and Alonso Cano, on loan from the Kunsthalle Hamburg. In addition, the Nasher Sculpture Center will host the first American Museum exhibition dedicated to German-Iranian artist Bettina Pousttchi.
The New Cities Summit will be an important moment for the world’s urban leaders and thinkers to recognize the achievements of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan region in promoting creativity across the visual and performing arts, and strengthening international ties.
The event will also provide a platform for advancing the work of the Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN). Launched at the 2013 New Cities Summit in São Paulo and headquartered in the Dallas Arts District, GCDN is a federation of global centers of arts and culture. Its mission is to foster co-operation and knowledge sharing among the world’s leading cultural districts.
Maxwell L. Anderson, co-Chairman, GCDN, Chairman of the Dallas Arts District Foundation and Eugene McDermott Director, Dallas Museum of Art, said: “The last generation has seen individual arts organizations making headway in their respective cities and countries. What we are out to determine is how the adjacency of multiple arts institutions can offer a more robust and sustainable menu of programs for their communities, entice cultural tourists to spend more than a night, and share knowledge about these artistic ecosystems in ways that can benefit us all.”
Adrian Ellis, Director, GCDN and Founder, AEA Consulting, said: "We are thrilled that so many people responsible for planning and running cultural districts are taking the opportunity to share best practices and discuss the challenges they face. A clear picture is emerging from our research of a strong common agenda: audience development; the relationship between serving the local community and tourists; the scope for sharing content and partnerships between districts; and common challenges and strategies for effective governance. It is a rich agenda."
Access a brochure Dallas-Fort Worth during the Summit: http://bit.ly/1sFaQtE
Full information on the Summit is available at www.newcitiessummit2014.org
Ends
International press contact:
Marina Bradbury
Communications & Media Relations Manager
New Cities Foundation
mbradbury@newcitiesfoundation.org
+33 6 17 79 17 72
Brunswick Group – Paris
Maria Marques / Benoit Loiseau
+33 (0)1 53 96 83 83
Local press contact:
Brunswick Group – Dallas
Roberta Thomson / Daniel Harrison
+1 214 254 3790
About the Dallas Arts District
The Dallas Arts District is a nonprofit organization stimulating the cultural and economic life of North Texas by advocating for the largest urban cultural district in the United States -- comprising 20 square blocks of museums, performance halls, parks, restaurants, offices and residences. The Dallas Arts District also serves as world headquarters for the Global Cultural Districts Network in partnership with the New Cities Foundation and AEA Consulting. For more information, please visit www.dallasartsdistrict.org.
About the Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN)
The GCDN serves to foster cooperation and knowledge-sharing between those responsible for conceiving, funding, building, and operating cultural districts; and to help to ensure that these projects are vital assets for their communities, contributing to the vitality of 21st century cities. Over the next decade, some $US 250 billion will be invested in the creation of new cultural districts around the globe. A successful cultural district is not just one that is built, but one that, once built, thrives and, in thriving, animates the city or region that it serves. This holistic definition of success is central to the Network: success is not just getting an arts building or series of buildings out of the ground, it is about ensuring that they are viable and play a central role in their communities.
The GCDN provides the following services for its members:
Regular convening to share emerging best practices, hear expert panels, and discuss the place of cultural districts in urban policy, economic development and related areas of public policy such as travel and tourism.
Original research on topics of common interest such as programming, audience development, cultural tourism, professional development, relevant trends in technology and creative industries strategies;
Regular summaries and circulation of secondary research and news of common interest;
Virtual forums for detailed sharing of information and discussion of opportunities and challenges;
Opportunities for establishing strategic partnerships for content, programming, skills training, and knowledge transfer.
www.gcdn.net Twitter @gcdnet Facebook /GCDNetwork
About the New Cities Summit
Organized by the New Cities Foundation, the New Cities Summit is the premier global leadership event on the future of cities. Fostering positive urban change, the high level gathering advocates cross-sector collaboration through network building, cutting-edge forums and lively discussion. The Summit showcases and disseminates the best ideas on the future of cities and generates concrete, scalable solutions capable of being adopted and replicated across the world. Following the inaugural Summit in Paris in 2012, last year’s event was hosted in São Paulo. The New Cities Summit 2014 will be hosted in Dallas, Texas, USA, from June 17 - 19.
Twitter: #ncs2014
About the New Cities Foundation
The New Cities Foundation is a leading global non-profit organization with a vision to build more inclusive, dynamic and creative cities benefiting people and society. Its mission is to incubate, promote and scale urban innovations through collaborative partnerships between government, business, academia and civil society.
The New Cities Foundation hosts a number of leadership events on the most pressing urban issues, including its flagship event, the New Cities Summit, which takes place this year in Dallas, Texas, on June 17 – 19, 2014 (www.newcitiessummit2014.org). The Foundation also hosts smaller leadership events worldwide, such as Cityquest - KAEC Forum, a high level event focusing on the conception and building of new cities around the world (www.cityquest.net)
The Foundation’s applied research wing, the Urban (co)LAB, manages a number of projects including Task Forces, thought leadership activities and competitions. The Urban (co)LAB recently completed two Task Forces on Urban E-health in Rio de Janeiro and on Connected Commuting in San Jose, California. The Urban (co)LAB also manages the AppMyCity! contest for the world’s best new urban mobile app, and seeks out the most talented urban innovators for the WhatWorks series of talks hosted at the New Cities Summit.
An independent, non-profit organization, the New Cities Foundation was created in 2010 and is financed by its members and partners. Overall, its members include some of the most forward-thinking companies, universities, cities and city organizations from around the world. The New Cities Foundation’s Founding Members are Cisco and Ericsson. The Foundation is based in Geneva and its head office is in Paris.
For more information about the New Cities Foundation, please visit:
Facebook: /NewCitiesFoundation
Twitter: @newcitiesfound
About AEA Consulting
AEA Consulting is regarded as one of the world’s leading cultural consulting firms. With over two decades of experience, AEA has assisted clients in the cultural sector internationally, helping them to define, plan and achieve their long-term goals. Specialists in facilities, operational and strategic planning, AEA collaborates with public and private cultural organizations and their funders in the U.S., U.K., Europe, Asia, and Australia to help them realize the contribution that culture can make to communities. AEA works with its clients from the initial conceptual planning of a project through feasibility studies and detailed planning to implementation and start up, advising and supporting all aspects of the process.
AEA was founded by Adrian Ellis in 1990 in London, and has been based in New York since 1998. AEA’s work stands on two foundations: a strong analytical approach, and a close understanding of and empathy for the goals of stakeholders in the cultural sphere. Its multi- national consulting team members have backgrounds in cultural and heritage organizations, finance, the art market, and government. They bring a deep understanding of a wide range of cultural environments and issues, and the ability to share and apply knowledge of cultural practices and developments internationally.
For more information about AEA Consulting, please visit: www.aeaconsulting.com