For information on Create Wisconsin’s 2025 Legislative Agenda & action steps, visit the Legislative Action Center

8:00 am — Doors open, continental breakfast available

9:15 am — Legislative Breakfast program

• Welcome and Create Wisconsin Day overview with Carolyn Nelson-Kavajecz, Board President, Create Wisconsin 

• Poetry Reading with City of Madison Youth Poet Laureate Justin Festge Russell

• Create Wisconsin Legislative Agenda with Anne Katz, Director, Create Wisconsin

• Welcome and update from Wisconsin Arts Board Board member Marcela “Xela” Garcia, Milwaukee

• Welcome from Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville), on the Rural Creative Economy Development Program

• Welcome from Christine Hojnacki, Director, Imagine MKE, on Action WI! and the establishment of film incentives and a state film office 

• Keynote speaker:  Randy Cohen, Vice President of Research and Policy, Americans for the Arts

• Closing remarks, Anne Katz and Carolyn Nelson-Kavajecz

10:30 am - 12:30 pm — Legislative visits at the State Capitol 

10:30 am - 12:30 pm —  Roundtable discussions, including:

• What does public art look like in your community (and what can it look like)?  

• Leadership and community engagement from the ground up 

• What does AI mean for the arts and creative economy? 

• Finding Our Voices Through the Arts, with young leaders from Milwaukee Rep Teen Council, Artstart Milwaukee, and UW-Stevens Point Arts Management Program

• Wisconsin’s film industry and legislation 

• Open space - what do you want to talk about?

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm — Networking Lunch

1:30 - 2:30 pm — Meeting of rural arts and community leaders: This is a networking and information-sharing event with Create Wisconsin and WEDC's Office of Rural Prosperity (ORP), bringing together rural leaders in the worlds of small town and rural arts, community, and business.  Create Wisconsin will discuss its Regional Leader Network and plans for regional development and engagement, and ORP will discuss its creative economy "Community of Practice," which is strengthening Wisconsin's rural creative economy infrastructure. All are welcome!