By Cliff Bellamy

cbellamy@heraldsun.com; 419-6744

DURHAM -- ArtsMarket, a regional performing arts showcase and booking conference, is moving to downtown Durham in November 2011.

The biennial conference will attract performing arts industry professionals from throughout the U.S. and Canada for a three-day event at the Carolina Theatre and the Durham Marriott Convention Center.

The Carolina Theatre, the North Carolina Presenters Consortium and the North Carolina Arts Council announced the move Tuesday.

The 2011 ArtsMarket will come to Durham Nov. 7-9. The city-owned Carolina Theatre complex will host artist showcases, while the Durham Marriott Convention Center will host the trade show, meals, and other events. The event is expected to fill more than 500 room nights at the Marriott and to use all the ballroom space in the Convention Center.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to show Downtown Durham to the performing arts community throughout the Southeast and for the Carolina Theatre to show itself to the industry nationwide," said Bob Nocek, who takes over the Carolina Theatre as president and CEO on July 1.

The proximity of the theater and convention center played a role in ArtsMarket coming here, but so did the fact that Durham has nearby restaurants and a variety of activities for visitors, Nocek said in a phone interview. "It's a testament to how far Durham has come that they wanted to bring this," he said.

"It's a coup," added Shelly Green, president of the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau, whose organization also worked to lure ArtsMarket. "We're really pleased to have that booking."

Durham has booked the ArtsMarket for one year, "but we're hopeful that if it goes well we'll be able to convince them to rebook in Durham," Green said.

"We're hoping that the conference stays in Durham for a long time," Nocek said.

Since 2000, North Carolina Presenters Consortium has partnered with the North Carolina Arts Council to co-produce ArtsMarket, which features live stage performances, trade show exhibit hall sessions, professional development workshops and networking opportunities for performing arts professionals.

Previous ArtsMarket events have been held in Wilmington and High Point.

The conference was initially created to be an opportunity for mid-sized to small performing arts presenters who often can't afford to attend national or larger regional conferences. It has since grown to attract presenters from 25 states and Canada.

Conference delegates will attend more than 10 hours of fifteen-minute showcase performances on stage at the Carolina Theatre. Close to 150 managers and agents, representing different genres of touring performing arts, will be on hand in the exhibit hall.

During the event, the Carolina Theatre will be exploring possible future shows to book locally, Nocek said.

ArtsMarket events are not open to the public, although arts presenters, educators and representatives of other not-for-profit arts organizations may register to attend the conference as official delegates. Conference details will be posted as they become available at http://www.ncpresenters.org/artsmarket.shtml online.