A summit designed to be the launch pad for the arts, culture and heritage in Coquitlam will be held at city hall next Saturday.
The gathering — one of the Top 10 priority items in the city's 2015-'30 Arts, Culture and Heritage Strategic Plan, which was adopted by council earlier this year — aims to bring together artists and administrators to find ways the city can move forward with policy.
Emceed by comedian and artist Julie Kim, the day-long event on Nov. 4 begins at 9:20 a.m. with a keynote speech from Howard Jang, the director of Simon Fraser University Woodward's Cultural Unit and the professor of professional practice at SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts.
Jang's talk is titled Making Memories: The Intrinsic Impact of the Arts in your Community.
"We really wanted to start the day off with a very powerful message," Terra Dickinson, Coquitlam's cultural and community events supervisor, told The Tri-City News last Friday. "We hope this will be a catalyst for the conversation for the rest of the day and set the tone."
The other summit speakers, which were chosen by the city's cultural services advisory committee, are:
• Carrie Nimmo, manager of cultural development and community services for the city of Port Coquitlam (Imagine! Port Coquitlam Cultural Planning);
• Leanne Christie, urban oil painter (Round Pegs and Square Holes: Why An Artist Can't Desk Share);
• and Joan McCauley, executive director of Place des Arts (Lessons Learned fro 45 Years in the Arts Community).
After lunch, which is included in the price of admission, three panelists will discuss leadership in communication, collaboration and co-operation. The panelists are:
• Fiona Black: director of programming for the Capilano University Centre for the Performing Arts;
• Nancy Cottingham Powell, executive director of the North Vancouver Community Arts Council;
• and Dave Seaweed, aboriginal student services co-ordinator at Douglas College.
The afternoon also includes a cultural roundtable to generate ideas for the municipality.
"We want to hear from a wide variety of people about how we can support them in their arts, culture and heritage roles," Dickinson said, "but we also want to give them a platform to make connections and to network. We have a lot of partners out there and it makes sense for us all to work together."
• For tickets at $25, visit coquitlam.ca/culturalsummit.
