Home » NAMAC Conference 2012 | Minneapolis, Sept. 6-8

NAMAC Conference 2012 | Minneapolis, Sept. 6-8

Technology is accelerating. Participation is increasing. Innovation is emerging at the grassroots.

At a time of change and opportunity for the media and visual arts field, NAMAC's inspirational community of peers reconvenes for our national conference -- this year in Minneapolis and St. Paul, home to cutting-edge cultural institutions and a hotbed of creativity and community innovation.

[Flashback! Check out NAMAC's National Conference Archives for previous program and participant listings.]

In Minneapolis this September, the two-day NAMAC gathering will dig into the real impacts of these fast-moving trends:

  • ARTISTS AS LEADERS: Artists and creative producers are taking the reins of the media and visual arts field, bringing hard-won DIY and entrepreneurial survival skills, and new ideas and methods for building and connecting with communities.
  • CREATIVE PLACEMAKING: Arts institutions — and the arts in communities — are transforming the cities that they call home, as part of a process of "creative placemaking" that has implications for daily life as well as public policy.
  • GRASSROOTS INNOVATION: Technology is activating creativity, opening new doors for participation, and enabling new networks to emerge for media and arts supporters and producers.

In the Mix

NAMAC Conference participants will also experiment with and showcase emerging transmedia technologies; join in community-led design jams, dialogue and skill-sharing; delve into the intersection of media and arts policy, practice and advocacy; and teach and learn cutting-edge production and sustainability techniques.

Featuring a host of dialogue-driven panels, skill-building workshops, networking activities and parties, exhibits, installations, tours, roundtables, plenaries and more -- the 2012 NAMAC Conference promises a refreshing and inspiring "deep dive" into the fast-changing issues and opportunities of the media/arts field.

This Place: The Twin Cities

Minneapolis and St. Paul are home to some of the most vibrant cultural institutions in the United States, showcasing "creative placemaking" policy in action, and a longtime hotbed of creativity, activism, innovation and engagement.

  • Learn more about "This Place" -- the Art Deco gems and Old World charm of St. Paul, the cutting-edge culture and innovation of Minneapolis, and the abundance of public art and museums in both cities -- from one of NAMAC's 2012 Conference hosts: Jack Becker, Executive Director of Forecast Public Art in Minneapolis.

Stay Updated

Planning is underway, and September is closer than you think. Bookmark this page (www.namac.org/conference/) and check back for regular updates on who's participating, what's happening, and all travel, hotel and event-registration details.

You can also get the latest by following NAMAC on Facebook and Twitter, and by signing up for our newsletter (be sure to select the "NAMAC Conference Updates" checkbox).