AGENDA

DAY ONE | TUESDAY,

September 15

  • Designing Places Where Creativity is BIG Business

    Indiana has invested heavily in place-based development — parks, trails, theaters, districts, public spaces, and mixed-use projects. But the real value of those investments depends on what happens next: the people who gather there, the creative activity that animates them, the businesses they support, and the social connections they make possible.

    Carol Coletta, Bloomberg Public Innovation Fellow and nationally recognized leader in public space and civic innovation, will help us think about how creativity expressed through place can drive foot traffic, talent attraction, local business activity, civic trust, and long-term economic value. Her keynote will challenge Indiana leaders to ask not just what we build physically, but what we build socially, creatively, and economically.

    Carol Coletta

  • Moderated Q&A with Richard McCoy

  • Indiana’s creative industries generate billions in economic activity, yet they have historically lacked the coordinated policy voice enjoyed by other major sectors. This conversation will explore how industries build influence, develop credible policy priorities, and engage effectively with business and government leaders—and what CELA can learn as it works to strengthen the creative economy’s voice in Indiana.

    Taylor Hughes + Adam Berry + Andrea Richter-Gary

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  • How Creative Ideas Become New Products, Business Growth, and Economic Value

    Every innovation begins with a creative act: recognizing an unmet need, making an unexpected connection or imagining a better solution. Through real-world examples, this conversation explores how ideas are tested, refined and brought to market—and what leaders can do to create more room for creativity to generate measurable business and economic value.

    Tim George + Christopher ‘Toph’ Day

  • Carmel and Elkhart enter the creative economy from very different starting points. Mayors Sue Finkam and Rod Roberson discuss how their cities are building upon existing strengths, creating new economic opportunities and confronting the challenges of turning creative assets into lasting businesses, jobs and growth.

    Mayor Sue Finkam + Mayor Rod Roberson

DAY ONE | TUESDAY, September 15

DAY TWO | WEDNESDAY,

September 16

  • How Indiana Companies Turn Ideas into Revenue, Jobs and National Reach

    This conversation brings together leaders from Indiana-based creative companies to show how creativity functions as an economic engine. Panelists will break down how their companies make money, build audiences and brands, create jobs, develop intellectual property, and compete beyond Indiana—while also examining the talent, capital, infrastructure, and business conditions needed to help more creative companies grow here.

  • What Indiana Can Learn from Nashville’s Creative Economy Boom

    Nashville’s creative economy has fueled extraordinary growth—but that success has also brought new pressures around affordability, space, infrastructure and talent retention. This conversation looks at what Indiana can learn from Nashville’s rise: how to build momentum around creative industries, connect grassroots energy to institutional investment, and put the right systems in place early so growth remains sustainable.

    Jill McMillan Palm + Joni Williams + Adam Thies

  • Lessons from the READI 2.0 2026 Arts & Culture Awards

    The READI 2.0 2026 Arts & Culture Awards represent an unprecedented $62.3 million investment in projects designed to use creativity as a driver of regional economic development. From entertainment venues and creative workforce development to cultural destinations, public spaces and entrepreneurial infrastructure, the 49 funded projects offer a statewide test of what creative economy investment can accomplish. Jim Rawlinson and Miah Michaelsen discuss what the process revealed about readiness, collaboration, capacity and what it will take to turn these investments into sustained jobs, tourism, talent attraction and regional growth.

    Miah Michaelsen + Jim Rawlinson + Polina Osherov

  • Creative entrepreneurs often start with talent, an idea and the determination to make something happen. Turning that work into a sustainable business requires a different set of skills, resources and relationships. This conversation brings together entrepreneurs and ecosystem leaders to examine what helps creative businesses move from startup and side hustle to sustainable enterprise—and how Indiana can build a stronger environment for them to grow, adapt, create jobs and stay here.

    John Fernandez + Julie Heath + Courtney Zaugg

DAY TWO | WEDNESDAY, September 16