Growing Creative Economy Businesses: A Vital Part of Economic Development

By Skip Descant

Posted: November 12, 2009 at midnight

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Somewhere beneath the Fayetteville square, down a flight of stairs, past an old bank vault and off a hallway is Megan Chapman's 250-square-foot studio where her dark gauzy abstract paintings line the walls.

Chapman is not alone. She's one of a dozen artists with studio space in Fayetteville Underground -- a cooperative of artists who've carved out workspace in the basement of the East Square Plaza building. The basement is also home to four galleries and a classroom space.

Growing this segment of the economy -- artists and gallery operators, but also architects, graphic designers, writers and museums -- has become a mission for many cities wanting to diversify their economy and make their communities more interesting and unique.

The creative sector is the third largest industry cluster in the state, according to a three-year study of the creative economy in Arkansas by Regional Technology Strategies, an economic development consulting firm in Carrboro, N.C. The last leg of that study, which focuses on recommendations, was released in March. In 2005 annual salaries from creative economy related jobs topped $20.7 million in Arkansas, according to the study, Creativity in the Natural State: Growing Arkansas' Creative Economy.

"Strengthening the businesses, institutions and individuals that are making the creative economy flourish in the state should be a priority of local and state government," according to the study.

The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, soon to be completed in Bentonville, will be regarded as one of the premier collections of artwork in the country, organizers have said.

In Fayetteville, leaders say growing creative sector of the economy is tantamount to growing Fayetteville's identity.

"It's real important to distinguish your community as unique," said Mark Kinion, with the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce. The chamber is actively courting artists and others in the creative job sector as potential members of the chamber. The chamber wants to offer the businesses support and also want the group's membership to better reflect the community landscape, Kinion said.

"I think they can't go forward without having a better offering for creative groups," said Sonia Davis Gutierrez, founder of the New Design Center in Fayetteville. The New Design Center offers professional development in areas like Web design, graphic design and other areas of software expertise.

"It's a sector that's just too large for them to not start to address and directly communicate with," she added. "And they're really starting to do a good job."

This strategy is in line with the recommendations of the creative economy study.

"I think having cooperation across agencies is essential," said Dan Broun, director of Special Projects at Regional Technology Strategies, and who worked on the Arkansas study. "The places where it's not just seen as embedded in the state art agencies or tourism departments, but has a definite place at the economic development table are where the best growth happens."

Growing this segment of the economy is generally seen as the catalyst for growing other economic areas. Studies have shown that businesses -- particularly those in the so-called knowledge-based sector -- tend to locate in areas with a vibrant arts and cultural community. Several months ago the Fayetteville Forward Economic Development Summit identified the creative economy sector as a vital piece of the city's economic development picture.

To accomplish this end, a number of incentive ideas have been batted around. Setting aside affordable building space for artists, graphic artists, Web developers and other similar business types is generally at the top of the list.

The Regional Technology Strategies study recommends setting up a creative economy fund within the Arkansas Arts Council. Grants would then be awarded to promising creative sector businesses across the state. The study also recommends establishing creative enterprise and new business incubators at universities and community colleges. This strategy has been used at both Central Carolina Community College in North Carolina and Maryland Community College. The University of Arkansas already has the Arkansas Research and Technology Park, an incubator for technology-based startups.

Incentives are already in place at the local level. Artists in the Fayetteville Underground pay no more than $100 a month for their studio space. And grouping creative types makes sense, researchers said.

The Fayetteville Underground is one example of what Daniel Hintz, a downtown creative economy developer in Bentonville, calls "strategically placed incubators" or nodes of creativity usually sited in downtowns.

"Create clusters," Hintz said.

"We have been very deliberate in clustering industry," he added, pointing to the nearly ubiquitous office or industrial parks in practically every medium-size city.

Gutierrez has suggested live-work studios as well as various tax credits. Like the Fayetteville Chamber, she also wants to set up a better networking structure.

"For example, the film industry could go to the local chamber to learn if there are writers, actors, film crew workers in the area," Gutierrez said.

"I want to get the word out to the community," said Julie Gabel, co-founder of Ceramic Cow Productions, a Fayetteville theatre company, echoing the need for better networking across all types of businesses.

Putting like minds under the same lid -- whether it's an actual roof like the Underground or the collective umbrella of a chamber group -- seems to be effective when it comes to growing the creative segment of the economy.

"It's been very successful," said Broun. "People can share the cost of the facility."

"But just as importantly, is the social networking that goes on in those facilities," he added, noting a collaborative setting also helps when it comes to marketing and support.

"For a lot of us it was about community," said Chapman standing outside her studio at Fayetteville Underground. The setup allows artists to bounce ideas off one another and also come together to promote each other.

The evening art events, where the galleries, studios and retail spaces in downtown open up for an evening open house, have become extremely popular across Northwest Arkansas. Hundreds of people -- art types, business types and every shade of gawker -- streamed through the studios and galleries during First Thursday in Fayetteville recently. The events are coordinated with galleries and local shops to give downtown a bustling evening arts fest vibe.

"Just to get the public over and meet the artists and see the art, it demystifies the whole process of art," Chapman said. "We really want to make people comfortable."

At A Glance

Creative Economy Business Types

• Advertising

• Media

• Entertainment

• Design professions

• Fashion

• Packaging

• Media producers and performers

• Artists

• Art Galleries, Museums

Source: Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce

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