Wyoming Arts Council

Arts Summit promotes "creative economy"


The first-ever Wyoming Arts Summit, scheduled for October 19 and 20, is shaping up to be a “creative economy” camp for elected officials, commissioners, educators, arts advocates, artists and business people of Wyoming (and anyone else interested). Discussed and spoken about on an increasingly frequent basis in education, government and economic circles, the speakers and panelists slated for the Summit in Wyoming will address a panorama of topics. They include: the value of arts activities and their promotion; why arts education should be a treasured asset for individuals and communities; successful municipal models that weave arts programs into the city’s cultural and economic fabric; how to strengthen rural economies through the arts.

Richard Florida, the man credited for starting the buzz about the creative economy concept, says that, “this new ‘creative class’ engages in work whose function it is to create meaningful new forms.” Its core includes scientists and engineers, university professors, poets and novelists, artists, entertainers, actors, designers, and architects, as well as the “thought leadership” of modern society: nonfiction writers, editors, cultural figures, think-tank researchers, analysts, and other opinion-makers.

William Kittredge writes that we here in the West live almost as “museum culture” to the rest of the world, without realizing “that the population of the American west is over 80 percent urban.” How then will Wyoming evolve into a creative economy? It could be in the way the former mayor of Missoula, Montana, and a scheduled speaker at the summit, Daniel Kemmis, describes it: “the principles of ‘communitarianism’ emphasize personal responsibility for and participation in the resolution of community problems – the core of what it means to be a citizen. This speaks directly to the creative economy model – that today’s leadership challenge is how best to release the imaginative energies of people, while harnessing their idea-potential for successful companies and communities.” Wyoming — and the West — is at the apex of this dynamic.

The Arts Summit will generate innovative ideas and imaginative solutions for everyone to take back to their own communities. The scheduled speakers are dynamic experts on their topics, and promise an exciting look at creative economy themes. All of the panelists are from here in Wyoming and can legitimately discuss the challenges and opportunities that we face in the state.
Mark October 19 and 20, 2007, as “Save The Date,” and attend the inaugural symposium of the Wyoming Arts Summit. For more information, e-mail Special Events Coordinator Ann Larson at alarso@state.wy.us; call the Wyoming Arts Council at (307) 777-7742 or visit the WAC website at http://www.wyoarts.org/


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