Creative Placemaking Communities invites you to submit a session proposal for the peer-to-peer exchange sessions for Imagine, Create, Activate! September 22 - 24, 2025, in Chicago IL.

The deadline to submit proposals is Sunday, June 29th at 11:59pm ET.

We are seeking proposals ONLY focused on cities with populations over 400,000 (can include a metropolitan area) on the topics below:

• Adaptive Reuse and Creative Use of Spaces: Projects or programs that focus on spaces for cultural and artistic community benefit. This can include historic preservation of beloved buildings, reuse of vacant buildings and parking lots, civic spaces or the creation of new architecturally built environments. 

• Real Estate Development: Policies and projects directly related to real estate development which could include public art, artist/real estate developer collaborations, artists who specifically work commercially on real estate development projects

• Artist-led Projects: Artist collaboratives, new artist-led organizations that use creative placemaking as part of their organizational structure, ‍or projects conceived and managed specifically by visual or performing artists.

• Capital Investments: How cities and neighborhoods have used capital investments in private/public partnerships to create change through arts and cultural interventions

• Branding Cities through Arts: How cities use master planning with a cultural lens to create specific branding and cultural initiatives featuring visual arts, music, performing arts or film

• Economic Development through Creative Placemaking: Policies, programs or projects that use arts as a strategy to create more economic benefit for communities, with proven metrics that arts have benefited communities financially

• Tactical Urbanism: Utilizing low-cost, temporary arts and cultural interventions in public spaces to improve neighborhoods and cities. Interventions should be citizen-led with an emphasis on experimental approaches. Examples can include pop-ups, temporary outdoor installations, or streetscapes.

• New Technology: Artificial Intelligence, digital arts and media, or other new technology that is used to create public art, or other creative placemaking projects.

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SESSION FORMATS

Sessions should be approximately 45-60 minutes in length and can include media.

• Panel Presentation (2-3 panelists, can include a moderator): Presentations of projects past, current and future. Panels should include a diverse set of voices, featuring perspectives from multiple disciplines, projects, backgrounds or cultures. We cannot accept a panel where all speakers are from the same company/organization. 

• Research or Case Study Presentation (1-2 presenters): A presentation on research or a case study on one of the specific topics requested by the Summit. This can include presenters from the same organization.

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PROPOSAL SUBMISSION PROCESS

Please submit your proposal through the online form below. We cannot accept proposals submitted through email.

Selected participants will receive a discounted rate of 50% off the registration price of $600.00. Applicants will be notified no later than July 14th.

We look forward to receiving your submission!