Rutgers Arts and Public Administration Programs to Host First Ever Creative Placemaking Knowledge Exchange

(NEWARK, NJ) — The Rutgers University-Newark School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) will be hosting the Creative Placemaking Knowledge Exchange on Friday, June 26 from 8:30 to 4 pm. This conference will bring together scholars, students and funders involved in creative placemaking, a new field that integrates arts and culture with community and economic development. The conference is produced in partnership with Rutgers University-Newark’s Department of Arts, Culture and Media, The National Consortium for Creative Placemaking, and the Certification in Creative Placemaking program at The Ohio State University. About 50 people are expected to attend, including participants from Florida, West Virginia, Ohio and Cairo, Egypt. The cost to register is $20 for students and $100 for the general public. To register for the conference, visit www.tinyurl.com/2015cpke.

This will be a creative variation on a traditional academic conference. Presenters will have between 5 and 8 minutes to share information about their research and projects. In the afternoon, participants will engage in peer-led conversations of their choosing on various issues in creative placemaking. There will also be a walking tour of the future Express Newark: A University Community Collaboratory, a new arts center and learning space being developed in the former Hahne & Co. building on Broad Street.

Here is the most updated list of presentations for the morning sessions:

  • Arts as the driver for innovative, award-winning cultural, economic and community transformation: Shreveport Common, Wendy Benscoter, Shreveport Common and Certification in Creative Placemaking program. Ohio State University.
  • Measuring what matters: debating standardized outcome metrics for creative placemaking projects, Larry Bomback, Cultural Data Project.
  • Creating the space to talk about place: creative placemaking in the arts management classroom, Brea Heidelberg, Rider University.
  • Skateboarding and sewing help spark revitalization in Camden, New Jersey, Kate Dowd, Drexel University.
  • Placemaking via community design: planning for green stormwater infrastructure, Jason Hachadorian, Temple University's Center for Sustainable Communities.
  • Definitions of creative placemaking: a PechaKucha literature review (A PKLR), Julie Hawkins, Drexel University.
  • A capabilities approach to creative placemaking in West Philadelphia, Andrew Zitcer, Drexel University.
  • Building capacity for creative placemaking, Debra Rose, City of Pinellas Park, Florida and Certification in Creative Placemaking program, Ohio State University.
  • The growth of freelance artists in New Jersey: implications for community and local economic development, Leonardo Vazquez, The National Consortium for Creative Placemaking and Certification in Creative Placemaking program, Ohio State University.

The program is being supported by a number of organizations, including the Rutgers University-Newark School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA); the Rutgers University-Newark Department of Arts, Culture and Media; Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; New Jersey Health Initiatives; New Jersey State Council on the Arts; Northern New Jersey Community Foundation; The Ohio State University City and Regional Planning program.

About Rutgers University-Newark School of Public Affairs and Administration

The School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) at Rutgers University-Newark educates and motivates students to choose careers in public service and administration through its innovative and comprehensive BA in Public and Nonprofit Administration, Master of Public Administration (MPA), Executive MPA, PhD, and professional and graduate certificate programs. The school’s faculty generates knowledge and best practices in public service and administration, and collaborates with public and nonprofit sector organizations and professionals throughout the U.S. and the world. Guided by the principles of knowledge, competence, diversity, service, and ethics – with an emphasis on public service values and competencies for effective performance – SPAA promotes accountability, transparency, and performance in the public and nonprofit sectors.

U.S. News & World Report ranks the Rutgers University-Newark School of Public Affairs and Administration as

7th nationally in Public Management/Administration, and:

4th nationally in Information and Technology Management
10th nationally in Public Finance and Budgeting
11th nationally in City Management and Urban Policy
18th nationally in Nonprofit Management
23rd nationally in Public Affairs
24th nationally in Public Policy Analysis