Creative Cooperative City champions the role of creativity and the arts in enhancing technical skills, and conceiving of new modes of communication within local manufacturing, engineering, and biotech industries.

The series will draw speakers from around the US, and address creative practice as situated within the local industry in the New London and Groton regions, taking on themes of leadership, the future of work, skills acquisition, and cross-disciplinary practice. The series’ key goal is to build bridges within the local community by establishing a mobile hub for resource exchange and dialogue that will serve as a touch point for local industry to glean insights on the value of creative practice. 

For decades, the intersection of art and technology within industry has seeded novel ideas and founded new and exciting modes of creation. Leaders in the tech industry have long dedicated resources and research to the development of artist residencies, and collaborative programs, with companies like Autodesk,  and the infamous Nokia Bell Labs reviving programs designed to formalize the relationship between creative practitioners and the STEM fields. Through these programs, engineers and researchers have been exposed to new ways of thinking and a non-linear approach to idea generation and problem-solving. And artists have continued to push boundaries to advance innovation and capacity by experimenting with new technologies and ways of working that highlight a duality between creative practice and the tools that enable this practice in the digital age.