Cultural Districts: An Investment in Rich Urban Life

Cultural districts strengthen our cities and communities and support the development of thriving places and people. Support for cultural districts is a high-return investment as their value is immense, multi-layered and far-reaching. However, while those benefits are embraced by many, not all believe it. Increasingly, cultural leaders are being challenged to demonstrate how supporting the arts and culture advances other agendas from attracting investment to fostering liveable communities and enabling public safety.

GCDN developed this advocacy guide to help! 

The guide presents a "lotus" value framework that offers a succinct summary and can be used as an "elevator pitch" to convey the 5 key ways in which a cultural district/organization generates value. 

View the guide and value framework here. 

Public Affairs Forum of India – Reviving the Economy: Reimagine. Reboot. Reform.

Thursday, October 21 at 6pm India Standard Time

Art and literature are the soul of a nation. They reflect the maturity of a country. But the pandemic has, in a way, distrupted the flow of creative thinking and art. But technologies have been developed in the last two years to provide platforms for exchange of ideas, thoughts, and artworks. 

Join us as Director Adrian Ellis speaks on the panel, Reviving the Creative Economy. Panel members will answer the questions: 

• How can businesses assist in building a healthy ecosystem for the creative economy to flourish? 

• What does the future hold for the creative economy? 

View the full program here. 

Register for the Forum here. 

WRLDCTY – Public Spaces: Safety, Accessibility, Sustainability

Thursday, October 28 at 9:30am EDT

From artwork to research to policy, what are the tools at our disposal to broaden our understanding of public safety and address new challenges sparked by the pandemic – as well as entrenched systemic inequities – to develop a new shared social contract for public spaces?

Speakers:

• Adrian Ellis, moderator

• Ilana Altman, Co-Executive Director, The Bentway

• Monica Ramirez Hartmann, Director, CoCrea

• Laura Capobianco, Senior Advisor on Safe Public Spaces in the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Section, UN Women

Learn more and register for the conference here. 

International Museum Construction Congress

Sunday, November 7 at 9am GMT

Managing Principal Daniel Payne will speak during the Pre-conference Workshop: Paths to Successful Projects. The workshop will cover the important steps to ensuring building project success. Attendees will learn about developing a vision for a building project, setting roles and responsibilities of staff and community, and linking the project to strategic planning. Developing architectural and exhibition designs, defining project components, budgets, and business plans will be featured. Right-sizing, living through projects and dealing with the realities of post-opening life will be covered. Attendees will be encouraged to engage with the presenters and colleagues on problem-solving ideas. 

Learn more and register for the Congress here. 

Museum Trustee Association

November 19, 2021

Managing Principal Daniel Payne will speak as part of a panel discussion at the Museum Trustee Association's Fall 2021 Forum held in Dallas, Texas, focusing on equitable practices in the design and planning of museums and other cultural buildings. The panel will highlight learnings from case studies that exemplify good practice around inclusive design, building accessibility, community engagement, and acknowledging histories of place. 

Learn more and register for the Forum here. 

AEA Consulting is a global firm setting the standard in strategy and planning for the cultural and creative industries.

We are known for our candid and impartial advice that draws on deep knowledge of the cultural sector as well as robust research and analytical insight.

Since 1991, we have successfully delivered more than 1,200 assignments in 40 countries, helping clients around the world plan and realize vital and sustainable cultural projects.