home
      www.canalstreetvision.com  |   Send to a Friend  |   Unsubscribe     

What's Up Downtown

January 14, 2009

Special Edition


 

Downtown: "The" Place for Arts and Technology;
Thursday Reception will Launch "Place-making" Initiative

Everyone interested in the "Industries of the Mind," namely arts and technology, are invited to join the Downtown Development District, Arts Council of New Orleans, GNO Inc., Louisiana Technology Council, and Idea Village on Thursday, January 15, 2009 as they discuss how each is making New Orleans a place for the creative economy to thrive. Representatives from the organizations will share their roles in the drive to enhance technology-based and art-based business development in New Orleans.

"Experience shows that people involved in technology-based industries and performing & visual arts seek out stimulating, diverse environments," says DDD President & CEO Kurt Weigle. "Downtown and New Orleans in general are perfectly positioned to attract Industries of the Mind and the individuals that drive them."

New Orleans' physical and cultural assets, including its architecture, history, cuisine, music and ethnic and cultural diversity have always attracted creative individuals. The DDD plans to enhance these attributes by researching what the knowledge-based workers and entrepreneurs want and need to make Downtown their first choice, and then facilitating its development.

For more information on Thursday's event, click here.
To RSVP, click here or call (504) 561-8927.


 

Prospect.1 Closing Weekend: Downtown Sites
Open Through Weekend, Salon & Jazz Funeral Close Exhibit

New Orleans' first international contemporary art biennial, Prospect.1, will close this weekend after an impressive eleven-week run that brought more than 20,000 visitors to the city. Designed to help reinvigorate New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Prospect.1 showcases more than 80 artists at over 23 locations throughout the city.

Downtown is host to five of the official P.1 venues, and more than 15 Art City sites designated by Prospect.1. The DDD-sponsored P.1 Welcome Center at the Hefler Warehouse, along with the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC), Louisiana Artworks, Ideal Auto Repair, and Harrah's Casino will all be open throughout the weekend as art enthusiasts take advantage of the exhibition's last weekend. All venues are open free of charge. Many Downtown art galleries also will be open to welcome the curious and the collector alike.

Several closing week events have been scheduled; among them a Sunday Salon and Jazz Funeral and "A Conversation with Prospect.1 Artist Fred Tomaselli," at the CAC, as well as a panel discussion entitled "Biennial in Review" at Louisiana Artworks. Details are available at www.prospectneworleans.org.

For more information on any of the articles featured in What's Up Downtown, or to submit an item for consideration, contact Lauren Hotard at lhotard@neworleansdowntown.com.