BALTIMORE, MD --(Marketwired - March 15, 2017) - Since the doors of the historic Hutzler Brothers Palace building reopened for the first time in over 30 years back in February, thousands of people walked through and were greeted by a massive art installation on the old department store floor. Through a partnership between the The Contemporary, a Baltimore art gallery that commissions location-specific exhibits, and AiNET, a Maryland-based data center company, the visitors were able to experience the iconic downtown building in a unique and resonant way.
"I am always fascinated by the way unexpected partners can create the most meaningful outcomes," says Brian Checco, AiNET's Director of Marketing. "Collaboration has a way of sparking creativity that working alone just can't." It is these collaborative partnerships that have inspired AiNET's forum, "Future Cities: Baltimore," a symposium featuring innovative Baltimore organizations in areas including technology, industry, arts, policy and the public, that will discuss the role of collaboration, and how interdisciplinary partnerships can create positive, lasting outcomes in the city in regards to the way residents will live, work and learn.
On Wednesday, March 15th from 5:30-7:00pm, visionary leaders in Baltimore will sit down to discuss both the challenges and opportunities facing the city, and collaborative ways to meet them. The event, entitled "Future Cities: Baltimore Symposium" features speakers including Anita Kassof, Executive Director of the Baltimore Museum of Industry; Deana Haggag, Executive Director of The Contemporary; Deepak Jain, CEO of AiNET; Kirby Fowler, President at the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore; Dr. Richard Barth, Dean at the University of Maryland School of Social Work; and Will Holman, General Manager at Open Works Baltimore. Hosted by AiNET and moderated by Michael Lisicky (author of Hutzler's: Where Baltimore Shops), the event will take place on the ground floor of the Hutzler Brothers Palace building at 210 N. Howard Street.
"Baltimore has this incredibly energetic community of visionary organizations, educational institutions and museums," says Deepak Jain, CEO and founder of AiNET. "It is a reflection of the vibrancy of Baltimore. There are already a couple of really interesting partnerships working and evolving today in the city, and we wanted to host a forum that could give voice to these organizations, as well as stimulate future conversations."
Brian Checco agrees. Since partnering with The Contemporary last year to reintroduce the Hutzler building (purchased by AiNET in 2014 along with the data center next door at 300 West Lexington Street), he has seen just how effective collaboration can be.