Women Breaking Boundaries

Three nationally recognized women in the arts take the podium at this year’s Louisiana Arts Summit, introducing innovative ideas about how the arts done right can strengthen community. The annual summit will be held in October 4-6 at the Cary Saurage Community Arts Center in Baton Rouge. It was established in 2016 to promote the role of the arts in the regional economy and to connect artists and arts professionals with cutting edge ideas. 

“We are so excited about this year’s summit and its dynamic panel of speakers,” said Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge President and CEO Renee Chatelain. “The event is always about the business of the arts and is a great opportunity for networking. This year, we’re featuring three amazing women who are using their platforms to look at how the arts interpret important human events in both educational and civic settings.”

A national thought leader in creating a fiscally sustainable arts sector, Claire Rice will speak on building a stable financial infrastructure to support the arts. Rice serves as executive director of the statewide Arts Alliance Illinois. 

“As we’ve come out of the pandemic, Claire speaks to the issue of seeing arts organizations get back on track and how we can use the arts to build and strengthen communities,” Chatelain said. “She will also discuss how innovative private-public partnerships can fuse the arts into different community challenges—even something as seemingly unrelated as traffic mitigation.”

Chatelain says artists and arts leaders will also leave the summit with new strategies for placing an appropriate market value on their time and work.  

“Artists are typically so starved they’ll perform for pennies on the dollar, so it’s important to talk about fair wages,” she said. 

The summit also features talks from national pioneers in the fields of theater and dance. 

One is Garlia Cornelia Jones, a decorated New York City-based theater producer, artist, photographer, and activist known for breaking barriers with her work in Black theater and in using digital platforms. Jones’ many accomplishments including being named the first ever director of innovation and new media at Off-Broadway’s The Public Theater in 2022. 

“Using Tik Tok and other digital platforms is so key in interpreting world events and creating space for artists,” Chatelain says. “We’re really looking forward to hearing what Garlia has to say about this kind of work.” 

Atlanta-based dance innovator Tracey Lang rounds out the three speakers and will share her experiences in challenging the physical space of the dance floor. While known for working in choreography, performance, and academia, Lang is also experienced at exploring AR and VR technology and other forms of collaboration that immerse audiences in powerful, transformative experiences. 

The three-day summit’s talks, workshops, and programs will be held throughout the 12,000 square foot Cary Saurage Community Arts Center. Expect to find something dynamic going on in every corner of the building, from its conference rooms to the Virginia & John Noland Black Box Studio, and from the Shell Art Gallery on the first floor to the Turner-Fischer Rooftop Terrace overlooking downtown Baton Rouge.  

Moreover, guests can enjoy a variety of arts related experiences downtown, including a Live After 5 outdoor concert on Friday, October 6, and a Geaux Bikes public art tour that guides visitors to some of Baton Rouge’s many public art installations on board an electric bike. 

Taking place October 4—6, the Louisiana Arts Summit is presented by the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge in partnership with the Louisiana Division of the Arts. To learn more visit artsbr.org/louisiana-arts-summit