5th Annual "Art, Culture, & The Creative Economy in FTL" Panel Discussion

After four extremely well received and well attended annual panel discussions over the last few years on the same topic that has proven successful in elevating the conversation, Fort Lauderdale Art & Design Week, Choose954, The UniteUs Group are excited to host the 5th Annual installment of this panel discussion addressing the crucial topic of the importance of our Creative Economy with support from Broward County Cultural Division & Savor Cinema.

The goal of this evening is to continue elevating the conversation and raising our community's consciousness about the importance of Arts & Culture relating to our Creative Economy, which supports our community's overall growth and development.

The Panel Discussion will take place on Monday 1/23 @ 6PM at Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale as part of FTLADW's annual artDISCOURSE Speaker Series. This event will lead into the 1st Annual Fort Lauderdale Art & Design Week Local Filmmaker Showcase taking place following the panel discussion. For more information on the week log on to www.ftladw.com

The goal of this evening is to continue elevating the conversation while raising our community's consciousness about the importance of Arts & Culture relating to our Creative Economy, which supports our community's overall growth and development.

Our experiences with arts and culture enrich our lives in infinite ways, and also impact society at large by contributing to the economy.

From coast to coast and from our smallest rural towns to our largest urban cities, America's 100,000+ nonprofit arts and culture organizations make their communities more desirable places to live and work every day of the year. Nonprofit arts and culture organizations are also businesses and will be critical to our economic recovery. In 2017, the nonprofit arts industry generated $166.3 billion in economic activity, supporting 4.6 million jobs and generating $27.5 billion in government revenue.

While the arts have the potential to impact many aspects of a community, the truth is they also have power all on their own. The arts are an open invitation to engage in our history, our heritage, our politics, and the way we learn—in short, the arts are part of our daily lives, and play a role in all aspects of the human experience.

​Released in June 2017, the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 is a report documenting the economic impact of the nonprofit arts and cultural industry. Conducted by Americans for the Arts, the nation's nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America, Broward County was one of 341 study regions across the country.

Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 (AEP5) ​is the most comprehensive economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry ever conducted. The Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 study provides compelling evidence that the nonprofit arts and culture sector is a $414.2 million industry in Broward County. The report shows how this industry supports 11,078 full-time equivalent jobs and generates $40.1 million in revenue for local and state government.

It also shows how they spent $148m in 2015, leveraging $265.7m additional spending by their audiences; spending that pumped vital revenue into restaurants, hotels, retail stores, parking garages, and other local businesses.

Join us as we highlight the importance of the Creative Economy in our burgeoning community, share the ways that our panel speakers are utilizing their businesses & platforms to support the arts, and discover ways that you and your organization can contribute to the conversation at this critical time. Recent budget cuts slashed Arts funding by the state upwards of 80%, now more than ever we need our community to rally behind our Creative Class as Fort Lauderdale continues developing into a world class community.

Speakers Include:

Lori Pratico

- World Renowned Artist, Muralist, & Author

- Founder Of Girl Noticed (501c3)

Self-taught artist Lori Pratico began painting billboards in Philadelphia at the age of eighteen, and has remained a working artist for over twenty-five years. Highlights of her career have been having her work published in Juxtapoz, Marie Claire, Professional Artist and International Artist magazines, having YoYo Ma visit her studio, painting live in Chicago, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Philadelphia, and creating over 100 murals throughout the country.

Lori is the founder of the non profit Girl Noticed, Inc which partners with organizations across the country to create murals celebrating the girls and women of each community. She is Program Assistant for Business for the Arts of Broward served for three years on Fort Lauderdale’s Public Art and Design Committee, and is on the board of Wilton Art. Lori is a published author and speaker and has defied the odds by breaking the barriers that society placed in front of her as a LGBTQ+ female, and as an artist.

Andrew Martineau

- Co-Founder of Art Fort Lauderdale, Broward County's Premier 4 Day Art Fair. (5th Annual Art Fort Lauderdale - "The Art Fair On The Water"), as well as Fort Lauderdale Art & Design Week & Zero Empty Spaces.

-CEO of UniteUs Group, The Modern Day Agency Behind Art Fort Lauderdale, #Choose954, The FemAle Brew Fest and other revolutionary concepts including AAF CreativeZen, 1000 Mermaids Artificial Reef Project, Zero Empty Spaces and a few others.

Christy Andreoni

- Film Specialist For Broward County’s Film Commission (Film Lauderdale)

- Film Florida Board Member

- Film Producer

Moderator - Evan Snow

-Co-Founder & Managing Partner Of Art Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale Art & Design Week, Zero Empty Spaces, Ocean Rescue Alliance, The 1000 Mermaids Artificial Reef Project, & Choose954.

- Host Of AAF CreativeZen

This event is FREE to attend but space is LIMITED so please reserve your complimentary ticket today!

For more information and to discuss other ways you can get involved in the meantime don't hesitate to reach out to moderator and co-host Evan Snow of Choose954 - a social movement aimed to Cultivate Culture and Community in Greater Fort Lauderdale.

E-mail - choose954@unituesgroupcom