The Power of Creativity

From Arts in Guelph- January/February, 2004

by Sally Wismer

Imagine sitting in a room filled to capacity with 450 individuals who practise or are involved in and, in many cases, are passionate about the arts. Imagine, also, these same 450 individuals having the opportunity to hear the musings of the likes of Richard Florida, Jane Jacobs and Winnipeg Glen Murray as well as arts innovators from across Canada, United States, Britain, Europe, South Africa and Australia -- all of whom talked about and demonstrated the relationship between creativity and place. To describe such an experience as exhilarating, energizing and affirming somehow does not truly do justice to what three of us from Guelph recently experienced at the Creative Places and Spaces in Toronto in mid-October. Certainly, it was a rare treat, and one that will impact on all of our thinking in the days and months to come.

For example, there was Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class, one of this year's top ten best-selling books. Simplistically speaking, Florida's thesis is that it is not companies and technology that drive economic growth but rather the human creativity that permeates everything we do. People are the key input and provide the competitive edge to our economy. It is this human creative power that makes the difference. Moreover, it is "place" that helps to organize the capacity for creativity; it is "place" that matches people to jobs. Similarly, in places where there is diversity -- where there is an openness to immigrants, to gays, to artists, to street-level culture -- these are the places where there are ecosystems that allow the development of jobs and economic growth. Florida cites many examples of "creative cities" including several in Canada, and notes the importance of supporting political leaders who understand what makes cities creative (as opposed to the "squelchers" who are locked into stultified industrial structures).

In this sense, Florida (who is American but also very familiar with and knowledgeable about Canada) feels that Canada has an enormous potential to be a leader in this creative age because we are so much more open and inclusive than the United States (which was once the leader); he feels that here there is more emphasis on the "mosaic" rather than the "melting pot" concept of society. He illustrates this point by noting that on all the various indexes that he has developed (e.g Bohemenian Index, Gay Index), the scores for Canadian cities rank higher than many in the US.

As if to prove the example of Richard Florida's ideas, the conference heard from Winnipeg Mayor Glen Murray who, besides being Canada's first openly gay mayor, is known as a politician who supports and fights for the arts. Downtown revitalization, urban design and revamping of the bureaucratic structure have all been part of his arsenal. He has fought hard for a "new deal" for cities that would see the triumph of "intergenerational" or "creative" politics over "consumption" or "utilitarian" politics. He laments the "instant gratification" or "discount mentality" that pervades our cities today -- where people" know the price of everything and the value of nothing." Creative cities, on the other hand, have a sense of place; they "make beauty necessary, and make necessity beautiful"; they celebrate differences and diversity, and look to tomorrow, to what we can pass on to our children. Cities don't need just those services related to "police, pavement and pipes"; there is also a need for the arts and culture and the value-added services that truly differentiate our towns and cities.

Jane Jacobs, whom Martin Knelman of the Toronto Star calls "the godmother of contemporary urban theory," also added her ideas to this already heady mix of ideas, reiterating what others had said about the importance of cities as the "engines of our economy." She talked about the battle between the control structure where the squelchers take over, and the organic structure where squelchers have less of a role. She warned against standardization -- "the repetition of other people's ideas."

Other highlights of the conference included presentations on several adaptive reuse projects in different parts of the world - projects that have seen the re-development of old, architecturally-interesting buildings into living space and/or studio space for artists, into galleries, into performance spaces, into shops, into cafes - into places that people want to inhabit or visit and that have therefore helped to keep their communities alive and vital. In addition to Toronto's own Distillery District where Toronto Artscape has played an important role in the Case Goods Building, and the former tin factory at 401 Richmond Street that Margie Zeidler has restored for the use of cultural organizations and enterprises, the conference heard wonderful stories from Artspace Projects in Minneapolis; the MASS MoCa (Museum of Contemporary Art) cultural redevelopment in Adams, Massachusetts; and the rebirth of the old Custard Factory in Birmingham, England.

All in all, the Creative Places and Spaces Conference was a marvellous, albeit somewhat humbling experience. I do think that we Guelphites -- City of Guelph Director of Culture Rob MacKay, GAC Board member Toni Andrews, and GAC Executive Director Sally Wismer -- came away feeling that Guelph has the potential to become one of Canada's great creative cities. The "creative class" is already well represented here in the significant number of practising artists, in the large population on the University campus, and in the well-respected technology sector. The challenge is now to ensure that these voices are and continue to be heard.

For more information about the Creative Spaces and Places Conference, contact Guelph Arts Council at (519) 836-3280 or gac@sentex.net. Or visit www.torontoartscape.on.ca.