NMA NEWS RELEASE:
Regional and national business, education, community and arts leaders converge at the Nevada Museum of Art on Friday, Oct. 16, from 1 – 5 p.m., for a half-day summit charting Northern Nevada’s course toward developing new and vibrant communities. Taking place in the Prim Theater, the Sustainable Energy and Communities Summit will address the region’s potential to lead the way to recovery in a New Economy based on clean, sustainable and renewable energy; strong, effective businesses that create promising jobs and foster long-term economic prosperity; and rich environments in the arts, education and the outdoors.
“The Summit aims to spotlight the sustainable energy trends recognized in the world today and highlight the great potential for economic and social impact on our region.”
Coordinated by Susan Clark, Executive Director, REA250; Jill Derby, Educational Consultant and Cultural Anthropologist, REA250; and Colin Robertson, Curator of Education, Nevada Museum of Art, the Summit will feature four moderated discussion panels addressing how art, business, education and environment each serve as catalysts for stimulating a new paradigm in Northern Nevada’s culture and economy. Panel guests include Stacey Crowley, AIA, LEED, Kiley Ranch Communties; Heather Lineberry, Interim Director, Arizona State University Art Museum; Danny Thompson, Executive Secretary/Treasurer, Nevada State AFL-CIO; and Fred Sibayan, CEO, Vortex IP. Following the panels, a keynote speech by Jim Davis, CEO of Chevron Energy Solutions (CES), will address the prospects for expanding and sustaining renewable energy programs in Nevada. One of the world’s leading energy efficiency and renewable energy services companies, CES is the largest developer of solar power solutions for education facilities in North America.
“As the nation begins to recover from the current economic downturn, the relationship between the arts, sustainable energy businesses and economies, workforce education and training initiatives and the environment is of the utmost importance,” said Colin Robertson, Curator of Education, Nevada Museum of Art. “The Summit aims to spotlight the sustainable energy trends recognized in the world today and highlight the great potential for economic and social impact on our region.”
Panel 1: Art and Architecture
Illustrating how vibrant communities are created through networks connecting the arts, education and business, the panel will expand how art and artistic practice catalyzes cultural and environmental change by precipitating dialogue about renewable, sustainable energy.
Panel 2: Community and Environment
The panel will focus on Nevada’s ideal physical, business and educational environments for fostering long-term economic prosperity and encompass the conditions necessary for strong, vibrant communities and environmental sustainability.
Panel 3: Business and Clean Energy Economy Safe Havens
A discussion regarding the state’s use of safe havens, business incubators and accelerators to create the conditions necessary for innovation and competition to stimulate new economic drivers and cultivate opportunities in the realms of renewable and sustainable energy.
Panel 4: Education and Workforce Training
Arguing that education and workforce training in new technologies is essential to catalyzing successful businesses, the panel explores Nevada’s institutions of higher education and considers their readiness to begin training and education programs to prepare workforces for new opportunities.
Accompanying the Summit is a special exhibition, Joan Myers: Western Power, featuring six platinum palladium photographic prints in the Museum’s Prim Theater Gallery. Recognizing that as consumers we often take the source of our power supply for granted, Myers highlights our cultural dependency by making visible a range of power plants—uranium, oil, gas, coal, water, solar, wind, and geothermal energy—utilized throughout the Western United States. The photographs in the exhibition are a part of The Altered Landscape, Carol Franc Buck Collection at the Nevada Museum of Art.
The Sustainable Energy and Communities Summit is funded in part by Nevada Humanities. Tickets are available online at www.nevadaart.org or by calling 329-3333. Cost: $10/$8 Museum Members and Students.
