Developing Culture: Real Estate, Art, and Place
How do we build places that are economically resilient, socially vibrant, and culturally meaningful?
Creative Placemaking Communities and Community LIFT are presenting a powerful, one-day experience at the intersection of creative vision, capital, and community.
Developing Culture: Real Estate, Art, and Place will explore how cultural strategy, architecture, urban planning and real estate development can work together to create positive and measurable economic and community impact.
Presented as part of the Building Bridges: Connecting Communities with Culture and Commerce, 2026 South & Appalachian Creative Placemaking Summit, this special day of programming is designed to bring real estate developers, architects, artists, and urban planners together for candid dialogue, practical tools, and bold ideas.
Why this Conversation Matters
Communities are shaped by developers, designed by architects, activated by artists, and guided by urban planners. When these voices align, projects move beyond buildings they become destinations.
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Attendees Will Learn
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How cultural investment enhances asset value, attracts talent, strengthens community trust, and differentiates projects in the competitive real estate market.
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Practical strategies for integrating arts, placemaking, adaptive reuse, community engagement, and cultural programming into real estate development efforts.
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Actionable guidance for visual artists on partnering with developers and architects, positioning their work within real estate projects and creating site-responsive installations that add cultural and economic value.
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Architectural approaches that embed identity, narrative, and public experience into the physical fabric of a project, ensuring culture is not an add-on, but a core design driver.
Who Should Attend
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Real Estate Developers and Investors
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Architects and Architectural Designers
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Artists of all disciplines
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Government Cultural Officers
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Urban and City Planners
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Community and Economic Development Professionals
Developing Culture: Real Estate, Art, and Place
Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Featured Programming
Keynote Address Juanita Hardy
11:00 am - Cannon Center for the Performing Arts
Urban Land Institute Senior Visiting Fellow for Creative Placemaking Juanita Hardy will kick-off the afternoon with her Keynote, The Value Proposition: Effective Artist and Developer Collaborations.
UrbanPlan Workshop
12 noon to 5 pm - Cositt Library Downtown Memphis
An interactive, hands-on experience led by Urban Land Institute Memphis that immerses participants in the complex realities of real estate development and community decision-making. (pre-registration required, maximum 30 participants).
Breakout Sessions
1:30 pm to 5 pm
Focused conversations, panels and case studies on adaptive reuse projects, reimaging vacant lots, designing civic spaces and more.
Special one-day registration is available below or you may attend with the purchase of a full registration to the Summit.
