HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-0919 (97)
Mathis, Jeana
From:Marty Maxwell Lane <martyclane@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, November 1, 2022 10:30 AM
To:Agenda Item Comment
Subject:For tonight's meeting: Input on hotel
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Dear Mayor and City Council Representatives,
I am writing about a new hotel that will be discussed tonight at the city council meeting. I am unable to attend
the meeting but would like to share my perspective as a resident of Ward 2 where the hotel would be located.
I am graphic designer and educator and a member of AIGA, the professional organization for design, the
largest and oldest professional organization of design in the country with 70 chapters and over 15,000
members. I have served on the national AIGA board, as chair of the national AIGA Design Educators board, on
multiple boards in Raleigh, NC, Cleveland, OH, Kansas City, MO, and am currently on the advisory board of the
local NWA chapter of AIGA. I am writing today simply as a member of the organization and an individual
citizen.
Every year, I attend various AIGA conferences across the country and just returned from a conference in
Seattle. There were 900 designers in attendance. The organization looks for new places to host this
conference every year. AIGA educator conferences typically host around 300 guests and move to various
locations across the country. Conferences have been in Chicago, Seattle, Ann Arbor Michigan, Bozeman
Montana, Baltimore Maryland, Bowling Green Ohio, and Raleigh North Carolina just to name a few. While
these locations differ in many ways, one thing that is consistent across the board is that they offer several
hotels that are walkable to universities and other city venues where conference sessions can be held. People
fly in and go about the conference business without ever needing to get into a car. Renting a car is often cost
prohibitive for attendees. Being able to walk from your hotel to the conference venue and stop for food, see
artwork, or do some quick souvenir shopping is a way to engage in a new city and learn more about a place.
In addition to AIGA, there was recently an Art History conference in town, the Seventh Biennial Symposium of
the Association of Historians of American Art. The conference hosted around 175 guests, was held on The
University of Arkansas campus and at Crystal Bridges in Bentonville, but the conference hotel was in Rogers. I
find this to be a big, missed opportunity for Fayetteville. If we had enough downtown hotels, people from
across the country could stay in our downtown, explore the small businesses and the growing creative
corridor, etc.
I understand there are concerns about parking with the new hotel, but I want to point out that not everyone
relies on cars. I understand there are available parking spots proposed underground that would provide
support for those who have differing abilities or situations and need close parking.
Being able to host various creative conferences, symposia, and events would be a huge win for our arts
community and our local businesses. It would continue to improve access to the arts and expose our young
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community members to the big career potential in creative fields. I would love the opportunity to welcome
hundreds of creative folks from across the country to our town.
In 2017, AIGA NWA hosted 30 designers from the national AIGA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion task force
when they came for a weekend retreat. This group was composed of top-tier professionals from all over the
country. They could have gone anywhere in the country and chose to come here. This was an exciting time
and one that made it clear that if we have the hotel capabilities, we could successfully host much larger
groups. One of the task force members had such a positive experience, that she has since relocated to
Fayetteville.
Organizations want to come to Fayetteville; we just have to make it possible.
Thank you for your time,
Marty Maxwell Lane
Resident of Ward 2
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Graphic Design Educator, Writer, and Researcher
New episode on AIGA’s Design Adjacent Podcast
My new book: “Collaboration in Design Education: Case Studies and Teaching Methodologies”
Website
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