Is there evidence that cultural institutions bring socio-economic benefits to cities?

Is there evidence that cultural institutions bring socio-economic benefits to cities?

Helen Paxton
September 8, 2014

Theo Anderson

Media Advisory

Rutgers University-Newark and New Jersey Performing Arts Center present an International Conference on Cultural Institutions and Urban Transformation Oct. 9 &10

WHO:  Public officials and arts leaders from Brooklyn, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Newark and New York will weigh in at major international conference attended by scholars and practitioners. 

Conference organizer:  Dr. Lawrence P. Goldman, founding president & CEO of NJPAC and Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at Rutgers University-Newark School of Public Affairs and Administration

              Keynote speakers: The Honorable Thomas H. Kean, former governor of New Jersey
              The Honorable Thomas Murphy, former mayor of Pittsburgh
              Bill Strickland, President & CEO, Manchester Bidwell Corporation, Mac Arthur Fellow

              Plenary Session:  “The Great Debate:  Investment in Large Scale Cultural Facilities is an Effective Downtown Redevelopment Strategy
              Adrian Ellis, founder, AEA Consulting, former executive director, Jazz at Lincoln Center
              Steven Wolff, founding principal, AMS Planning and Research         

              Special Welcomers:  The Honorable Ras Baraka, mayor of Newark
              Shané Harris, Vice President, The Prudential Foundation

WHAT:  Additional conference sessions on

  • Cultural Institutions as Urban Change Agents:  Success Stories 

  • Cultural Investment as an Urban Planning & Development Strategy:  What Works/What Doesn’t?

  • Measuring the Effectiveness of Spending on Cultural Infrastructure

WHERE: Rutgers University-Newark and the NJPAC, in Newark, N.J., a city that has made a big bet on the arts as an agent for urban development

WHEN: Oct. 9 (evening only), Oct. 10

WHY: According to Lawrence Goldman, the conference will be the first time that leaders in the field convene to look at what actually works in the business of the arts transforming cities.

INFORMATION:   http://spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/ciut

Members of the media are invited to attend, please contact Helen Paxton, paxton@andromeda.rutgers.edu, or Ginger Swiston, gswiston@rutgers.edu

Additional conference speakers: 

  • Baye Adofo-Wilson, Director of Economic and Housing Development, City of Newark

  • Dr. John Alschuler, Chairman, HR & A Advisors

  • Karen Brooks Hopkins, Pres., Brooklyn Academy of Music

  • Art Falco, President & CEO, Playhouse Square, Cleveland

  • Ken Greenberg, Former Director Urban Design & Architectures, City of Toronto, Principal, Greenberg Consultants

  • Dr. Andrew Haughwout, Vice President and Function Head Research & Statistics, Federal Reserve Bank of NY

  • Dr. Briavel Holcomb, Professor, Edward Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University-New Brunswick

  • Dr. Stanley Katz, director of Arts & Cultural Policy Studies, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University

  • Kevin McMahon, Pres. & CEO , Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

  • Dr. Clement A. Price, Board of Governors Professor, Rutgers University-Newark

  • Rebecca Robertson, President, Park Avenue Armory, Former Executive Director, Lincoln Center Development Project

  • John Schreiber, President and CEO, NJPAC

  • Dr. Mark Stern, Professor, Social Welfare & History; Co-Chair, Urban Studies Program, U. Penn. School of Social Policy & Practice

  • Marilyn Jordan Taylor, Dean, U. Penn. School of Design; Former Chair, Skidmore Owings & Merrill

  • Dr. Jerome Williams, Distinguished Professor and Prudential Chair in Business, Rutgers Business School – Newark and New Brunswick