Event-goers will have the opportunity to attend virtual yoga classes, participate in interactive breakout sessions and attend presentations from world-renowned keynote speakers 

LANSING, MICH. — The Arts Council of Greater Lansing announced details for its Creative Placemaking Summit 6 taking place Wednesday, Oct. 14 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The event format is “virtual+,” and will take place online with an optional in-person, socially-distanced walking tour to close out the day, sponsored by Downtown Lansing Inc. For the first time in event history admission is free, made possible by Lansing Board of Water & Light.

“The Creative Placemaking Summit brings dynamic and impactful discussions to the City of Lansing through the lens of artists, placemakers and community leaders,” said Bradley T. Funkhouser, CATA chief executive officer and summit sponsor. “We look forward to participating once again in this pivotal event. I encourage all residents from Lansing and beyond to join the discussion to help drive regional change.”

All attendees, speakers and performers will join virtually from the event platform Accelevents. This year’s keynote speakers include Linda Steele and ChristinaMaria Xochitlzihuatl Sukhgian Patiño Houle. Steele is an award-winning artist and the CEO of ArtUp, an idea incubator and business accelerator that breaks down barriers to the creative economy and launches artists into creative entrepreneurship. Patiño Houle is a mixed race and mixed indigenous healer and warrior, and is the lead visionary with Las Imaginistas. Her work breaks spells of colonial patriarchy by centering the femme and nonbinary gaze and re-integrating the construction of self with the madre tierra.

“The Arts Council of Greater Lansing has created a space where practitioners, funders and policymakers can exchange crucial information during an unprecedented time when the arts face challenges and barriers,” Steele said. “A summit is a time to teach, learn and share.” 

Jordan Jay, Founder and executive director of the Black Trans Femmes in the Arts Collective (BTFA), will join the event for a breakout workshop to discuss the history of Black trans femmes in the arts. Event-goers can also join director of learning at The Village of Arts and Humanities Michael O’Bryan to learn more about policy's role in placemaking and the shift to "placekeeping" as a way to engage the residents of different communities. Executive director of Arts Council of Greater Lansing Meghan Martin, president and chief executive officer of Arts Commission of Greater Toledo Mark Folk, and analyst at HR&A Advisors, Inc. Madison Morine are among other renowned speakers to present at this year’s summit.    

The summit is welcoming many new and exciting performers like Aadizookaan, a dynamic group that tells a story through ancestral technology and indigenous based knowledge systems that honors the heart, mind, body and spirit. Participants can watch a live mural demonstration by award-winning mixed media painter Steph Hogan. Virtual yoga classes will be held virtually by teachers Katlyn Lindstrom and Irie Lott. Other performers include the Everett High School Dance Team and more.

This event is made possible by generous contributions from the MSUFCU Desk Drawer Fund, National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council of Arts and Cultural Affairs.

Donations for the Arts Council of Greater Lansing can be made before or during the event within Accelevents.

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Founded in 1965, the Arts Council of Greater Lansing exists to support, strengthen and promote art, culture and creativity in the capital region. For more information, visit www.lansingarts.org.