‘Rural’ Done Right

Tuesday, October 15, 10:00am – 11:30am

Organized and moderated by Susan DuPlessis, Community Arts Development director, South Carolina Arts Commission.

Presented by Bob Reeder, program director, Rural LISC; Pam Breaux, executive director, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies; and Carl Heyward, filmmaker, CHQ Productions.

Who sparks change in rural communities? What principles guide us as we strategically use arts and culture for community-based change? Where do you start? How long does it take? Using a 2019 report, "Rural Prosperity through the Arts and Culture Sector,” a panel of national and local leaders will toggle between its findings and cases for ground-level change in rural America. A closer look at why culture matters in rural community development will be supported by videos, visual stories, and voices of the place. The panel will consider key principles of the ‘Rural Systems Change Framework’ that include: provide leadership to benefit the creative sector; capitalize on existing regional cultural assets; build a state's cultural and creative partnership infrastructure; develop local talent and human capital with creative skills; and create an environment that is friendly to investment and innovation. The Art of Community: Rural SC, a South Carolina-based initiative, will form the bedrock of this discussion along with examples from Rural LISC's creative placemaking grant initiative from across rural America. A panelist from rural South Carolina will add a first-person perspective as a young creative who has documented many of the examples of connection, change, and relevance in South Carolina.