SAN JOSE, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Sep 4, 2008 -- The City of San Jose's Office of Cultural Affairs and the Center for Cultural Innovation will present a San Jose Artists' Town Hall, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, September 13, San Jose City Hall, 200 East Santa Clara Street. This event is part of the San Jose Creative Entrepreneur Project.

A convening of artists and creative entrepreneurs from around the Silicon Valley, the San Jose Artists' Town Hall will provide a forum to investigate opportunities to make San Jose a more "artist-friendly" place.

Artists of all disciplines are welcome, including individuals in the performing, literary, visual, media, design, and architectural fields.

The San Jose Artists' Town Hall starts with a plenary session with introductory remarks by San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and a keynote featuring Richard Chuang, co-founder of PDI/DreamWorks and current CEO of PIC2. The findings of a recent survey of Silicon Valley Artists Resource Needs will also be presented by research economist Ann Markusen of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota, joined by Cora Mirikitani, President and CEO of the Center for Cultural Innovation. The afternoon will offer opportunities for informal networking and information exchange with a variety of funders, arts service providers, and other key resources for artists in San Jose.

There is growing correlation between the arts, creative talent, economic competitiveness, and successful communities. At the leading edge of innovation, Silicon Valley exemplifies this growing relationship between the arts and the economy.

According to Kerry Adams-Hapner, director, San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs, the gathering will allow diverse community voices to share ideas on growing the creative industries in San Jose.

"To maintain San Jose's vibrancy and relevancy in the global marketplace, it's imperative to fuel innovation and creativity. The San Jose Artists' Town Hall will do just that by helping the City consider ways to improve the opportunities for individual artists and how artists can build and sustain significant parts of their careers here," said Adams-Hapner.

For more information, please visit www.cciarts.org/sanjoseartstownhall.

http://www.cciarts.org/sanjoseartstownhall

About the San Jose Creative Entrepreneur Project

Over the course of a year, the Creative Entrepreneur Project (CEP) will explore improving the opportunity landscape for individual artists -- creative entrepreneurs -- in San Jose by conducting a baseline needs assessment; providing pilot training programs, financial resources and convening opportunities; and developing recommendations on strategies, changes to policy and resources needed to advance the local environment for artists.

About Center for Cultural Innovation

The Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI) was founded in 2001 as a California public benefit, not-for-profit corporation. Its mission is to build knowledge sharing, networking and the financial independence of individual artists in California by providing business-related training, grants and loans, and incubating innovative tools and practices for the field. CCI is led by an experienced team of professionals with backgrounds in business, the arts and philanthropy. Its programs are funded, in part, through grants received from: California Community Foundation, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, City of San Jose, The Durfee Foundation, East Bay Community Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC)/Ford Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, The San Francisco Foundation, and Sony Pictures.

About San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs

The Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) is the City of San Jose's point agency for supporting the development of the arts and culture environment for the citizens of San Jose. Housed within the City's Office of Economic Development, the OCA provides grants to arts organizations and cultural and community-celebration event producers, provides arts education opportunities for children in K-12 schools, administers the City's extensive Public Art Program, coordinates City logistic support for festivals, parades and other community celebrations, and administers a variety of other initiatives aimed at improving the city's quality of life and contributing to the continuing development of the local economy.

     Contact:
     Office of Economic Development
     Steven Brewster
     San Jose Office of Economic Development
     (415) 577-8851
     Email Contact
      
     Kerry Adams-Hapner
     San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs
     (805) 905-6850
     Email Contact