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UT To Rebuild Arts Studios into “Maker-Space” to Foster Creativity and Innovation

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Project will include digital fabrication lab (Fab Lab), photography studio and
darkroom, high-tech classrooms and enhancements to Scarfone/Hartley Gallery

The University of Tampa will rebuild part of its Bailey Arts Studios on campus to host one of the most forward-thinking visual arts programs in the country, offering spaces for innovation and creativity amongst student and faculty inventors, designers, entrepreneurs and artists. [Read more…] about UT To Rebuild Arts Studios into “Maker-Space” to Foster Creativity and Innovation

Upcoming Convening Culture Conference to Celebrate Innovation and Entrepreneurship

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Fourth Annual Convening Culture Conference to be held in Gainesville February 22-23 at the University of Florida College of Arts Center for Arts in Medicine

Secretary of State Ken Detzner today announced the Department of State’s Division of Cultural Affairs will hold Convening Culture 2017: Exploring Innovation & Entrepreneurship through Arts & Culture February 22-23. The conference will offer informative sessions, discussions and networking opportunities for artists and individuals working and interested in arts and culture in Florida.
“As Florida’s Chief Cultural Officer, I am excited that the Convening Culture Conference is being held for its fourth year,” said Secretary Detzner. “Convening Culture is a great opportunity for professional development and collaboration within Florida’s vibrant arts and cultural communities. This year’s conference promises to be the best yet and will explore innovation and entrepreneurship through the arts and culture. Florida is home to more than 29,000 creative industries establishments which generate approximately $49.7 billion in annual revenue. Last year, 37.9 million people benefitted from Department of State supported arts and cultural programs, sustaining nearly 12,000 jobs across Florida.”
The annual convening culture conference is presented by the Citizens for Florida Arts, Inc., a statewide non-profit organization that works to support the efforts of the Division of Cultural Affairs. This year, the annual event will be hosted in Gainesville by the University of Florida College of Arts Center for Arts in Medicine. Session topics will range from community collaborations to creative start-up businesses.
Several honors will be presented at the conference, including the induction of Billy Dean, Don Felder, Lee Bennett Hopkins and Jim Stafford into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, joining such luminaries as Ernest Hemingway, Zora Neale Hurston, and Robert Rauschenberg. This award is the highest honor bestowed upon artists by the State of Florida. Recipients of this award demonstrate the diversity of artistic accomplishment that comprise the rich cultural tapestry of this state. The Division of Cultural Affairs will also present its Diversity and Inclusion Awards at the conference. These awards recognize innovative and exceptional efforts that promote diversity in arts and cultural programming.

Convening Culture Conference Event Highlights

FEBRUARY 22-23, 2017 
Exhibition on View: At the Threshold to the Unknown

  • Description: The Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience will partner to present this stunning exhibition which explores the imagery that is created at the intersection of microscience and art. Graciously supported by Nancy and David Auth.
  • Location: Lobby of the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

FEBRUARY 22, 2017
Conference Welcome & Plenary Session with Dr. Elif Ekcali

  • Description: Dr. Ekcali serves as an Associate Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Florida. She is in the inaugural class of UF Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellows in the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation in Warrington College of Business Administration and was formerly a Creative Scholar-in-Residence in the School of Theater + Dance. Dr. Ekcali will discuss divergent thinking and its impact on creativity and systems.
  • Time: 11:00 a.m.-12:10 p.m.

Conference Session: New Models of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Culture Economy

  • Description: This session will provide attendees with a survey of current landscape and trends, focusing on case studies that illuminate the development of new models and the complexity and importance of funding, community and partnerships for artists.
  • Time: 1:45 p.m. -2:45 p.m.
  • Presenter: Colleen Keegan, Creative Capital Foundation 

FEBRUARY 23, 2017
John Whitney Payson Keynote Presentation featuring Lily Yeh

  • Description: Lily Yeh is an internationally celebrated artist whose work has taken her to communities throughout the world. As founder and executive director of the Village of Arts and Humanities in North Philadelphia from 1968 to 2004, she helped create a national model in creative place-making and community building through the arts. In 2002, Yeh pursued her work internationally, founding Barefoot Artists, Inc., to bring the transformative power of art to impoverished communities around the globe through participatory, multifaceted projects that foster community empowerment, improve the physical environment, promote economic development and preserve indigenous art and culture. (www.barefootartists.org)
  • Time: 10:35 a.m. -11:45 a.m.

Presentation of the 2017 Diversity & Inclusion Awards

  • Description: The Diversity & Inclusion Awards Program recognizes the efforts of individuals working to make arts and cultural programming in Florida as diverse and inclusive as possible.
  • Time: noon-1 p.m.
  • Award Recipients: Antonio Cuyler; Compassionate St. Augustine; Dario Moore, The Center for Contemporary Dance, Inc.; Darryl Reuben Hall, Stage Aurora; Dr. Joseph Wiltshire Foundation; Edward Sparan; Florida Studio Theatre; Fort Mose Historical Society; Hope at Hand, Inc.; Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens; Orlando Community Arts, Inc.; Orlando Repertory Theatre; PAXy, Inc; Pioneer Winter, Pioneer Winter Collective; Rose Grace; Tarell McCraney; We the People Theatre; and Young Singers of the Palm Beaches.

Florida Artists Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

  • Description (Free Admission): The Florida Artists Hall of Fame Awards Induction Ceremony at the close of the conference will honor four artists with deep ties to Florida.
  • Time: 5:30 p.m. -7:00 p.m.
  • Inductees: GRAMMY AWARD winners Billy Dean and Don Felder; poet Lee Bennett Hopkins; and comedian, musician and singer-songwriter Jim Stafford.
  • Emcees: Secretary of State Ken Detzner; Division of Cultural Affairs Director Sandy Shaughnessy

Click here for more information or to register for Convening Culture 2017.
About the Division of Cultural Affairs
The Florida Department of State’s Division of Cultural Affairs is Florida’s legislatively designated state arts agency. The Division promotes the arts and culture as essential to quality of life for all Floridians. To achieve its mission, the Division funds and supports cultural programs that provide artistic excellence, diversity, education, access and economic vitality for Florida’s communities. For more information, visit dos.myflorida.com/cultural.

Complete Florida, T.E.A.C.H. partner to provide funding for day care providers returning to college

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The University of West Florida Innovation Institute’s Complete Florida program recently announced a new partnership with T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Scholarship Program, an organization that helps day care providers earn a degree in early childhood education.CF _Logo1
“Complete Florida has always been an easy way for busy adults to return to college and finish their degree,” said Michelle Horton, director of Complete Florida Enrollment and Retention Management. “With our new partnership, we have now made it easier for adults to fully fund a degree in childhood education.”
Through this new partnership, adult students in the Complete Florida program who are returning to college to finish their degree in early childhood education are eligible to receive up to 100 percent funding assistance. Eligible participants include currently employed child care teachers and administrators. The majority of funding is provided by the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Scholarship Program, while the participant’s employer and Complete Florida each share 10 percent of the cost of tuition.
“Research shows that young children have better outcomes when their teachers are well educated,” said Lori Stegmeyer, director of the Florida T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Scholarship Program. “The T.E.A.C.H. model has created real change for those working on the front lines of a critically important, but perpetually under-resourced industry. We know that lack of financial resources, lack of time, and lack of confidence are three major obstacles that impede early childhood teachers and directors from completing their college degrees. To address these barriers, T.E.A.C.H. scholars receive compensation and tuition support, paid release time, and personal support throughout their contracts. It really is a win-win for the field.”
Complete Florida offers more than 90 online degree and certificate programs at colleges and universities across the state. Through the new partnership, adult students can earn credit for credentials they have already earned and apply them toward a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education, Associate of Science in Early Childhood Management, or an Associate of Arts at Florida International University and Florida State College of Jacksonville.
This program allows students to take advantage of the flexible, convenient online courses. After completion, students are immediately ready to enter the workforce.
For more information, visit completeflorida.org.
About Complete Florida
Complete Florida is a state of Florida initiative to recruit and retain the state’s 2.8 million adults who have some college but no degree. Partnering with public and private higher education institutions in Florida, Complete Florida provides one-on-one planning, support and coaching for students with adult responsibilities. Dedicated coaches work alongside students as personal advocates, counselors and advisors while participants complete college courses 100 percent online. For more information, visit completeflorida.org.
About the UWF Innovation Institute
We are re-imaging how millions of people experience learning by exploring, designing, prototyping and delivering innovation for education. We collaborate with and serve the University of West Florida, partner organizations and institutions across the state of Florida who want to improve learning for the entire Florida education system. We are a trusted partner that provides research-driven, customer-centric, systems-thinking approach to sustainable innovation.