Following two years of evaluation and research, a cross-sector group of county residents has organized the Creative Economy Collaborative. Its goal is to help develop a larger role in the county economy for artistic endeavors of all kinds. Included in the group are representatives of local and county government and the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, numerous arts nonprofits, and several organizations involved with tourism promotion and economic development.
Members of the collaborative issued a statement that the organization and its work promoting artistic endeavors “holds the promise of a prosperous future for our community – a future that draws on our rich history and resources, that grows out of who we are and where we live and that works to create a thriving, prosperous community of artists, entrepreneurs, arts and cultural businesses and organizations that enrich the greater community.”
The Cook County/Grand Marais EDA will provide support for the work of the collaborative. The EDA has voted to endorse the collaborative’s work as its own and to provide staffing. EDA Director Mary Somnis will serve as collaborative staff. Questions about the collaborative should be directed to Somnis.
Work on the arts economy project began with a survey of current activity undertaken by Sheila Smith of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts in 2015. Smith found that Cook County ranks third in Minnesota for per capita economic impact of the arts after Hennepin and Ramsey counties. This encouraging finding spurred efforts to further grow the creative economy as a healthy, sustainable way of making Cook County more prosperous. Planning ways to create that growth involved partnering with ArtsLab at Arts Midwest in Minneapolis. With funding from the McKnight and Bush foundations, ArtsLab consultants worked with 24 Cook County residents for more than a year to create a cultural plan called “Leveraging Creativity.” It is this plan and its four core priorities that will be the focus of work by the Creative Economy Collaborative. The “Leveraging Creativity” cultural plan can be viewed online here: http:// tinyurl.com/zrwqs9r
Members of the Creative Economy Collaborative include: Grand Marais Mayor Jay Arrowsmith Decoux; Kristofer Bowman of Upstate MN; Jeff Cadwell, Cook County administrator; Tom Christiansen of Last Chance Gallery; Jessa Frost of North House Folk School; Bill Hansen; Linda Jurek of Visit Cook County; designer Richard Olson; Cook County Board Chair Jan Sivertson; artist and gallery owner Betsy Bowen; Jim Boyd of the Cook County Chamber; Pat Campanaro of the UMD Small Business Development Center; Amy Demmer of the Grand Marais Art Colony; Gerry Grant of the Grand Marais Playhouse; Marcia Hyatt of Last Chance Gallery and leadership and life coach; April McCormick of the Grand Portage Band; Lori Rothstein of University of Minnesota Extension; and Greg Wright of North House Folk School.
The mission of the collaborative is “to walk together and work together toward a future that nurtures into fullness the promise of our creative economy.”
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