When Darlene Urban Garrett moved back, after 30 years, to Greene County in 2005 to take a job as that county’s development manager, her duties introduced her to residents of Greensboro.
She remembered the Monongahela River town’s history as a pottery and glass manufacturing center. When residents told her about their vision of redeveloping their community around the arts, Ms. Garrett suggested they organize a conference on the subject.
“After reading books like Richard Florida’s ‘The Rise of the Creative Class,’ I realized that you need to take a holistic approach to community development, which includes educating community leaders about the importance of creative people and culture as a vital part of economic vitality and also teaching artists how to become more successful in the careers,” she said.
This two-pronged concept became the focus of the initial Creative Communities Conference held in Greensboro in 2006 and has served as the pattern for each subsequent annual conference, including one held this month at Waynesburg University.
Keynote speaker Lou Musante is owner and founder of Catalytix, a strategic planning group that assists in the development of forward-thinking strategies for the long-term growth of communities. He’s also a facilitator and project leader for the Creative Class Group, an organization founded by author Richard Florida.
In his talk, Mr. Musante underscored the importance of the creative infrastructure to make communities attractive.
“It’s not just roads and bridges that define quality of place but also smaller things, such as restaurants, theaters, art galleries, entertainment venues and nightlife options that keep young and talented people in the area,” he said.
“Companies tend to locate to areas where the talent and creative people are, so it’s crucial for communities to learn how to retain some of its best and brightest minds,” Mr. Musante said.
He includes information technology and people who think and create ideas for a living along with individuals in the arts community.
“The creative class, which plays a vital role in enhancing economic development, is new but big, and most communities don’t even know what it is,” he said. “In 1900, it accounted for less than 10 percent of the work force. Today it’s grown to 30 percent of the work force or 40 million people who earn 50 percent of the nation’s wages and 70 percent of its discretionary income.”
He stressed that one of the keys to retaining and drawing more creative people is diversity.
To date, Creative Industries of Greene County has tallied a list of about 300 people involved in creative-based employment, but the researchers have just begun documenting their findings and expect to find more.
Of an estimated population of 39,500, Greene County’s roughly 300 creative class residents account for less than 1 percent of the total population.
By contrast, Santa Monica, Calif.’s percentage of residents in the creative class is 9.23.
“Little by little, Creative Industries has been reaching out to its creative community, said Ms. Garrett. “Recently, we invited members to a ‘Tap the Talent’ event, in which we tried to listen to their needs.”
The organization is also contemplating scheduling monthly follow-ups.
“I think it’s also necessary to stress the importance of arts education in our public schools,” she said. “By way of example, recent data collected by Americans for the Arts shows that students who take four years of arts and music classes while in high school score 98 points better on their SATs than students who took only one-half year or less.”