Creative Economy Advisory Panel
Minutes for Meeting 2
Dec. 9, 2009

Matt Cheroutes, Communications Director for the Colorado Office of Economic Development, announced that the Governor has scheduled a press conference to announce creative economy legislation to be introduced this session. The press conference is Jan. 5, 10:30 a.m. The members of the Creative Economy Advisory Panel are encouraged to come to be introduced and to show their support. More details will follow.

Brian Vogt, Director of the Denver Botanic Gardens and co-chair of the panel, welcomed the advisors and thanked them for their participation. He has thought a lot about the popular “economies”, such as “The New Energy Economy”, and “The Bio Tech Economy”. It is challenging to figure out what is trendy and what is true; what will have long term impact versus short term. E.g. energy booms rise fast, but they fall fast too. In the dot.com boom, a few people became very wealthy, but they created little of lasting value. We need to figure out what to do as a state to think in the longer term. The creative economy can play a significant role. Historically, the foundations of wealth creation begin with agriculture, then shift to industry, then knowledge creation. Culture and creativity are the only areas that transcend time. E.g. the Greek play Euripides is valid thousands of years after its creation. The cities that have thrived are world cultural centers. Look at Glasgow, Scotland, which in the late 70s was a city of ruffians. After investments to build a creative economy, Glasgow is now a cultural center, a magnet not only for tourism, but also for long term investments. Colorado has the foundations it needs to make that conscious choice. We must concentrate on small businesses, because small businesses take initiative and they are the true wealth creators. And we must emphasize our creative side which will keep people here for long term, and attract outside investment for the long haul. In almost every relocation deal, the final decision comes down to the personal choice of the CEO and the senior management about where they want to live. Colorado is attractive, but there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure growth.

Drew O’Connor, facilitator, thanked Brian for putting our work in context. Drew reminded the advisors that at the first meeting we looked at how to define Colorado’s creative economy. We heard how Louisiana approached this work, and we used their experiences as a jumping off point for creating our definition. Today we will revisit the definition, try to get clarification. We will also work on developing more concrete outcomes or manifestations, what will it look like when we have a premiere creative economy, what will be different. The final meeting on January 14 will be more specifically about key strategies, what we must do to nurture and grow the creative economy.

Elaine reviewed the updated definition that derived out of input from the first meeting. Additions include references to entrepreneurism, frontier past, wild west spirit, love of outdoors, and quest for healthy and vibrant future. We also added a focus on recreational equipment, new energy, and craft beverages and food sectors.

In discussing this new draft, advisors commented that the definition should go beyond economic structures and refer to the role of creativity in the general public - art appreciation, art education, development of creative talents. We need to reference the creative process. We also want to reference commonalities of categories and cross fertilization between disciplines. For example, the storytelling and expression that happens through all of the categories. The definition is also missing a reference to our cultural and ethnic diversity. We also should refer to the supporting structures, not just education, but also transportation, parks, and leisure. Can we refer to this in a more active way? E.g. people come here to ski, to do sports, not just to buy. Can they come here to create? We could define ours as the active creative economy, e.g. extreme arts. The economic development happens as a byproduct of the activity.

There was positive reaction to the first two sentences as being a good use of imagery and icons. There is a lot of content in a few words. The use of western spirit or ethic implies openness and eagerness, opportunity and exploration. The word collaboration is missing though. E.g. SCFD is a great example of collaboration as creativity. We could consider framing creative production and consumption of creative products separately, as two distinct parts of a creative economy. E.g. the creative economy in northern New Jersey is driven by consumption (purchases) not production. But there is robust creative production in the south, where Bruce Springsteen began his career. We must be mindful that creativity is the element that takes us to wealth – through our creativity, we are producing something that is valuable that people are willing to pay for. The difference between status quo and wealth coming into our communities is our creative side.

A writing group will take this additional input and prepare a new draft for review before the next meeting. Elaine will solicit writing volunteers at the end of this meeting.

Bill Fulton introduced the next activity through which the advisors will visualize what a premiere creative economy in Colorado looks like. Elaine reviewed the images of three example creative economies, Western Massachusetts, Chicago, and Louisiana. Images included clothing and eyeglass designers, public art, institutes of art, museums, musicians, and brand labels. Bill commented that these slides all show a healthy tension between creativity for its own sake, and creativity translating into real dollars. We don’t want to lose the importance of creative spirit. But clearly each of the images in these regions has a dual dimension that also drives dollars. The advisors were asked to break into small groups to answer the question – what could Colorado’s future look like if our creative spirit translated into economic growth. Imagine five years down the road and we’ve been successful growing our creative economy ten-fold. What images would be in Colorado’s slides? We need concrete examples. What are the draws and economic engines? Go beyond concept to wealth.

Following the small group break-outs, the advisors shared some of their visions:
• We can demonstrate or portray every citizen, at all ages, engaging in the arts.
• Colorado has a particular sound, e.g. Seattle 10 or 15 years ago.
• Colorado has its own design aesthetic.
• We are known for integrating publishing and technology, people come here to innovate the written word and for the new way written works are being published.
• Colorado is the place you go to experience micro brews, and each of the components are developed here: graphic designs for marketing, artists for labeling, culinary pairing, glassware, agricultural components, chemistry education.
• Colorado legislators and business leadership “gets it” and they invest more because they know we will get a return.
• Citizens conceive of the arts as equal to other areas, there is wider democratic participation in the arts, the arts are demystified.
• Museums are full of all kinds of people.
• Creatives across the state are connected and support each other in a web-like manner.
• Film production is everywhere, with varied portals for exhibition, e.g. film festivals, television shows.
• Film and TV investors invest in Colorado, maybe even with requirement that it is about Colorado.
• Our creative reputation is so strong that Colorado is a tourism destination for cultural activities, not just a byproduct.
• There is a strong education pipeline that supports arts education.
• Iconic glassware that represents a major brand.
• Film festivals partner with micro brew festivals.
• We are known for our western and mountain heritage in writing, art, music.
• We have a Creative chamber of commerce.
• Major international and national funders support Colorado, e.g. Kresge, Rockefeller, Novatel.
• Our visual presentation shouts art - our cities are a platform to showcase all the creative activity, e.g. banners, street decorations.
• Business owners in Omaha or Atlanta think of Denver to relocate, not just because of incentives, but because of our knowledge workers, our creative workers. They want to invest in their own future here.
• We have turned the inside out, making visible and apparent the creativity that is going on inside our cultural venues and our workplaces.
• We have Colorado stores that sell Colorado arts, crafts, foods.
• Incentives for artists to live and work in towns.
• A 1% for Art program in every town.
• Arts entrepreneurs are matched with investors.
• Film crews employ Coloradoans.
• Fully funded CCA.
• Cultural plans in every city’s economic development plan.
• Small arts business incubators across the state.
• Year round regional marketplaces for local crafts, linked together.
• Colorado is the best place to play, live, create, relax and have fun, while you make a living.
• Higher intelligence get more done quicker.
• Colorado is a model for public participation and collaboration and is known for that quality.

In preparation for the next meeting, Bill asked the advisors to think about and write down any strategies that come to mind for implementing these visions. What do steps do we have to take now, what policies do we need to implement, that will help us realize these visions?

Elaine asked everyone to plan to attend the Jan. 5 press conference. More details will be sent in an invitation. The next Creative Economy Advisory Panel meeting is January 14, 3-5 p.m. at the Denver Botanic Gardens, 1005 York Street, Denver.

Meeting adjourned at 5 p.m.