Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds, Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs director Mary Cownie and Governor Branstad.
More than 150 Iowans have signed up to participate in a day-long discussion about arts, history and culture in Iowa. Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs director Mary Cownie hopes participants come up with a range of action plans.
“To ensure we can raise awareness so we know all Iowans see the value in arts, history and culture,” Cownie says.
The “Iowa Arts Summit” will be held Friday, June 6 in Des Moines. Cownie says the summit is an outgrowth of “cultural caucuses” held around the state this past fall.
“While the Iowa Arts Summit will bring together leading regional and national voices in the arts, we’re most excited that we’ll be joined by communmity leaders from our own neck of the woods, right here in Iowa,” Cownie says, “leaders from Orange City and the Quad Cities, Mason City and Marshalltown, Council Bluffs and Dubuque who will share their success stories and their insights into how they are actively and strategically investing in their communities through arts, history and culture.”
Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds says the state’s “creative economy” helps generate job opportunities in the state.
“The arts serve as a building block to our state’s well-being, our quality of life and our future,” Reynolds says.
Organizers expect to defray the cost of the summit through a $45-per-person registration fee along with support from private groups as well as the National Endowment for the Arts. Cownie says the last statewide arts summit was held 10 years ago.