AN EXTRAORDINARY PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT EVENT FOR 500 CREATIVES
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS // JUNE 23-25, 2025
PRODUCED BY CREATIVE PLACEMAKING COMMUNITIES
NOW IS THE TIME TO TRANSFORM OUR COMMUNITIES, ACTIVATE SPACES AND INSPIRE OUR FUTURE THROUGH THE POWER OF ARTS AND CULTURE
Imagine how places, buildings, public spaces and neighborhoods can connect us, foster creativity, and revitalize our shared world.
In June 2025, Creative Placemaking Communities will host a truly transformative event in Chicago:
Imagine, Create, Activate! This groundbreaking, three-day gathering will bring together 500 visionaries to explore the power of creative practice in activating urban centers.
Photo courtesy of Chicago Sukkah Design Festival
Photo courtesy of Chicago Sukkah Design Festival
JOIN OUR MOVEMENT
Imagine, Create, Activate! is not a conference or convention—it’s an immersive, hands-on journey
designed to inspire, share and examine how to collaborate in new ways.
Attendees will experience an exclusively curated program with unparalleled opportunities for
interdisciplinary innovation, networking and action - all with the goal of sparking creativity and changing how we live, work and play.
Arts bring people together, give our cities purpose, and help us connect on a deeper level. We will explore our collective creative energy, imagine new possibilities, inspire creative thinking and learn how to activate our cities through the arts.
Let’s come together in Chicago for an exciting opportunity to spark meaningful change, and imagine how the arts can bring us closer, make us stronger, and more connected than ever before. It’s no longer optional – arts are a necessity to make our communities more livable and sustainable.
BE
WHERE
IT'S
AT
IMAGINE, CREATE, ACTIVATE! WILL EXAMINE
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How creative practice can improve communities
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Why cities should incorporate arts, culture and creative practice into their planning, policies and projects
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How creatives and advocates for culture bring economic and social benefit to cities
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How cities can brand through creative placemaking, place keeping and place honoring
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Why professionals working in different disciplines should collaborate for lasting, positive community impact
CHICAGO CHOSEN AS HOST CITY
Known as world-renowned city, Chicago embraced creative practice by supporting grass-roots community arts and cultural efforts, creating policies that protect creatives, and offering artists opportunities to thrive and succeed. Imagine, Create, Activate! will showcase Chicago’s accomplishments in placemaking, place keeping place honoring, community development, economic development and cultural practices.
WHO WILL ATTEND
Imagine, Create, Activate! will attract professionals from cities with populations over 400,000 who are interested in learning how to use creative practice in their professional work. Attendees are young professionals and high-level decision makers with roles such as Executive Directors, CEOs, VPs, and Program Directors.
Network with these professionals:
Visual Artists
Filmmakers
Creative Entrepreneurs
Architects
Urban Planners
Real Estate Developers
State and Local Government
Performing Arts
Arts Councils and Commissions
Musicians
Colleges and Universities
Community Development
Economic Development
Cultural Offices
Arts Organizations
Foundations
Creative Directors
Business Improvement Districts
Transportation
Land Banks