Future of the City: The Arts Symposium

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Wendell Pierce, actor on The Wire and Treme, speaks during the keynote conversation of the June 7 "Future of the City: The Arts Symposium," which included Wire creator David Simon (left) and Ann Marie Lipinski, vice president of civic engagement at UChicago.

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President Robert J. Zimmer welcomes the audience to the event, noting "The arts play a central role in the life of every vibrant city."

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Betty Farrell, executive director of the Cultural Policy Center at the Harris School of Public Policy Studies and NORC, shared various strategies for assessing and enhancing the cultural life of global cities.

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Walter Massey, president of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, underscored the importance of civic engagement in cultural institutions. "Education has to be a vital part of what keeps cities alive, and that's the melding of arts and education."

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Joan Shigekawa, senior deputy chairman for the National Endowment for the Arts, was the founding officer for the Southeast Asia cultural exchange program and for the Creativity in a Digital Age area of work.

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Prof. Mark Stern of the University of Pennsylvania directs a 17-year-old project which examines the social impact of the arts using geographic information systems. He spoke on a panel that discussed the invaluable role of arts in civic life.

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Audience member Lyn Hughes, founder of the APR Pullman Porter Museum on Chicago's South Side, asks a question of the panel during the Future of the City event.

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The Future of the City event was webcast live and also invited audience members to interact via Facebook and Twitter.

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Bill Michel (right), executive director of the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, speaks with Mary and Richard Gray, who on June 6 announced a $5 million gift to UChicago that established the Richard and Mary L. Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry.

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The setting for the June 7 Future of the City event, the Chicago Cultural Center, is an artistic showplace, including the world’s largest stained glass Tiffany dome.

June 7, 2011

On June 7 the University of Chicago hosted "Future of the City: The Arts Symposium," gathering leaders who are shaping the cultural landscape of Chicago and beyond.

Among the topics: how arts and culture can be economic and social catalysts in the transformation of cities; strategic collaborations between government, businesses, foundations and academic sectors to rejuvenate neighborhoods; and incubating the next generation of creative entrepreneurs.

David Simon and Wendell Pierce of The Wire also held a special lunch-time conversation during a day full of discussions between researchers, artists, academics and civic leaders at the Chicago Cultural Center.