Maine Arts Commission News

Opportune time for the Creative Economy in Maine
Message from John Rohman, Chair

During the past year I have had many occasions to think about the Creative Economy and how it impacts our wonderful State of Maine. I can not imagine a more opportune time to bring this concept forward. Just think about the coinciding interests:

• higher educational attainment in the state, as reported by the Compact for Higher Education,
• increased research and development funds for the University of Maine, Jackson Lab and others,
• glowing national comparisons on the safety and livability of our Maine communities, and
• real awareness within the business and economic development sectors that attention must be given to our arts and culture in order to revitalize communities.

All of these elements are critical in attracting a knowledgeable Creative Economy workforce to the State of Maine. At the Blaine House Conference on Maine's Creative Economy, we had a great opportunity to explore the groundbreaking ideas that Richard Florida put forward in The Rise of the Creative Class. We also learned from a very inspiring discussion with Mayor John Barrett III of North Adams, Mass., about the development of that city as a result of the impact of MASS MoCA. Felicia Knight's speech highlighted the continuing importance of art-for-art's sake, which is critical to all of us at the Maine Arts Commission. You can read excerpts from her speech on Page 14.

The Maine Arts Commission has been a national leader among the state arts agencies in this movement. This summer, the agency will be recognized with the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies' Innovation Award. We should all be very proud to have played such a significant role in the preparation of this conference and in making the state aware of the Creative Economy's potential.

The entire agency, together with a very hard working steering committee, has every right to give themselves a pat on the back. The Governor-appointed steering committee was made up of a very broad range of people with private, public, academic, artistic and business backgrounds, and will go a long way to help establishing relationships among the agency and the business community well into the future.

We knew that a conference bearing the "Blaine House" name would have to be first class. We also knew that a conference on the Creative Economy would have to create an audience for a somewhat new concept. So while we were planning the conference, we took our show on the road to communities in all parts of the state. In total, 950 people attended our community forums and helped to shape the conference and spread the word about the event. We owe a special thanks to the media that helped by asking tough questions over the last six months and adding to the public's Creative Economy dialog.

The Blaine House Conference on Maine's Creative Economy was a great success and I am certain the energy from the event will be carried over into many other projects and initiatives across the state.

John M. Rohman
Chair