October 2010

We would like to invite you to Colquitt, GA. for the 7^th Global Mural and Cultural Tourism Conference. Colquitt is located in the heart of the Southeastern United States. The South is noted for its good food, friendly people, farming communities, and creative geniuses. The city of Colquitt is pleased to have been chosen as the host for this prestigious event.                                                                    We are looking forward to welcoming you and giving you a true taste of Southern hospitality…Colquitt style
We can't wait to host you in Colquitt in just a few months! We have our days planned and will be updating this site with details as they are finalized. On the "October 2010" page you will find a "daily guide" as to what we will be doing and a link to our registration form will be coming soon. Through the Global Mural Festival and Conference in Colquitt, we will focus on how people use their heritage, their cultures, and their resources to heal themselves, their town, and even build up these things through cultural tourism and creative outlets. We will tell you how we have used our tradition of storytelling to promote our town, stimulate the community and local economy while creating a new outlet for jobs, income, and lasting public art. We want people to leave Colquitt inspired and feeling like they got a true "taste" of the South!

Pre-Conference Activities
Monday, October 25th, 2010: Traditional Golf Tournament, Global Mural Arts and Cultural Tourism Association General Meeting, registration/check in for attendees begins.

Conference Activities

Day 1: Tuesday, October 26^th, 2010 at Cotton Hall

After registration and breakfast, delegates will be given an overview of the Colquitt Miller Arts Council and the projects that been developed through the Swamp Gravy project. Joy Jinks and Karen Kimbrel, both founding committee members will discuss the economic situation that Colquitt was facing in the early 1990s and how Colquitt used their heritage, arts, and culture to turn that around. Pat Bush will then talk about how the Millennium Mural Project evolved and give a brief history of this, Colquitt’s mural project. In the afternoon, delegates will enjoy hearing about cultural, heritage, and agri-tourism from our regional state representative, Jeff Stubbs. This will lead us into a tour of Colquitt’s murals with storytellers and artists speaking at each one. This evening will have a very “southern” opening ceremonies with dinner for the delegates along with other special treats, our parade of flags, welcome from city/state officials, welcome from Dr. Karl Schutz, presentation of bids for the 2012 conference, along with local entertainment.

Day 2: Wednesday, October 27^th, 2010 at Cotton Hall

After breakfast, we will be treated to speakers today who have experienced healing and nurturing through art projects all over the world. Dave Gussack and Julie Argue, both of Florida State University and original members of Arts in Corrections will be presenting about their work. They have an Inmate Mural Art Program (IMAP) where they work with inmates to create artwork in order to improve the participating inmates’ “socialization and problem-solving skills, skills necessary to facilitate reintegration upon release from the institution.” They will also discuss in this the project that was completed in Colquitt with Miller County inmate participation. Afterwards, Karin Mervis will present about her project which has been completed over 300 community canvases. Her experiences include both two and three dimensional projects with various groups collaborating together to create art. Next Cheryl Hardin, mural artist, will talk about her experiences with working with storytelling groups to create mural art. She will go through this process and discuss the murals that were completed doing this process. Through storytelling which is a true Southern tradition, Cheryl has been able to capture their stories and “tell” them through her artwork. Delegates will enjoy a southern meal and a May-Haw variety show performance on this evening.

Day 3: Thursday, October 28^th, 2010 at Cotton Hall

Delegates will enjoy a tour around this part of the Wiregrass area today! We will begin our journey to Blakely and hear about their history and tour their historic murals. While on the way, delegates will be able to see south Georgia and the native crops that grow here. From Blakely we will travel to Dothan, Alabama. Dothan is “Alabama’s Mural City” and will be entertaining us with a speaker and a mural tour of their over 20 murals they have completed. In the afternoon we will return to Colquitt by way of Donalsonville to see local artists, their murals, and a few other treats as well.

Day 4: Friday, October 28^th, 2010 at Cotton Hall
Our last day will be jam packed with information and entertainment! We will start off by hearing about the “Here and Now” in murals and mural towns. Wayne Winneke will start off the day by talking about a mural restoration product called B72. He will also be restoring a mural during the conference to show how the product works. Next Dr. Karl Schutz will be giving a presentation about How to print your own money and Mural-banknotes, based on the new currency in Chemainus which features their murals! This will lead into the presentation of the worlds largest Tapestry from Scotland at 338 featuring the Battle of Prestonpans in 1745. It has 104 panels and 200+ stitchers who donated 25,000 hours and stitched 10 million stitches. Karin Eaton, of Mural Routes, will then give a presentation about alternate mural materials such as mosaics, panels, etc. With a final presentation of the day given by artist Steffen Jünemann of Germany. He will give information about the latest mural “trend” of evelon and technology in "Trompe L'oeil Murals." The evening activities will include the dedication of the Georgia Agricultural Icon Mural which is currently under construction and might be the tallest mural in the United States! At this ceremony we will announce where the 2012 conference will be! Our dinner speaker will be Dr. Vaughn Grisham, University of Mississippi, who will give a great presentation on the economic impact of the arts and what they have done for Colquitt and the possibilities for other towns! We will conclude with a production of Swamp Gravy, which is what put Colquitt on the map and got this small town on the map! This production will tell the stories of our murals and bring them to life!


While you are planning, look into attending the Mural Routes 13th NATIONAL MURAL SYMPOSIUM (Canada) will be held November 5, 6, 7, 2010 at the beautiful Cranberry Resort in Collingwood, Ontario Canada.