The chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts has concluded a two-day visit to Iowa, which included conducting research for the NEA's future. In a Town Hall-style meeting in downtown Des Moines last night, NEA Chairman Jane Chu said she'd just met with Iowa arts leaders to help write an infrastructure report. It will assess what resources will be required to expand a community's arts sector as part of the NEA’s new initiative called Creativity Connects.
"Creativity Connects is about building the relationships between the arts and the general public as well as between the arts and different industries outside of the arts that want and use creativity," says Chu.
Chu says Des Moines is the second of only ten cities chosen to contribute to an infrastructure report through a round table to help determine what a community will need to improve artistic practices.
"It was outstanding," says Chu of the discussion. "The feedback we're getting, because we don't want this infrastructure report to just be a report that sits on the shelf. We want something relevant and meaningful. Something that we can really have substance and make a difference."
Chairman Chu says Creativity Connects is an effort to connect non-profit arts organizations with private companies using creativity as part of their business practices.
