Enriched Creative Week returns to New York

Creative Week was conceived by The One Club and has been proclaimed an annual city-wide event in May by the Office of the Mayor. The weeklong celebration is designed to connect, enlighten, honour and inspire the creative community.

"Just as creativity and the passions that drive it evolve, Creative Week is evolving in breath and scope and is transforming itself into one of the world's most anticipated festivals," said Kevin Swanepoel, president at The One Club. "This year's events again promise to deliver first-class creative work from all corners of the globe and we look forward the week of 7 May to welcoming the world to New York City."

The 2012 program blends thought leadership seminars by day and major awards shows on 7, 8, 10 and 11 May. On the evening of 9 May, the midway point of Creative Week, all-new special events will be staged in partnership with Amy Poehler's "Upright Citizens Brigade" sketch comedy and improv troupe in Manhattan and Digital DUMBO in Brooklyn. The evening of events along the Brooklyn waterfront is part of a broader move to weave America's fourth largest city - Brooklyn - into the fabric of Creative Week.

In addition, returning to Creative Week is the "unConference," where the brightest minds in the creative industry gather for a fast-paced, free-form, highly interactive session to answer this year's prompt "What I Learned From...," share ideas and explore opportunities emerging in today's shifting media landscape. The final unConference session also will be conducted in Brooklyn on Thursday, 10 May at the Front Street Galleries.

Expanding the Week

Stillwell Partners, best known as the organizers of the annual industry confab, Advertising Week, is partnering with The One Club for the first time this year to expand Creative Week. "Creativity is the new currency of global commerce," said Matt Scheckner, president & CEO of Stillwell Partners. "We are thrilled to build on what The One Club has established and give the industry a broader opportunity to embrace the ideal stage for a worldwide celebration of creativity: New York City."

"With more than 100 digital agencies and start-ups in DUMBO alone, the move Creative Week is making to cross the bridge into Brooklyn is a natural. Brooklyn's the new creative capitol and Creative Week is going to thrive here," said Alexandria Sica, executive director of the DUMBO Business Improvement District.

Creative Week seminars will take place at two venues with programming running concurrently. Manhattan's City Winery in lower Manhattan will host seminars on 7 and 8 May. Brooklyn's Galapagos Art Space will host seminars 7-9 May. Among those conducting seminars are:

• @radical.media
  
• The Advertising Club of New York
  
• BuzzFeed
  
• Co: Collective
  
• Deutsch
  
• Droga5
  
• International Center of Photography
  
• HUGE
  
• JWT
  
• kbs+p
  
• Momentum
  
• Our Stage
  
• Rapp
  
• The Jim Henson Company
  
• Tribeca Disruption Innovation Awards
  
• The New Yorker Cartoon Bank
  
• Strawberry Frog
  
• VCU Brandcenter
  
• Victor & Spoils

And the evenings include many of the world's leading creative awards including:

• The One Show Awards - Announcing winners of the prestigious One Show, One Show Design and One Show Interactive international competitions
  
• Art Directors Club Annual Awards Show and Exhibition.

Creative Week's focus on talent is also retained with such programs as:

• The Education Summit - A forum for advertising's top professionals and educators to discuss the current state of the industry, trends, and best methods to prepare our next generation of creatives for the job market
  
• The Young Ones Portfolio Reviews - An opportunity for college and university students in advertising and design to have their portfolios reviewed by leading creative directors.

The Creative Week NYC calendar of activities is available at www.creativeweek.com

You also can follow Creative Week on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CreativeWeek.