Jenny Lewis performs at the 2019 Mission Creek Festival in Iowa City. Mission Creek Festival. A new marketing campaign launched in March 2024, X Marks the Arts, hopes to promote well-known arts and culture events, as well as lesser-known ones, to a wide audience. (Christopher Hunter/Iowa City Downtown District)
IOWA CITY — Iowa City's Downtown Cultural and Entertainment District showcases all the arts, culture and entertainment on offer in what is billed as “Iowa's premier arts and culture scene in the largest small city for the arts.” We have launched a new campaign to promote this.
X Marks the Arts, a collaboration between various venues, the Iowa City Downtown District, the University of Iowa, and community organizations, hopes the district, which will be designated by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs in 2022, will be more than a title on paper . Working with local marketing firm Meld, the committee developed a cohesive brand strategy that celebrates what leaders call the state's largest arts and culture district.
“One of the things we wanted to do was create something that everyone could be proud of and that everyone would want to engage with,” said Melinda Pradarelli, founder and CEO of Meld Marketing. I am. “We really want to see assets created.”
The new campaign, which will be enhanced after its launch on March 27th, will be visible through a full-fledged digital strategy with street banners, sidewalk art installations, and an engaging new video and weekly newsletter aimed at a wide audience. It becomes visible.
X Mark the Arts Committee Co-Chairs Tammy Walker (left) and John Schickdantz (center) at an event announcing new marketing efforts to promote state-designated arts and culture in Iowa City. Speaking with Melinda Pradarelli (right), founder and CEO of Meld Marketing. March 27, 2024, Film Scene District, Iowa City. This district is touted as the largest district in Iowa. (Christopher Hunter/Iowa City Downtown District)
They say the new initiative emphasizes the community's commitment to fostering a vibrant scene in everything from literature to drag shows. In doing so, the hope is to increase local awareness and draw in new viewers from out-of-state metros.
how it happened
After downtown Iowa City won the state's coveted cultural and entertainment district designation, the board began creating the designation about 18 months ago, said Jon Schickedanz, co-chair and executive director of the board. They say they have started working to use the area as a springboard for larger projects. of Englert Theater.
“In many cases, these designations don't mean much else,” he says. “We knew it would take a collaboration between us and the University of Iowa to make this a success.”
So they asked themselves, “Why is this the beginning of something new rather than a goal?” said Tammy Walker, committee co-chair and director of the University of Iowa's School of Music.
what to do
Betsy Rippentrop (left) and Kathryn Moreland host the podcast “Tend Her Wild” at the James Theater in Iowa City in May 2022. Opening in 2022, the theater is part of the 26 Block District promoted by X Marks the Arts, a new marketing campaign aimed at increasing engagement and attracting visitors to Iowa's largest arts and culture district . (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)
Through simple elements like posting sidewalk stickers and banners at designated venues, she hopes this collaboration will create community-minded arts leaders of the future, no matter where Hawkeye alumni go. .
This spring, the guide will focus on everything from famous annual events like the Mission Creek Festival to the Crockpot Battle of the Bands, an energetic showcase of young talent at the Englert Theatre. The University of Iowa Stanley Art Museum will host a special exhibition about pop artist Keith Haring's connection to Horne Elementary School, and Public Space One will host an exhibit confronting mortality and existentialism.
X Marks the Arts has designated several facilities with different energies as places to “stop and pause” for further consideration. In fact, the “X” was chosen not only as a call to discover new treasures, but also as a symbol of a crossroads to ponder in a way that only art encourages.
Especially for smaller venues, a collective voice can give new power to local organizations that might otherwise not be able to spend large marketing budgets.
“We plan to take over downtown Iowa City, but the important thing is that we have a very quick and easy way to find out where the art venues are, things to do, see, experience and share. It’s about being able to identify,” Walker said.
But more than the shared experience, she said, is the power that art has to help those off the streets act fearlessly, simply by encountering something new.
In February 2023, two inflatable rabbits can be seen “singing lights” in the trees at Pedo Mall in Iowa City. Pedo Mall is part of the 26-block district promoted by X Marks the Arts, and a new marketing campaign is expected. Increase engagement and attract visitors to Iowa's largest arts and culture district. (Jim Slosialek/The Gazette)
“When you walk into a venue and experience something you've never heard of before, you'll have the confidence it takes to get to your car afterwards, and you probably will. Learn something,” Walker said. Said. “That's the beauty of it.”
beyond downtown
The new initiative will organize and identify everything from green spaces to spaces for green art, but leaders say X marks art beyond its location on a map. It has said. There are no clear regional boundaries, so marketing campaigns may include Coralville and other regions in the future.
“We designed it to be inclusive, not exclusive,” Schickdanz said, adding that the brand can be “as open as it needs to be.”
Home to 4,000 people within a 26-block area and 20,000 employees within one mile, the District has 900 There are many multiple opportunities to interact with nearly 10,000 visitors. , museums, historic theaters, independent movie theaters, galleries, and mission-driven organizations.
The walkable and bikeable city center makes the district a key tourist destination and catalyst for dialogue in Iowa. The Iowa City School District is one of 16 in the state. Arts and cultural production accounts for more than $4.5 billion in economic activity across Iowa and is one of three sectors that drive the local economy.
Comment: Contact feature reporter Elijah Decious at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
