Learning from Other Communities

It is not necessary to reinvent the wheel. We can learn from what others are doing to build up and profit from their creative economies, both here in NC and elsewhere. We can learn from places including:

• Paducah, Kentucky—which began its artist relocation program in 2000. The city has persuaded more than 50 working artists to relocate from elsewhere to live and work in the downtown arts district.

• HandMade in America in Asheville, NC—which has linked downtown revitalization across 18 western North Carolina counties to arts-based development.

• The Arts of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, NC—which is part of a pioneering collaborative effort to bring together key local institutions engaged with the arts, history, and science to coordinate new initiatives and promote the region. The group is called Elizabeth City H.A.S. It! And H.A.S. stands for history, arts, and science.

• Hickory Chair in Hickory, NC—which is leading the way with customized manufacturing, involving designers and local craftspeople in creating new furniture designs.

• The NC Arts Incubator in Siler City, NC—which seeks to relocate artists to its downtown and support their work through low-cost studio space, marketing, and classes provided through the local community college.

• The STARworks Center for Creative Enterprise in Star, NC— which seeks to develop creative enterprises and creative individuals who will operate their businesses in the downtowns of small communities located in the eight-county service area of Central Park North Carolina, including Anson and Stanly Counties. Job creation programming at STARworks is entrepreneurial in nature and designed to serve the creative, agricultural, and alternative energy sectors of that regional economy.