An informative session offered by our partners, National Association of Counties.
Creative Counties: Reinventing a Regional Economy with the Creative Class
Thu, Jun 6, 2019 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM EDT
Join us on June 6th to learn how Friends of Southwest Virginia and partners have coordinated the creation of a regional creative economy within
a 19-county, 4-city and 53 town region that borders 4 states and is located 6 hours from their state capitol. Representatives from the organization will discuss the complex history of the region and the collapse of an economy, and how the region is in the
midst of stabilization through investment in the creative economy. The body of work of the organization spans from research and planning and project development to implementation and marketing; from the development front, the organization
currently has over $300,000 of planning projects and $7 million of tourism and outdoor recreation projects under construction through federal state and private grants. Special attention is also given to their strategies for uniting such a large geography through
a mass regional brand and long-term tourism marketing program. Initiatives of the organization include the #SWVA Brand (http://visitswva.org/), 'Round the Mountain: Southwest Virginia's Artisan Network (https://roundthemountain.org/), the Southwest Virginia
Cultural Center & Marketplace (https://swvaculturalcenter.com/), the Southwest Virginia Mountain Brew Trail (https://mountainbrewtrail.com/), and The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail (https://www.myswva.org/tcr). More information on these initiatives
and the work behind them can be found at the SWVA Partner website: http://friendsofswva.org/
https://www.naco.org/events/creative-counties-reinventing-regional-economy-creative-class
____________________
Ruby Lopez Harper
Director of Local Arts Services
Americans for the Arts
1000 Vermont Ave NW 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005-4940
202.371.2830 x2079
202.789.2830 fax
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