Business, arts converge in summit Friday
More than 150 civic leaders and supporters of the arts from west Alabama and east Mississippi converged on Demopolis Friday in an effort to channel the area’s arts into economic gain.
Entitled Creative Strategies for Economic Development, the event at the Demopolis Civic Center sought to find ways that the arts can be used to boost the area economy.
Among those who spoke were , Jim Byard, Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, Malcolm White, Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Tourism and Richelle Putnam of The Montgomery Institute.
The summit covered topics including how rural communities, artists and business can participate in a creative economy, best practices and opportunities for artists, and usage of the arts and artists to grow and expand businesses.
The event also featured various artists from the area who built a business around their craft, as well as Charles Frazier, manager of Weidmann’s Restaurant in Meridian, Miss., and Ben Burford of Denny Advertising in Birmingham.
The event was sponsored by the ATRC Leadership Forum, and co-sponsored by the City of Demopolis, Black Belt Treasures, The University of Alabama, The Montgomery Institute and the James Suttles Entrepreneurship Institute.
