2021 St. George Arts Summit aims to inspire mission, vision

File photo of the Electric Theatre, St. George, Utah, June 8, 2021 | Photo by David Dudley, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The annual St. George Arts Summit will be held Thursday at The Electric Theatre, 68 East Tabernacle Street, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Emily Reed, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Emily Reed, St. George News

The event is geared toward the business side of arts in the St. George region, which, city officials said, is growing.

“It’s growing in spite of the hardships and challenges we faced through the pandemic,” said City of St. George community arts manager Emily Reed . “The Arts Summit is a chance to learn about what these organizations do and how we, together, can help St. George grow into an arts mecca.”

Reed said that she’s not suggesting that St. George replace New York City as the U.S. arts mecca, but rather, she hopes to see St. George grow into a place where artists, and the arts, may flourish.

“There’s an incredible talent pool here,” Reed told St George News. “The way we represent our culture and heritage is nothing like Florida, or Louisiana, for instance. As a city, we need to meet artists’ drive to create with community buy-in.”

Karman Wilson, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Karman Wilson, St. George News

Featured speakers, such as actor and physician’s assistant Corbin Allred, will cover a broad range of topics, including why a clear mission and vision are the lifeblood of an organization, the ins and outs of writing a successful grant application, and how the arts are essential to the way of life.

Karman Wilson, St. George Arts Commission’s chair elect, met Allred during a health care crisis amid the pandemic.

“I started thinking about how essential the arts are,” Wilson said. “I don’t know how any of us would have gotten through the past year without books, films, television series and so on. The arts are a different kind of health care, and every bit as essential.”

Wilson said that the arts, as well as artists, bring color to our lives. And that’s why she hopes that individual artists will attend the summit.

“They’ll send time with dynamic speakers,” Wilson said, “who will help them develop or refine their missions, as well as their visions. It will help artists develop a fresh outlook and approach to the work they do, how they fund it, and how they share it with the community.”

Mayor Michele Randall echoed Wilson’s conviction that art is essential to community, as well as individual, wellbeing.

File photo of Mayor Michelle Randall at City Hall, St. George, Utah, April 28 | Photo by David Dudley, St. George News

“I firmly believe that a vibrant, connected arts community is essential to the health of every city and its residents,” Randall said in a press release. “We are blessed here to have so many organizations dedicated to fostering an atmosphere where creativity in all art forms can flourish.”

While individuals may choose to attend the event, organizations that receive Recreation Arts and Parks (RAP) tax funding through the City of St. George are required to attend, the press release stated. Those organizations may send two representatives free of charge. All other registrants will be charged $25 at the event.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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