UMD News Releases

Duluth, MN – UMD’s Cultural Entrepreneurship students will host CUE & A on Monday, May 5 from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. at Zeitgeist Arts, 222 E. Superior Street. CUE & A is a biannual event where cultural business ideas are presented to the community. The event is free and open to the public.

The presentations will take place before a panel of community judges. Some topics focus on the Twin Ports, with cultural business ideas involving local music, Native American artwork, and microbreweries. Others focus on Guatemalan water solutions and sustainable income. All are open for comment. “We invite leaders and community members to come listen to cultural entrepreneurship students and provide critical feedback as well as encourage to pursue their passions,” says Aparna Katre, assistant professor of Cultural Entrepreneurship.

UMD student Nick DeRosier’s participating through his group’s presentation, “Splenden,” which aims to help Duluthians cope with seasonal depression. He says preparing for CUE & A is teaching him how important teamwork is for entrepreneurs, “By working together, I feel like we covered twice as many aspects which really helped strengthen our solution.”

A new program, UMD’s Cultural Entrepreneurship major is the first of its kind in the U.S. It combines the traditional lessons of business schools with the creative thinking that is most often cultivated in the arts. “A cultural entrepreneurship major prepares students to participate in the culture and creative economy,” says Katre.

CUE & A is part of an ongoing dialog between the program and the community. The first cohort presented their projects in December.

More information about CUE & A on May 5 http://d.umn.edu/cue/main/Events%20News.html, more information on UMD’s Cultural Entrepreneurship program: http://d.umn.edu/cue/main/index.html.