Foundations ofArkansas’

Creative Economy

C R E A T I V I T Y I N T H E N A T U R A L S T A T E

High Hopes

DeepRoots,

Regional Technology Strategies, Inc.

Volume 3 • April 2008

Supported by a grant from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation

With Mt. Auburn Associates, Arkansas Arts Council, Arkansas Science & Technology Authority, Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges

Foundations ofArkansas’

Creative Economy

C R E A T I V I T Y I N T H E N A T U R A L S T A T E

High Hopes

DeepRoots,

Copyright ©2008 by Regional Technologies Strategies, Inc.

205 Lloyd Street, Suite 210 Carrboro, NC 27510

We would be delighted if you quote this book in your publications or make copies of portions of this book to give others. However, we do ask that you send us a copy of any publication in which this book is quoted.

ISBN 1-931613-05-2

Also available online at www.rtsinc.org:

Volume I - Creativity in the Natural State: Growing Arkansas’ Creative Economy

Volume II - Ducks, Documentaries & Design: Tales from Arkansas’ Creative Economy

Acknowledgements

Regional Technology Strategies wouldlike to acknowledge the contributions ofmany people who helped bring this pub-lication to fruition. We had vital supportand able advice from our colleagues atMt. Auburn Associates. In addition, ourpartners in Arkansas, the Arkansas ArtsCouncil, the Arkansas Association ofTwo-Year Colleges and Arkansas Scienceand Technology Council, provided signif-icant support in helping select the indi-viduals and organizations profiled andaccessing information. The distinguishedadvisory panel listed on this page providedvaluable advice and information.

Those who made major contributions tothe report include RTS staff members DanBroun and Sarah Butzen; Michael Kane,Beth Siegel, and Peter Kwass of Mt. AuburnAssociates, and Robert Donnan, consult-ant who also provided many of the pho-tographs. We greatly appreciate the con-tributions of the many Arkansas citizenswho participated in our regional focusgroups. John Simon did a masterful jobin editing and making sure individualstyles were consistent and the contentwas clear. Maxine Mills and Abby Brownof Maxine Mills Graphic Design in Carrborodid all of the design and production ofthe final publication.

We want to thank all these people andorganizations whose efforts make Arkansassuch a creative place to live and do business.

Finally, a grant from the WinthropRockefeller Foundation makes this publi-cation and our work in Arkansas possi-ble. We continue to be grateful for theirsupport.

Stuart Rosenfeld, Project DirectorRegional Technology StrategiesApril 2008

Project Advisory Panel Ginger Beebe, First Lady of Arkansas

Linda Beene, University of Arkansas

David Belcher, University of Arkansas-Little Rock

Joyce Brooks, Guachoya Arts Council

Ed Clifford, Bentonville-Bella VistaChamber of Commerce

Tobi Fairley Wells, T. Lamarr Interiorsand T. Lamarr Fine Art

Ruth Hawkins, Arkansas State University

Ken Hubbell, Hubbell Associates

Arthur Hunt, The College of Aspiring Artists

Robert Hupp, Arkansas RepertoryTheatre

Marla Johnson Norris, Aristotle

John Cain, KABF Radio

Don Munro, Munro Shoes

Denisa Pennington, Arkansas Dept ofEconomic Development

Dick Trammel, Arkansas State Board ofHigher Education

Ex Officio Members

John Ahlen, Arkansas Science &Technology Authority

Edward Franklin, Arkansas Association ofTwo year Colleges

Joy Pennington, Arkansas Arts Council

Table of Contents

Introduction 9

Deep Roots 11

Creative Economy Reprise 12

Creative Assets—The Foundation of the Creative Economy 13

Building on the State’s Creative Assets 14

Cultural Assets: The Building Blocks of ArkansasÕ Creative Economy 16

Learning the Skills: Education and Training in Art and Design 16

Networking for Fun and Profit: Associations and Organizations 20

Showcasing Creativity: Events and Performances 22

Creative Environments: Places and Spaces 24

Distinguishing Features: Design Capabilities 26

Making It Happen: Accessing Resources 28

The Creative Economy, Region by Region 31

The Northeast: Heart of the Ozarks 32

The Southeast: Can a Rich Cultural Heritage Lift a Poor Economy? 35

The Southwest: Continuing to Manufacture, but Looking Ahead 40

The Northwest: Creativity and Rapid Growth 46

The Central Region: Little Rock and Beyond 50

Previewing Opportunities and Challenges 55

Arkansas’ Creative Economy: Overview of Assets, Opportunities, and Challenges 56

Drilling Down into the Sub-Clusters 57

9

Introduction

C reativity—according to the dic-tionary, “the use of the imagina-tion or original ideas, especially

in the production of an artistic work”—fuels the economy, stokes innovation,and feeds the soul. For too long, toomuch of the economic value of Arkansas’creativity has gone unnoticed and under-appreciated. Its cultural attractions, sce-nic beauty, and folk traditions have longattracted visitors who spend money, butbeyond tourism, creative enterprises werenot acknowledged to be a legitimate sec-tor of the state’s economy. State supporthas always been directed at large industri-al and commercial employers.

The previous report, Growing Arkansas’Creative Economy, made the case for cre-ativity as a force in the state’s economyon the basis of the numbers of peoplewho are self-employed in industry sec-tors that meet the criteria of “creative,”which means that they compete primarilyon the basis of the cultural or aestheticcontent of their goods or services. Incomparison to other clusters in the state,what we defined as the creative cluster isthe third largest. Most economists projecthigh growth for sectors such as gaming,digital media, and fashion, and placescompeting for jobs are beginning to rec-ognize the importance of the arts andculture to their efforts. As one writernoted, “Rather than focusing obsessivelyon large firms or symbolic projects…orsimply seeking to cut taxes and providefinancial incentives to favor large compa-nies, communities need to emphasizethose things that lead individuals andcompanies to remain in a particular placeof their own accord.”1 Those thingsincreasingly have to do with art, culture,and lifestyle.

Deep Roots, High Hopes attempts todetermine what educational, physical,social, and financial assets must be devel-oped to support a creative and culturalenvironment that will attract and keep

young people, entrepreneurs, talentedprofessionals, and successful companies,and spur innovation by them. The reportalso examines where these assets resideand where they are in short supply, andwhich areas are reaping benefits fromthem, and which are not.

In Arkansas, as in most states, the com-panies and people that comprise the cre-ative sectors are recognized as sources ofeconomic growth neither in public policynor the allocation of resources. Such sup-port as these sectors enjoy comes mainlyfrom state efforts to promote tourism,from innovative business ventures, andfrom the philanthropy of citizens, corpo-rations, and foundations.

Arkansas has a real opportunity to plot acourse that, building on its unique fea-tures and innate ingenuity, emphasizescreativity and uses it to best advantage inits schools, businesses, technologies, andcommunities.

Stuart RosenfeldApril 2008

Deep Roots

Northwest to southeast, from theOzarks to the Delta, and from itsnortheastern-most tip to Texarkana,

Arkansas is pregnant with cultural talentand enterprises. Its formidable creativeidentity is rooted in an innovative milieuof banjo and blues musicians, artists andauthors, potters and poets, directors anddesigners, dance companies and film crews,and animators and architects, among others.

The businesses and entrepreneurs thatcomprise the state’s creative cluster, thestrengths of which were discussed in the2007 report Growing Arkansas’ CreativeEconomy, operate as a regional systemthat generates income and wealth by con-verting artistic, design, and cultural con-tent into products and services. The com-ponents of the value chain by which thisis accomplished variously supply or sup-port the creative and cultural enterprisesthat convert aesthetic and cultural con-tent into, or directly produce, as well asreproduce, disseminate, display, and sellsuch goods and services.

Augmenting the nearly 35,000 Arkansansemployed in classifiable creative enter-prises are scores of others operatingunder the radar screen in creative endeav-ors not easily identified or categorized.To tap the economic benefit of the exist-ing creative core as well as the underly-ing stratum of as yet under-realized cre-ative potential, the state must activelymine it for creative assets that can pro-vide the foundation for new and existingcreative enterprises.

That Arkansas possesses significant assetsrelated to the development, expression,and experience of creativity and cultureis clear. Its colleges and universities,numerous organizations, and hundredsof cultural venues and spaces fuel artisticand creative endeavors in every region of the state.

What is less clear is whether these cre-ative assets are sufficiently connected to

local and regional economies to becomedrivers of economic as well as culturalactivity. Some of the state’s creative assetsare being developed and built upon inways that generate economic impact, butmany are not. A primary goal of thisphase of the study is to identify catalyststhat can accelerate the pace at whichArkansas can be moved down the path to fuller realization of its creative eco-nomic potential.

How strong the creative assets that con-stitute the foundations of Arkansas’ cre-ative economy are, and whether theypresent areas of opportunity for specificcreative sub-sectors or geographic sub

11

Elizabeth Smith, a profes-sor at the University ofCentral Arkansas, teachesto a new generation ofArkansans. PhotoCourtesy of UCA.

regions, are among the questions ad-dressed in this report.

Creative Economy RepriseOur 2007 report showed Arkansas’ cre-ative economy, when defined by industryclassifications, to constitute one of itslargest clusters. The cluster is composedof four sub-clusters: visual, literary, andperforming arts; entertainment and newmedia; product and environmentaldesign; and cultural heritage and preser-vation. In the National Governors Asso-ciation’s 2007 analysis, only transporta-tion/logistics and processed foods clus-ters led the creative cluster as a source of jobs. When the self-employed wereincluded, nearly 35,000 citizens earnedtheir livelihood by generating from cre-ative endeavors more than one billiondollars in wages and self-employmentincome. Were all those who depend oncreative activities as secondary incomesources (for example, the vast majority of writers), those in sectors not primarilyclassified as “creative,” and those whounder-report their incomes to be includ-ed, this total would undoubtedly bemuch higher.

The precise composition of the creativeeconomy is not so easily ascertained. The

artist, musician, and writer are readilyidentified as doing “creative work,” ifthey choose to so classify themselves(and many do not). Landscape architectsdo routine as well as creative work. Theartisan manufacturer is even harder toclassify. Firms that make upscale fashionapparel or furniture and market to dis-criminating customers willing to pay apremium for appearance or expressive-ness, for example, must also satisfy func-tional needs and meet production sched-ules and quality standards. To designate a company a “creative enterprise” thuspresumes the prominence of aestheticsand distinctiveness as competitive advan-tages, which might be construed to be a more or less subjective assessment.

The value of the creative economy lies in the ability of creative enterprises tocommoditize art and culture without for-saking the appeal to consumers’ values,tastes, and emotions that brings prem-ium prices. To earn a living from theircraft, independent writers need editors,publishers, printers, advertisers, bookdistributors, stores, and, as they developreputations, agents. The scope and vari-ety of enterprises beyond the castsrequired to produce a film are clearly evident in the lengthy lists of credits at

12

Universities offer degreesand programs in MassCommunications along

with a host of other cre-ative programs. Photo

courtesy of UCA.

To designate

a company a

“creative enter-

prise” thus

presumes the

prominence of

aesthetics and

distinctiveness

as competitive

advantages...

the close of commercially releasedmovies. Add talent, employment, andadvertising agencies and movie theatresand concessions to makeup and music,technical production crews with opera-tors, gaffers, and best boys, set design,modeling, editing and special effects, foodservices, transportation, and security, andfilm and video become a powerful eco-nomic engine for which states now vigor-ously compete. Some visual artists relyon framers, and many sell through gal-leries, stores, and web sites and increas-ingly engage other companies to multiplytheir original compositions as giclees,prints, posters, and even t-shirts. Tal-ented designers can produce extraordi-nary exteriors and interiors for newhomes and offices, devise unusual pack-aging for products, and conceive memo-rable brand identities.

Economic development organizations can promote the growth of the creativeeconomy by attracting and supportingthese types of creative enterprises andcreative people. But participants in re-gional meetings organized across Arkan-sas for this study lamented the continuedemphasis on traditional recruitment andlack of economic development effortdirected at the creative sector. “Our re-gion is not thinking about our culture in economic terms,” remarked one.Others, however, saw signs, at least, thatsome regions of the state are beginning to understand its potential.

Their value, of course, transcends the eco-nomic sphere, and the arts should be sup-ported for their intrinsic value in enrichinglives and enhancing communities, givingpleasure and providing emotional andlearning experiences.2 But this side of thearts, which is more widely understoodand acknowledged, already attracts sup-port from local arts councils, foundations,governments, and private donors.

We believe that recognizing the economicas well as intrinsic value justifies far morestate support for and investment in thearts. Consumption patterns are changing,

an increasing segment of the populationis making purchase decisions based notso much anymore on utility or even sta-tus, but on aesthetics, meaning, and self-expression. Corporations that recognizethis are sponsoring museum shows andpurchasing art not just as patrons of cul-ture, but as good business policy.3 Wal-Mart’s comprehension of this is reflectedin its move into designer goods, specialtyfoods, green design, and sponsorship ofart exhibits.

Creative Assets—The Foundation of the CreativeEconomyIt takes more than creative people to real-ize the full economic benefit of the cre-ativity that resides in a state. Successfulcreative clusters enjoy a support structureof public and private sector institutionsthat provide education, training, techni-cal and business assistance, venues forproduction, exhibition, and performance,and resources. Elements of a state’sschools, colleges and universities, smallbusiness centers, extension services, cul-tural institutions, and other organizationsthat target creative businesses or peopleare part and parcel of a creative cluster. It requires an extensive support structureto develop a brand for the state and todistinguish its creative and customizedproducts, that can create a “buzz” thatgenerates market demand for goods“Made in Arkansas” that are a source ofmemories or meaning associated withplaces consumers might have lived, visit-ed, or attended school or to which theycan in some way relate.

Arkansas’ “creative assets” can be usefullyorganized into six categories:

• Associations can be somewhat for-mal groups of compatible creativeeconomy players variously designat-ed guilds, councils, cooperatives, andarts centers as well more informalgroups that come together or interactas clubs and networks. Most associa-tions are membership based, event-

13

Consumption

patterns are

changing, an

increasing

segment of

the population

is making pur-

chase deci-

sions based

not so much

anymore on

utility or even

status, but on

aesthetics,

meaning, and

self-expression.

oriented venues for networking,learning, and collaboration. Suchmechanisms for developing “socialcapital” are at the heart of all success-ful industry clusters.

• Education and training aimed at cul-tivating creative economy talent isvariously provided by public schools,dedicated private arts and craftschools, private programs and teach-ers, and educational programs andcourses in the arts and design withininstitutions of higher education andsupporting industries.

• Events and performances that show-case elements of the creative econo-my include scheduled theatre, festi-vals, shows, celebrations, exhibits,gallery openings, and readings, openas well as ticketed.

• Places and spaces such as museums,historic sites, public art, arboretumsand gardens, and other locations inwhich creative economy assets arehoused, created, or exhibited includ-ing geographic districts and neigh-borhoods with an arts focus, exhibi-tion halls, film and music studios,incubators, and shared space for cre-ative enterprises are in themselvescreative economy assets.

• Design talent includes individuals and

organizations that add value to prod-ucts and services through design includ-ing industrial, graphic, and digitalmedia design as well as manufacturersthat compete on the basis of design.

• Resources that support the creativeeconomy include sources of funding,incentive programs, and informationand technical assistance from privatefoundations, government agencies,and non-profits.

Building on the State’s Creative AssetsTo gauge Arkansas’ most significant cre-ative assets, the study team compiledfrom background research, reviews ofdocuments, and interviews with key in-formants a database of the state’s key cre-ative assets organized by type and sub-cluster. Information about a wide rangeof activities and assets, ranging from small-scale, local museums to festivals that at-tract thousands of visitors annually to thestate, was collected. Next, to identifyassets that might have been missed andbring some on-the-ground perspectiveand context to the analysis, the team helda series of meetings across the state tosolicit local stakeholders’ views of theirregions’ most significant assets.

By its nature, such a compilation cannotbe claimed to be comprehensive or all-inclusive. Indeed, some of the assets itattempts to document are informal, onlylocally publicized, or embedded in otheractivities or businesses and therefore dif-ficult to categorize. It nevertheless repre-sents our best effort to assess the state’screative assets for the purpose of identify-ing patterns and opportunities therein.

The report draws heavily on informationgleaned from regional focus groups andcreative assets inventory to identify com-petitive strengths and challenges implicitin Arkansas’ creative economy. It exam-ines these specifically with respect to:

• each of the state’s creative assets,namely, associations, education and

14

Delta Made – Rural Heritage Development Initiative In 2006, theDelta region was chosen to be one of two pilot sites for theNational Trust for Historic Preservation sponsored RuralHeritage Development Initiative. Three partners in the Delta arecollaborating to show how heritage and history can be thebasis for economic revitalization: Main Street Arkansas, theArkansas Delta Byways Regional Tourism Association, and theHistoric Preservation Alliance of Arkansas. One RHDI initiative,designated DeltaMade, is a regional branding and promotionalprogram for locally made products that incorporate the DeltaÕsculture and history. Twenty-five local crafts, food products, andother wares are being promoted as DeltaMade in 16 Arkansasretail locations to enable tourists to take home a little piece ofArkansas and at the same time make a real difference to theviability of many of the DeltaÕs small home-grown businesses.

training, events and performances,places and spaces, design talent, andresources;

• the state’s five economic developmentregions: northwest, northeast, cen-tral, southeast, and southwest;

• and key sub-clusters: visual, literary,and performing arts; entertainmentand new media; product and envi-ronmental design; and cultural her-itage and preservation.

Arkansas is vying with communitiesacross the United States to make itselfsynonymous with creativity. To lay claimto “creative clusterhood” and distinguishitself from other places, it must find and

develop its niches. Some of that buzz isalready emanating from the creative cen-ters being developed in the Delta andOzarks. Other regions continue to lookfor their creative centers. Not every com-munity can develop a local creative clus-ter, but most have some creative or cul-tural assets that, accorded the requisitesupport and resources, can make a signif-icant contribution to the local cultureand economy.

The final report in this four part series, to be published later in 2008, will suggestlocal and state policies for increasing andbetter distributing the economic and socialbenefits of creative enterprises and people.

Local Motion Gallery of Arts Established in 2004, Local Motion is the first fine arts gallery in Texarkana thatpromotes the work of local artists. In fact, itÕs the first fine arts gallery Texarkana has had for many years.As its name suggests, Local Motion is driven by a strong sense of place. Its founding artists noticed a dualneed: that Southwest Arkansans usually have to leave the area in order to buy and experience art, andSouthwest Arkansan artists usually have to leave the area in order to sell and show their art. Why, they rea-soned, should we not be selling the best of Arkansas to Arkansans? Their rootedness to their home placeis also expressed through their artistic themes, such as a layout that asked their artists to paint landmarksof Texarkana, and future ones that may include Òthe colors of Arkansas,Ó or Arkansan landmarks or land-scapes. At present, Local Motion is run entirely as a collective, on the volunteer labor of its artist members.

15

To generate markets, showcaseproducts, build reputation, andfoster growth, a creative economy

needs a solid base that includes (1) edu-cational programs that cultivate new andenhance existing talent, (2) associationsthat provide a social infrastructure fornetworking, learning, and sharing, (3)scheduled events and performance seriesthat attract and expose audiences to ele-ments of the creative economy, (4) placesand spaces in which to house, display,and sell those elements, and (5) resourcesand services that support the develop-ment of creative enterprises and activitiesof creative workers. That Arkansas pos-sesses such a base is manifested in cre-ative endeavors being pursued through-out the state, from the Hot Springs Docu-mentary Film Institute to the Ozark Foot-hills Filmfest, Ozark Stageworks, and “IBelieve in McGehee” theatre company.

The building blocks of the assets (Table1) are roughly organized according to the sub-cluster they best fit: visual, liter-ary, and performing arts; entertainmentand new media; product and environ-mental design; and cultural heritage andrestoration. We elaborate, and where pos-sible, estimate the assets. But becausemany of the state, association, and web-based databases that supplement the doc-ument reviews, focus groups, and inter-views on which this report draws areweb-based, voluntary, or membership-based, they are likely to miss many whochoose not to join, advertise, or other-wise be included.

Learning the Skills: Education andTraining in Art and DesignA creative economy emerges and is sus-tained by individuals who variously

Table 1. Asset Categories

Category DescriptionOrganizations Formal support networks and groups such as guilds, councils, associa-

tions, and arts centers as well as informal clubs, networks, and organiza-tions.

Education and Training Programs and instruction aimed at developing or enhancing creative tal-ent variously offered by public and private arts and craft schools, privateteachers, and within educational institutions and supporting industries.

Events and Performances Activities such as scheduled theatre, festivals, shows, celebrations,exhibits, gallery openings, and readings, open as well as ticketed, thatshowcase the creative economy.

Places and Spaces Locations such as museums, historic sites, gardens, arts districts, neigh-borhoods, exhibition halls, film and music studios, incubators, and sharedspace in which creative assets and enterprises can be created, housed,and displayed.

Design Talent Individuals and organizations that add value to products and servicesthrough design including industrial, graphic, and digital media design aswell as manufacturers that compete on the basis of design.

Resources Support such as sources of funding, incentive programs, and informationor assistance provided by government agencies, non-profit organizations,and private foundations.

Cultural Assets:The Building Blocks of ArkansasÕ Creative Economy

16

develop an interest in and gain an appre-ciation for the arts that they express asaudiences and patrons or who acquirearts-based skills and knowledge that theyimpart to others as teachers or apply tothe production of creative assets or de-velopment of creative enterprises. A widerange of certificate and degree programsin the arts and design are offered by Ark-ansas’ educational institutions, whichalso afford aspiring and active artists anddesigners alike access to resources, serv-ices, and connections and provide ven-ues for exhibition and performance thatmake the state’s creative assets moreaccessible to the general population.

Learning and appreciation are developedand reinforced in the public schools. Ark-ansas has maintained a stronger emphasison the arts. It is one of only three statesin the nation to require an arts teacher inevery school and arts class for every stu-dent, and has since 1986 required a halfcredit in the arts for high school gradua-tion. To meet these statutory requirements,the education system employs 239 highschool arts teachers and 1,026 elemen-tary and middle school arts teachers.Public school arts education is supple-mented by some 100 teachers who offerprivate lessons in music, dance, or art.

Arkansas is also one of the few states thatoffer a state-wide high school that com-bines math and science with the arts. Pre-eminent among the state’s efforts to com-bine the arts with technology in its highschools are the EAST Initiative, which fac-ilitates the teaching of math and scienceby affording students access to digital artsmedia, and My Community, which makesavailable to students tools for documen-tary film making through which they canlearn about their communities and culture.

Arkansas’ community college system isemerging as a potentially powerful assetof its creative economy. Although thestate’s community colleges have alwaysoffered the arts as part of their liberal arts and transfer curricula, a growingappreciation for their potential economic

value is leading these institutions toexplore ways to integrate the arts anddesign into their employment and entre-preneurial missions.

Northwest Arkansas, Phillips, ArkansasState University at Beebe, and RichMountain and Oauchita are among thecommunity colleges that offer arts andcrafts oriented instruction as well as,increasingly, programs in graphic arts,animation, and design. Two-year pro-grams are offered in the visual arts, butnot in creative writing, which is not con-sidered a legitimate career track for two-year students (although writing coursesare offered by two-year institutions in thenorthwest and southwest regions). Arkan-sas State University at Beebe, Rich Moun-tain Community College, and OauchitaCommunity College have become activemembers of CraftNet, an internationalalliance of community colleges that isseeking to build stronger rural econo-mies through the application of crafts.

All regions of the state have four-yearprograms in visual arts, creative writing,and graphic arts. Although the state’s 17degree programs in visual arts greatlyexceed the two in writing, one of the lat-ter, the creative writing and creativetranslation program at the University ofArkansas at Fayetteville, is among the most

17

Learning and

appreciation

are developed

and reinforced

in the public

schools.

Aja Nia Hearne, seniorviolinist in rehearsal for“Ain’t Nobody Gonna TurnMe Roun’”, a ParkviewBlack History presentationin the William J. ClintonPresidential Center.Parkview’s orchestra,choral and theatre pro-grams presented thisoriginal script tracingslave songs through his-tory to the Civil Rights’Movement.

innovative and highly regarded in thecountry. Few schools have degree programsin the crafts, although many two-yearcolleges offer selected non-credit courses.

Arkansas’ educational systems supportall of the sub-clusters of the creativeeconomy to varying degrees, and thevisual, literary, and performing artssub-cluster to a considerable degree.Most of the state’s colleges offer arts,writing, and some performing artsdegrees or credentials, some quite highlyregarded nationally. The state has devel-oped a particularly strong reputation increative writing, the writing program atthe University of Arkansas in Fayetteville,

for example, having garnered nationalawards. Literary publications includeSouth Arkansas Community College’sBetween the Lines, the University ofArkansas-Monticello’s Foliate Oak, andArkansas Tech University in Russellville’saward-winning Nebo.

Collectively, these institutions awarded224 baccalaureates in 2007, this relativelylow number probably reflecting low demand,possibly because the degrees have lessmarket value than degrees in other fields.More important on a resume might bethe reputation and connections of theinstructor and opportunities afforded bythe school to show, perform, or publish.

18

Figure 1. Number of Four-Year Colleges (21) with Degree Programs in Creative Fields

Visual art

Writing

Film

Drama

Dance

Music

Media

Graphic & Int Design

Arch & related

Cultural

17

2

2

14

2

19

13

8

1

5

Figure 2. Number of Two-Year Colleges (23) with Degree Programs in Creative Fields

Visual art

Drama

Music

Media

Graphic & Int Design

Arch & related

Cultural

7

2

2

7

12

2

1

The state has

developed a

particularly

strong reputa-

tion in creative

writing...

A number of excellent private schoolsand art centers offer shorter programsthat address the needs of those seeking to learn or improve a craft technique, not acquire a degree, supplement the system of programs in educational insti-tutions. The Rosemary Rhea RegionalArts Center in Magnolia, Arkansas ArtsCenter in Little Rock, Eureka SpringsSchool for the Arts, and Art VenturesWatercolor Holidays in Conway offercourses in selected disciplines.

The entertainment and new media sub-cluster is served by university programsin radio and television and digital media.In 2007, 57 baccalaureate degrees wereawarded in radio television and 344degrees plus a handful of certificates in

mass media or multimedia, 23 of them in John Brown University’s relatively newbut increasingly popular program in digi-tal arts/media.

Approximately 30 students are enrolledin each of the three tracks (film and video,graphic, and design) of the strong multi-

19

Table 2. Certificates and Degrees Awarded by Institutions of Higher Education inArkansas, 2006-2007

Sub-cluster Assoc./Certificate Bachelors Masters

Visual, literary, and performing arts 40 435 29

Entertainment and new media 11 401 25

Product and environmental design 69 208 9

Cultural heritage and preservation 0 5 0

Source: Summary of Degrees/Certificates Awarded by Arkansas Institutions of Higher Education,Arkansas of Higher Education web site, 2008.*Degrees that are embedded in other categories such as liberal arts, multidisciplinary studies, or educa-tion are not included in the totals.

The Parkview Mime.Troupe pose in front of the bridge adjacent to the William J. ClintonPresidential Library whileperforming for THEAPaves the Way, a fundraiser supporting collegescholarships for highschool artists.

Historic 1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa in Eureka Springs.

media program offered by the Universityof Southern Arkansas’ two-year branch inMagnolia. About half those who graduatefrom these programs remain in Arkansas.Student projects in Arkansas State Uni-versity at Beebe’s strong set of accreditedcourses in desktop publishing and com-puter animation took first, second, andtwo third place awards for multimedia or website design in a national competi-tion (that includes four-year colleges)conducted by Phi Beta Lambda (FutureBusiness Leaders of America) in 2007.

Excepting architecture, formal educationalprograms for the product and environ-mental design sub-cluster are fewer.Architecture generated 53 baccalaureatedegrees in 2007, landscape design 149,all awarded by the University ofArkansas-Fayetteville: 135 bachelors andnine masters degrees in landscape archi-tecture awarded by the college of agricul-ture involved design courses, but thedegree holders are not primarily design-

ers. Associate degrees or certificatesawarded by community colleges include40 in graphic design and 10 in webdesign. A for-profit school, the ITTTechnical Institute in Little Rock, alsooffers a range of baccalaureate and associ-ate degree programs in the new mediaand design fields, including the fields ofgraphic, industrial, fashion, or interiordesign; animation; 25 desktop publish-ing; and web site design.

Even fewer programs specifically targetthe cultural heritage and preservationsub-cluster. One program in historicrestoration graduated five in 2007. Mostof those employed in this sub-clusterlikely graduated from more generic liber-al arts programs in arts and culture.

Except for those who want to teach,degrees and certificates tend to be lessimportant in the creative cluster than inother clusters, the skills, ideas, and con-tacts acquired in the process often beingmore highly valued than whatever cre-dentials are awarded. It’s not unusual forstudents to enroll in only those coursesthat especially appeal to them or aretaught by a particular person. Consequently,community colleges also offer a widerange of non-credit courses in the busi-ness and practice of art as well as indesign, and universities and cooperativeextension offer courses through continu-ing education. All of these purveyors ofknowledge and instruction in the artsplay a major role in bringing art and cul-ture to Arkansas communities.

Networking for Fun and Profit: Associations and OrganizationsCreative economy enterprises, tending tobe quite small and flexible, rely moreheavily on networking than on verticalintegration to achieve scale. With the dis-appearance of large studios, for example,networks have come to define the musicand film industries, which are increasing-ly populated by large numbers of smallspecialty companies and freelancers.Many artists, artisans, and designers pre-

20

Parkview’s orchestra performing at the Pulaski

County Court House forthe “Medieval Feast,” an

annual collaborationbetween the Parkvieworchestra, choral and

theatre programs.

fer to work autonomously or, if notalone, in small, intimate groups. But cre-atives, however much they might cherishtheir privacy and independence, needeach other as sources of innovation, vali-dation, and information, and as businessassociates. They benefit from sharedspace and resources and leverage theircollective production to attract greaternumbers of customers. “No market reliesmore heavily on social networks than theexchange of cultural goods.”4

Whereas artists and craftspeople have traditionally pursued mutual support and market visibility through guilds,cooperatives, collectives, and networks(the Arkansas Arts Council, for example,hosts a website, http://www.arkansasarts.com/programs/registry, that connects prospec-tive customers with a registry of 390 artiststhroughout the state), designers and per-formers have tended to rely on moreinformal venues such as eating and drink-ing establishments, gallery openings, andbookstores that regularly attract individu-als with creative occupations and inter-ests. Both formal and informal associa-tional infrastructures are thus criticalassets of Arkansas’ creative economy.

The visual, literary, and performingarts sub-cluster exhibits the strongestassociative behavior at the local level.Formal structures such as councils,guilds, and clubs are visible and measur-able. Writers, for example, who relyheavily on peer critique and feedback,are particularly well organized inArkansas:

• Started in 1931, The PoetsRoundtable has ten branches thathost workshops, an annual NationalPoetry Day celebration, and monthlycontests throughout the state.

• Members of Fiction Writers ofCentral Arkansas meet monthly, pub-lish a newsletter, and generally sup-port each other’s efforts to publish.

• The Ozark Poets and WritersCollective in Fayetteville, Arkansasconducts monthly readings.

• Twenty-five-member White CountyCreative Writers in Searcy meetsmonthly and hosts workshops andsocial events.

Other statewide writers’ groups includethe Arkansas Writers’ Association, ArkansasLiterary Society, the Arkansas LiteraryForum at Henderson State University,and Arkansas’ Pioneer Branch of theNational League of American Pen Women.

Visual and crafts arts are represented by41 listed arts councils plus numerousguilds and centers that display art andhost special events, speakers, and meet-ings. Visual arts-specific organizations areconcentrated in the northern half of thestate. Lawrence County China painters is

21

“No market

relies more

heavily on

social net-

works than

the exchange

of cultural

goods.”-Elizabeth Currid

Cover of 2008 ArkansasArtists Calendar book, pro-duced by the Governor’sMansion Association.

representative of organizations that arehighly specific to a discipline and area,the Arkansas Craft Guild with member-ships that are statewide and less focused.Bella Vista is among Arkansas’ 27 web-listed quilters guilds. A striking charac-teristic of these organizations is that somany are dues-based, suggesting suffi-cient interest among the state’s practition-ers of the visual arts to support moremembership-based activities.

Some 25 associations are active in musicand dance. However, many more are locallyorganized and informal choral groups, choirs,and shape-note singers that meet regular-ly to socialize, make music, and in someinstances perform regionally or record.

Product and environmental design andentertainment and new media are organ-ized primarily through national industryor professional organizations. The morethan 500-member Arkansas branch ofthe American Institute of Architects isstaffed in Little Rock, but has volunteerregional section chairs in East Arkansas,Fort Smith, and the Northwest. The U.S.Green Building Council, which also hasregional branches, has offices in LittleRock as well, and AIGA, the Associationfor Professional Design, lists ArkansasState University as an institutional hub.These associations host monthly meet-ings, workshops, and other events thatbring architects and designers together.The American Society of Interior Designers,a national association that represents pri-marily commercial designers, has a statebranch in Little Rock that hosts events.Other regional or national associationsthat offer the advantage of broader con-nections crucial to the innovation pro-cess, but with less impact on local net-working, include the Association ofProfessional Landscape Designers, Amer-ican Association of Webmasters, andSouthwest Theatre and Film Association.

All of these organizations host a wide-ranging variety of events that membersand their friends are encouraged toexploit as forums for interaction, sharing,

and learning, and some provide suchuseful services as information aboutevents, venues, both physical and web-based, for product exposition, and accessto or active distribution of resources.

The cultural heritage and preservationsub-cluster is served by fewer organiza-tions. But it includes the approximately140-member Arkansas Museums Asso-ciation, founded in 1966, encourages“interaction and cooperation” amongmembers through professional develop-ment initiatives and the publication ofnewsletters and hosting of conferences.

Showcasing Creativity: Events and PerformancesThat Arkansas is rich in cultural eventsand scheduled activities that present andpromote both static and performance-based arts-related products is clearly evi-dent from a review of anecdotal evidenceand listings published on state and localweb sites and maintained in databases.Some of these events attract people nation-wide; others, such as scheduled artwalks, square and contra dances, book-store readings, pub music, and the“events’ that always accompany EurekaSprings’ Lucky 13 Starlight outdoor cine-ma (e.g., flea market, slumber party,musicians, dinner, parade), are primarilytargeted at residents but also intended toentice visitors to stay a little longer.

The more than 600 special events com-piled by the state in 2006 included thefollowing:

• 62 arts and crafts fairs;

• 14 antique shows;

• 17 agriculture, food, and culinaryarts festivals;

• 8 literary festivals;

• 65 music and dance festivals;

• 6 film festivals;

• 5 design shows (fashion and furnishings); and

• 46 ethnic, heritage, and preservationfestivals.

22

Arkansas is

rich in cultural

events and

scheduled

activities that

present and

promote both

static and

performance-

based

arts-related

products...

The 224 community celebrations and 226seasonal events hosted in 2006 by Arkan-sas communities around their history orholidays nearly all included various formsof music, arts, and crafts. That same year,these communities were the venue for 10concert 172 performance series.

Some 135 events including more than 60 arts and craft festivals are readily asso-ciated with the visual, literary, and per-forming arts sub-cluster, and the manycommunity and heritage celebrations areincreasingly including arts and craftsexhibitors. Conway’s Toad Suck Daze fes-tival, for example, commemorates a long-vanished eponymous tavern at whichsteamboat crews gathered to “suck on abottle ‘til they swelled up like toads.” Theinclusion of arts and crafts makes the fes-tival part of the asset base for the arts,and a wide range of other activities partof the asset base for the other sub-clus-ters; who could imagine, for example, anArkansan crafts or heritage-related festi-val that did not include music?

Preeminent among the scheduled eventsassociated with the entertainment andnew media sub-cluster are six film festi-vals (music, dance, and theatre perform-ances are considered to be associatedwith the visual, literary, and performing

arts sub-cluster). These widely- adver-tised, statewide festivals, albeit small innumber, include several important, well-known and well-attended events such asthose held in Hot Springs, that add con-siderably to Arkansas’ growing reputationas a venue for creative independent andstudio filmmaking. But there are alsonumerous local events such as the Lucky13 Starlight Outdoor Cinema in EurekaSprings, billed as “good, clean, weird,family entertainment,” that shows moviesweekly on a wall adjoining a parking lot.

Of the 172 performance venues identi-fied in the inventory, fewer than half areformal such as auditoriums, performancehalls, or campus facilities. Ninety-fourare small, informal spaces—66 clubs,nine coffeehouses, and 24 restaurants—that are open and accessible to a widerange of consumers.

Product and environmental design arerepresented by the fewest regular events,five design shows for fashion and fur-nishings. This number does not include,however, narrowly targeted shows spon-sored by, for example, state chapters ofnational associations that represent archi-tects or interior designers.

The greatest number of special events is

23

The Arkansas Arts Centerin Little Rock houses adistinctive collection ofvisual art, including aworld-class collection ofunique works on paper.

...who could

imagine, for

example, an

Arkansan

crafts or her-

itage-related

festival that did

not include

music?

generated by the cultural heritage andpreservation sub-cluster. Most of the246 ethnic and heritage festivals, 224community festivals, and 226 seasonalcelebrations included crafts, music, liter-ary arts, and artisan foods. The Ghosts of the Past living history candlelight tourthrough the Gillett town site, for exam-ple, brings to life nearly 300 years ofArkansas history in music, dancing, andstories of the spirit, Pocahontas’ BlackHistory Month includes quilting, foods, a tour of the underground railroad, com-munity potluck, and speakers, and Scott’sHomespun Day is a journey back in timewith crafters from the Ozark Folk Centerwho spin, weave, and dye in the mannerof the area’s pioneer past.

Creative Environments: Places and SpacesThe places and spaces in which Arkansas’creative assets are created, housed, expe-rienced, shown, or sold include galleries,bookstores, boutiques, art centers, muse-ums, music studios, radio stations, andtheatres as well as viewable public artsuch as can be found in parks or adorn-ing buildings. Hospitals, dentists’ offices,restaurants and clubs, and corporate lob-bies often display private art to impart adesired mood or atmosphere (MercyMedical Center in Rogers, for example,displays photographic art to create acalming, healing environment).

Because most people interested in makingart, whether for livelihood, avocation, orhobby, are interested as well in experi-encing art created by others, communitiesrich in creative enterprises tend also tobe rich in the visual, literary, and per-forming arts. A web search found 88 artgalleries throughout the state, more thanhalf concentrated in just three cities: LittleRock, Hot Springs, and Eureka Springs.

Viewing and making intersect, for exam-ple, in foundation-supported programsthat place art in public schools with thedual goals of inspiring students to devel-op their own by exposing them to the

24

Petit Jean State Park, Morrillton Named for the sweet-heart of an early French explorer of Arkansas, whose sadromance became an Arkansas legend, Petit Jean State Parkfeatures architecture that endures as a legacy to the crafts-manship and conservation achievements of the CivilianConservation Corps. The park includes three NationalHistoric Districts and contains more than 80 trails, buildings,and bridges. The most prominent architectural structure,Mather Lodge, stretches along the bluff of scenic CedarCreek Canyon. The bluffs, waterfalls, and vistas of Petit JeanMountain inspired the creation of ArkansasÕ first state park,and along with it ArkansasÕ state park system.

Walton Arts Center.The Walton Arts Center

includes two theaters, anamphitheater, and a plaza

in addition to the gallerypictured here.

Downtown Arts Festival in Fayetteville

talents of established Arkansas artists.Campus-situated fine art galleries open to the public include Southern ArkansasUniversity’s Brinson Fine Arts Building inMonticello, Ouachita Baptist’s HammonsGallery in Arkadelphia, and the Univer-sity of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s Fine ArtsCenter. Even communities from which all sub-clusters of the creative economyare absent can use creative assets such asstreet art to enhance their attractivenessto residents and firms, as Fort Smith hasdone with outdoor sculptures and ForestCity and Pine Bluff with downtown murals.

Supplementing dedicated spaces are themany clubs, bookstores, coffeehouses,and restaurants in the state that providevenues for new and emerging artists toexhibit and sell their work, new and less-well known poets to read their work, andmusicians to perform. Patrons in suchhybrid establishments as Hot Springs’Golden Leaves Book Store and EurekaSprings’ Mud Street Café, surrounded bythe products of creativity, experience artas a seamless part of their environment.Local art hanging in a downtown coffee-house and local musicians who can beheard over dinner afford people whomight not take the time to visit a galleryor attend a concert the experience of anenvironment of art and creativity. Exhib-iting and performing in these informalsettings is a way for emerging artists to

gauge public response and establish areputation, or for people with othercareers to express and share their artisticbut secondary talents.

Arkansas’ entertainment and newmedia sub-cluster is quite well represent-ed by five film and 80 recording studiosthat support the 96 film companies andplethora of independent producers andmusicians that provide a foundation forprofessionals and amateurs intent onmaking music and producing films. Theseand 21 studios that are open to the pub-lic encourage and enable non-profession-als’ engagement with art as well as pro-vide resources and outlets for the work of full-time musicians and filmmakers.

Product and environmental designmanifested in private spaces is not readilycatalogued. Banks and professionaloffices often invest in design to generate a

25

Art and Design for Healing: When the Washington Regional Medical Center, a not-for-profit, community-owned and locally governed hospital in Fayetteville, opened its new state-of-the-art facility in 2002, its plan-ners wanted to avoid the standard institutional hospital appearance. The Center preserved features of itsformer site, which featured a log farmhouse, spring-fed natural pond, two creeks, and large hardwoodtrees to create a tranquil healing environment that includes an open atrium that spills out into a landscapedcourtyard with a flowing water, landscaped walking paths with seating areas around the perimeter of thebuilding, a walking/jogging path, and a meditation labyrinth adjacent to a natural pond. Then the Centerturned to local art to create an even warmer and more nurturing internal environment, one that would putpatients and visitors at ease and aid the healing process. Bill Rogers, Director of the Washington RegionalFoundation, turned to the regionÕs artists to create that soothing atmosphere. A committee representing thehospital, art community, and board selected and purchased art and place it throughout the public areas ofthe hospital. This both recognized and showed the regionÕs art and contributed to the recovery process.The hospitalÕs art collection runs the gamut of pastels, wood carvings, sandstone sculptures, fabric art,stone art, and oils.

“Birdsong,” an example ofart exhibited in WashingtonRegional Medical Centerin Rogers.

positive corporate image, hospitals anddoctors offices, as noted earlier, to createa calming environment that reducespatient anxiety, and manufacturing plantsto brighten the work environment andimprove productivity.

The cultural heritage and preservationsub-cluster is defined largely by place. ElDorado’s, Van Buren’s, Morrilton’s, andHot Springs’ downtown districts, Bates-ville’s commercial district, Helena’s olderhomes, and all of Eureka Springs are his-torically preserved and designated cultur-al heritage spaces. In Leslie, Serenity FarmBread’s bakers demonstrate for visitorsancient techniques for making hand-shaped,wood-fired bread that is shipped all over

the United States, and a restored 1928Esso station in Mena has been turned intoa museum and historic site that attractslarge numbers of tourists. Small museumslike these that celebrate and commemorateparticular aspects of local creative andcultural life dot the state—there are 119of them—and complement its many finemajor museums of fine art and culture.

Nearly every county in Arkansas hassome sort of museum dedicated to itsheritage. That by far the majority ofArkansas’ museums fall into the areastudies and local culture category (seeTable 3) reflects a level of local pride andinterest in the heritage of individual com-munities that clearly constitutes a cre-ative asset.

Distinguishing Features: Design CapabilitiesWith traditional manufacturing in Arkansas,as elsewhere in the South, increasinglymoving production offshore, some com-panies are turning to design to developniches less susceptible to global competi-tion. The key is to identify products,

26

Table 3. Museums in Arkansas

Military 8

Music 3

Science and Industry 16

Visual Arts 13

Area Studies and Local Culture 105

Other or Multidisciplinary 5

Little Rock’s EMOBA BlackHistory Museum educates

Arkansans about Blackartists’ contributions tothe state’s culture andpromotes pride in the heritage of Arkansas’

black communities.

such as the furniture and accessoriesmade by Stone County Iron Works andOzark Cedar and Forged Iron in Moun-tain View, purses by LindaLu bags inLittle Rock, or the graters by Microplanein Russellville, that embody designs andfeatures that are more important to con-sumers than price. Arkansas manufactur-ers employed 183 people self-classified as“designers” according to the 2000 census,but that number omits the larger numberof companies that contract out for designor rely on their owners or engineers toprovide design for their own products.

To gauge the importance of and potentialfor design, we conducted an online sur-vey of the state’s manufacturers. Respon-dents represented a wide range of manu-facturing sectors, from those like customfurniture for which design is a necessityto those that would seem to be turningout standardized products such as corru-gated boxes. Of 78 respondents:

• 57 percent stated that aesthetics ofdesign is integral to or significant fortheir competitiveness;

• two in five stated that at least halftheir sales are attributable to designcharacteristics;

• about two thirds stated that designideas are customer-driven;

• almost three in four stated that cre-ativity is important when hiringemployees, only one in ten that it isnot important;

• 42 percent expect to increase theirinvestment in design within the nextthree years;

• 57 percent assign specific designresponsibilities to staff or outsideconsultants, two-thirds of whom arefull-time designers;

• almost half use external design con-sultants, three in five from in-state;

• only 11.5 percent stated that theyworked with state colleges and uni-versities on design issues.

Arkansas manufacturers employ designin a variety of ways (see Figure 3), most

frequently in products (63%) or graphics(51%). One in ten respondents use de-sign for interior and exhibition space,almost two in ten for branding.

The responses suggest that Arkansas’manufacturers clearly believe in design. A majority of respondents perceived theircompetitiveness to hinge on design (seeFigure 4), and nearly half attributed morethan half their sales to design (see Figure5) and expected to increase their invest-ments in design over the next three years.A further indication of the importance

Agritourism in Pumpkin Hollow. Agritourism, defined asÒany activity, enterprise or business which is designed toincrease farm and community income through combining theessential elements of the tourism and agriculture industries,Óis embodied in PiggottÕs Pumpkin Hollow. Pumpkin Hollow,or Dalton Farms as itÕs know commercially, is a fully opera-tional farm that affords visitors the experience of farm life aswell as a host of fun activities. The largest commercial gourdgrower in the entire Southeast, the farm harvests pumpkinsand gourds of all kinds and sizes ranging from small onesused in jewelry to large ones that end up as birdhouses. Atits core, though, Pumpkin Hollow is about creating a funenvironment for visitors to the farm in the fall, who encountera corn maze, haunted Halloween adventures, hayrides, andsome of the most unique pumpkins in Arkansas. In 2006,more than 12,000 visitors (roughly half from outside thestate), including more than 4,000 students, visited PumpkinHollow. Owners Darrel and Ellen Dalton are investigating thepossibility of restoring the farmhouse to show a new genera-tion of Arkansans what life on the farm was really like.

Revolutionary Designs,located in Hatfield, is oneof many Arkansas manu-facturers that uses designas a way to competeeffectively in a globalmarketplace.

27

Phot

oco

urte

syof

Dan

Brou

n.

these firms attach to design is the premiumthey place on creativity in prospective em-ployees. Creativity was cited as an impor-tant or very important skill in prospectiveemployees by more than 75 percent ofthe respondents. Only ten respondentsperceived design to play no role in prod-uct sales, and only six regarded creativityto be unimportant in prospective employees.

Customers were cited by 64 percent ofrespondents as the most or second mostimportant source of design ideas, internalstaff by 49 percent of respondents. Morethan half the firms surveyed assign spe-cific design responsibilities, includinggraphic design (51 percent), to staff oroutside consultants. Most of these firms(63 percent) employ full-time designers,with 46 percent contracting with outsidefirms. Five of the 26 firms that use full-time employees in design capacities alsocontract out for design services. Men-tioned by the one in nine respondentsthat indicated that they worked withstate colleges and universities on designissues were the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, Black River TechnicalCollege, and North Arkansas Communityand Technical College.

Making It Happen: Accessing ResourcesHistorically, artists and performers havehad to rely on public and foundationgrants to support their work as culturalgoods rather than business products, andthere has been little attention to programsto help them convert their talents intosuccessful business operations. If artistsand other creative endeavors are to beviewed as viable business entities withgrowth potential, they will need the capi-tal, information, and business assistancethat enables them to become profitablein addition to support for their culturalcontributions to their communities andsociety.

State resources fall into two categories:grants for the arts from foundations and

Figure 3. What Forms of Design Do You Use

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Figure 4. How Important is Aesthetic Design to Your Competitiveness

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Figure 5. About What Percent of Your Product Sales are Due to Design

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Perc

ento

fRes

pond

ents

Product andindustrial design

(consumer products,

prototypes)

Graphic design

(printing, layout)

Fashion design (clothing,

accessories)

Interior andexhibition

design (interior, exhibitions)

Communi-cations design

(branding,corporate identity)

63%

51%

9% 10%

18%

Perc

ento

fRes

pond

ents

Integral role Significant role Limited role No role

25%

32%

26%

16%

Perc

ento

fRes

pond

ents

None 1-25% 26-50% 51-75% 76-99% All

15%

24%

22%

15%

10%

15%

28

public agencies, and business capital andservices from public and private sources.Save for a few community foundationsand services with regional priorities, mostof these resources are available statewide.

Arkansas is home to 15 foundations thatsupport the visual, literary, and per-forming arts sub-cluster. In addition,state and national government agenciesand many national foundations, such asRockefeller, Pew Charitable Trust, Ford,and Kellogg, make grants for the arts.Grants from national foundations tend tobe highly competitive and depend on thesize of the field and funders’ annual budg-ets and priorities. State support is some-what more stable, albeit also subject tobudgets and priorities.

The Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage,funds, on a competitive basis, art organi-zations, outreach projects, artists on tour,in-school artists residencies, arts curricu-lum projects, and individual artist fellow-ships, and makes mini-grants to school-based projects for the professional devel-opment of arts teachers. It also manageswww.arkansasartists.com, a web site thatpromotes many of the state’s best-knownartists and connects them to tourists, col-lectors, and other customers. Federal andgovernment business assistance programsare available to creative enterprises, buttypically they are unfamiliar with the spe-cial needs of artists, especially the selfemployed and, conversely, arts are una-ware of the potential sources of support.

The entertainment and new media sub-

cluster relies, like more traditional sectors,on private investment, banks, “angel” in-vestors, and venture capital funds. But italso enjoys support from the Arkansas FilmCommission, a variety of state programsin the schools, and some foundations. Theproduct and environmental design com-panies are more apt to operate in a moreconventional fashion, be better known bybanks and more familiar with govern-ment programs, and have greater access.

The cultural heritage and preservationsub-cluster is supported largely by govern-ment funds and agencies, and most impor-tantly, the Department of Arkansas Heritage.The National Endowment for the Humanitiesand National Endowment for the Arts, aswell as state and national foundations,are other major sources of funding.

Agencies that deliver business services,although available to creative cluster busi-nesses, are limited by lack of knowledgeof the sub-clusters and lack awareness ofand familiarity with their needs. The state’scooperative extension service is perhapsthe strongest source of support, althoughoriented towards smaller cities and ruralareas. Arkansas’ cooperative extensionhas an excellent grasp of the significanceof cultural and creative businesses, andhelps communities develop plans andinfrastructure and farms and agriculturalproducers develop niche products andexploit possibilities for agritourism.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sci-ences, and the Arts contributes to the doc-umentation of Arkansas’ cultural historythrough its Arkansas Memory Project. Be-

Supporting the Arts. The non-profit THEA Foundation, founded in 2001, advocates the importance ofart for the development of youth and encourages the participation of young people in art. The Foundationhas awarded nearly $800,000 in scholarships to high school students in the visual and performing arts.Together with the William J. Clinton Foundation, THEA has placed fine art donated by 140 artists in 152public schools across the state. The Foundation hopes that Òthrough the experience our students willhave an opportunity to gain insights about themselves and the world that might not be possible other-wise.Ó In some schools, the studentsÕ own art is displayed as a way to get them excited about it and seeit in a new light. THEA also runs actors and dance workshops and partners with North Little Rock to offerart classes in the East End neighborhood.

29

Arkansas’

cooperative

extension has

an excellent

grasp of the

significance of

cultural and

creative busi-

nesses, and

helps commu-

nities develop

plans and

infrastructure

gun in 1998, the student-produced archiveof Arkansas history research and teachingmaterials includes official documents, pub-lications, maps, letters, narratives, record-ings, photographs, art, and other artifacts.

The product and environmental designsub-cluster is served by the ArkansasScience and Technology Authority, main-ly through its manufacturing extensionarm, Arkansas Manufacturing Solutions,which has the resources to help manufac-turers take advantage of artistic design if

the extension agents can match themwith expertise. Most other industries inthe creative economy including digitalmedia, sound studios, architecture, adver-tising, and broadcasting compete in theusual way for services from small businessdevelopment centers and market develop-ment and small business loans, subject tothe strength of their business plans andgrowth potential. The major gap is self-employed and freelance operators, whomight not qualify as a “business.”

30

Table 5. Population Growth, Unemployment, and Poverty by Region

Percent Change in Percent

Region Population 2000-2006 Unemployment Rate, 2006 Percent in Poverty 2004 Percent Non-Metro

Central 5 5 15 27

Northeast 1 6 18 70

Northwest 14 4 13 45

Southeast -4 8 21 51

Southwest 2 6 17 51

Statewide 5 5 16 45

31

The Creative Economy, Region by Region

Table 4. Population Distribution by Region, 2006

Region Population % White % Black % Latino

Central 760,468 75 22 4

Northeast 377,563 88 10 3

Northwest 823,922 94 2 8

Southeast 317,810 57 41 2

Southwest 531,109 79 17 5

Statewide 2,810,872 81 16 5

A rkansas is a robustly diverse buthistorically economically poor,state that only recently has begun

to generate better paying jobs and newwealth. The state is far from poor, how-ever, in its arts and cultural heritage.Each of its geographic regions has, overtime, developed and preserved its uniquehistory, culture, and even quirks. Themusic of the Delta, for example, differsmarkedly from that heard in the Ozarks,and opportunities for design in the state’surbanizing regions are vastly differentthan in its rural, agricultural areas. Buteven as these distinctions shape theforms creativity takes and the way it doesand could influence community and theeconomy, the increased mobility of talentand ease of access to information areerasing hard geographic boundaries, andtraditional differences among the state’sregions are diminishing.

To determine where the creative economyclusters and distinguish the forms it takesand how it is supported in various partsof Arkansas, we used the five geographicregions designated by the ArkansasDepartment of Economic Development.Each of these regions includes multiplecounties and is anchored by one or twocities or towns or varying sizes. Theseinclude:

• Northeast region (13 counties):Jonesboro and Mountain View

• Central region (11 counties): Little Rock

• Southeast region (14 counties): Pine Bluff

• Northwest region (16 counties):Fayetteville and Fort Smith

• Southwest region (18 counties):Texarkana, El Dorado, and Camden.

The Northwest, by far the state’s fastestgrowing region, has the smallest African-American but largest Latino population(see Tables 1 and 2). The Southeast,which has lost population, has the largestnumber of African-Americans and thehighest poverty and unemployment rates.As the synopses in this chapter reveal, eachregion has creative assets, but place andcircumstance shape the economic andsocial outcomes associated with them.

The Northeast: Variety FuelsCreativityThe national perception ofArkansas’ creative heritage is rootedchiefly in the Ozark Mountains, part ofthe Northeast Arkansas economic devel-opment region that is to a large extentdistinguished by the crafts and musicassociated with the Ozarks. But NortheastArkansas offers even more variety thanthe popular traditional activities associat-ed with Mountain View’s Ozark Folk LifeCenter. Want to live where it seems everyother citizen plays a stringed instrument?Consider making Batesville your home.Want to catch up on the latest quirky lit-erary sensation, or perhaps even shakeJohn Grisham’s hand? Head for Blytheville.You might catch some of country music’sbiggest stars performing in Jonesboro,and while you’re up in the area check outsome of the world-class crafts available inMountain View or enjoy a bevy of musi-cal groups picking out new tunes on thecourthouse square.

Regional Overview

The Northeast region stretches from theMississippi River in the east to the thriv-ing population centers of the easternmostreaches of northwest Arkansas. Encom-passed by this large area are several dis-tinct sub-regions, each with its own eco-nomic and creative profile. Jonesboro,the state’s fifth largest city, is home toArkansas State University, which drivesmuch of the cultural activity in the sur-rounding communities. Culturally dis-tinct Batesville is the largest communityin the Ozark region, and Mountain View,home to many of Arkansas’ traditionalarts and crafts, is drawing growing num-bers of retirees from around the country.The rural areas that lie between thesecommunities remain sparsely populated.

With 361,266 residents, 31 percent ofwhom live in the two county metropolitanarea of Jonesboro, the Northeast is Arkan-

sas’ second smallest economic develop-ment region. It is also one of the leastracially diverse. Eighty-eight percent ofthe region’s population is white. Its Afri-can-American population is concentratedin the eastern part, Cross, Jackson, andMississippi counties having 64 percent ofthe region’s African American, but only22 percent of its total, population. Althoughseveral counties saw more robust growth,Craighead, Greene, and Stone recordingincreases of four percent or more, overallthe region’s population remained relative-ly stagnant, increasing by less than onepercent from 2000 to 2004.

Long considered one of the poorestregions in the nation, the area known asthe Ozarks has seen conditions improveover the past half-century. Although theNortheast, with poverty and unemploy-ment rates of 17.5 percent and 6.2 per-cent respectively, remains Arkansas’ sec-ond poorest region, it has seen somesigns of progress. Median family incomein Stone County, for example, increasedfrom only 31 percent of the nationalmedian in 1959 to 56 percent in 1999 -still low, but progress nevertheless.

The region’s economy is fairly diversified,with several counties more manufacturing-dependent than other parts of the state—Mississippi County, for instance, has athriving steel industry—and tourism amajor contributor in other parts of theregion, particularly the Ozarks, whichattracts visitors by virtue both of the nat-ural beauty of the area and the strong baseof traditional crafts. Two counties, Sharpand Stone, are retiree counties as definedby the U.S. Department of Agriculture:“an over-sixty population that has grownby more than 15 percent due to immigra-tion.” The draw for retirees is much thesame as for tourists, natural amenitiesand a growing affinity for the arts.

We use, among other measures, the U.S.Department of Agriculture EconomicResearch Service’s “Bohemian Index,”which registers the number of individualsemployed as artists and in related occu-

32

The national

perception

of Arkansas’

creative

heritage is

rooted chiefly

in the Ozark

Mountains...

33

Table 6. Full-Time Artists, Designers, and Performers in theNortheast Region by County, 2000

County Number Number Per 1,000 Employed

Clay County 19 2.5

Craighead County 244 6.1

Cross County 14 1.7

Fulton County 10 2.2

Greene County 71 4.2

Independence County 107 7.0

Izard County 53 10.8

Jackson County 26 3.7

Lawrence County 57 7.9

Mississippi County 55 2.7

Poinsett County 22 2.1

Randolph County 45 5.9

Stone County 30 6.9

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, 2006http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/CreativeClassCodes

pations, to assess the extent of the cre-ative economy in each region. The num-ber of artists per 1,000 employed personsin each county of the Northeast region,very likely an undercount owing to rea-sons cited earlier, is reported in Table 6.

Educational Institutions

A network of community colleges andfour-year institutions is playing an increas-ingly important role in the economy ofthe Northeast region:

• Arkansas State University inJonesboro, the region’s only publicfour-year university and the fourthlargest institution of higher educationin the state, offers through its Depart-ment of Fine Arts both bachelor’s andmaster’s degrees in music, theater,and art. The university is instrumen-tal, through its degree in arts educa-tion, in educating future teachers ofthe arts, and is also exploring non-traditional types of creative endeavoras reflected in its multi-disciplinarybachelor of science in digital mediaand design degree, which includescourses in the School of Fine Artsand communications school.

• Another significant contributor to theeconomy of the Northeast region, isthe private, four-year Lyon College,which offers undergraduate degreesin the arts and is working closelywith local music groups. Lyon alsoactively supports the Ozark FilmFest,which is becoming known nationallyknown not only for its annual pro-motion of new films but also for itseducational outreach to the region’shigh school students.

• Several of the region’s two-year col-leges offer courses in the arts. OzarkaCollege, in Melbourne, awards anassociate degree in the culinary artsto students who acquire the requisitepractical skills in operating andworking in a restaurant and cateringoperation. In 2007, the collegeopened a new dining room to afford

students hands-on experience in theart of food preparation.

• Educational offerings in theNortheast region are not limited topost-secondary institutions’ formaldegree programs. From mid-April toOctober, for example, MountainView’s Ozark Folk Center offersclasses in traditional crafts and musicas well as an annual one-week pro-gram at the Ozark Folk School thatimmerses individuals in these tradi-tional art forms, and Pocohantas’ pri-vate Studio for the Arts offers arearesidents arts programs in dance andtheater and operates a theater thatstages productions yearround.

• Finally, several regional arts councilssponsor arts programs, many aimedat young people. Jonesboro’sFoundation for the Arts, for exam-ple, offers an extensive arts anddance program that includes spring2008 classes in ballet and hip-hop aswell as in traditional crafts.

Festivals and Events

The Northeast region, like Arkansas gen-erally, hosts events and festivals through-out the year. Not included in the follow-ing 46 are numerous one-time promo-tional events.

• Nine arts and crafts shows

• Five culinary festivals

• One dance festival

• Two film festivals

• Ten festivals that celebrate theregion’s history and culture

• Six community celebrations

• Three music festivals

As certain festivals have evolved, organiz-ers have taken steps to preserve someemphasis on their roots. When theArkansas Folk Festival, for example,recently shifted its focus away from thestate’s traditional crafts and arts, a com-pensatory move was made to maintain aspart of the festival the showcasing ofproducts made in Arkansas.

Places and Spaces

The Northeast region, especially throughits institutions of higher learning, hasmany different venues for the expositionof creative endeavors. Jonesboro’s cam-pus-situated Fowler Center, for example,has hosted performances by the Memphisand Arkansas Symphonies, Vienna PianoTrio, and Larry Gatlin and the GatlinBrothers, and its 11,000-seat convocationcenter has been nearly filled by Nelly,Kelly Clarkson, and Trace Adkins andother national touring acts. Smaller per-formance venues abound as well.Historic theaters in Blytheville andJonesboro as well as Batesville’s LyonCollege and Mountain View’s Ozark FolkCenter host community performancesand smaller touring acts. In fact, one ofthe best venues for music is the lawnoutside the Mountain View courthouse,on which, on many evenings, locals andvisitors alike set up lawn chairs and listen

to pickers and musicians from aroundthe region play traditional music.

The region’s performance venues arecomplemented by a number of galleriesincluding Arkansas State University’sBradbury Gallery located at the FowlerCenter, which the university estimateshosts more than 360 arts events everyyear including the nationally recognizedDelta National Small Prints Exhibition.The region is home as well to many pri-vate galleries at which local artists canexhibit their work. Show openings ofJonesboro’s Sara Howell Gallery, whichfeatures national as well as local artists,are a highlight of the region’s artistic cal-endar, and the Arkansas Craft Guild, alsoin Jonesboro, operates a gallery thatshowcases homemade crafts from thearound the state.

Less formal venues include TheCommunity Gallery, located in a bank inClinton and open during banking hours,which enjoys the support of the NorthCentral Arkansas Foundation for the Artsand Education, and Mountain View’sannual Off the Beaten Path Studio Touraffords shoppers an opportunity to visitsome of the state’s greatest craftspeoplewho choose to exhibit their wares in thecomfort of their own studios.

Recognized as one of the nation’s premierindependent bookstores, That Bookstorein Blytheville, one of the few establish-ments visited by noted author JohnGrisham on his book tours, hosts literaryevents that attract readers from through-out the region and beyond.

Associational Infrastructure

Numerous arts councils and organiza-tions coordinate volunteers and generallysupport creative endeavors throughoutthe region. Among the most active is TheFoundation for the Arts in Jonesboro,which sponsors one of the most compre-hensive dance programs in the state. TheBatesville Symphony League, which hasmade that community a haven for string

34

...one of the

best venues

for music is

the lawn

outside the

Mountain

View court-

house,

on which,

on many

evenings,

locals and

visitors alike

set up lawn

chairs and

listen to

pickers and

musicians...

35

Foundations

are important

sources of

support for

community

artistic endeav-

ors, and

increasing the

dollars spent in

support of the

arts could

make a signifi-

cant difference

in communities

throughout the

region.

musicians, variously sponsors theArkansas Symphony Orchestra, LyonCommunity Orchestra, and NorthArkansas Youth Orchestra.

A goal of many of these organizations isto encourage the pursuit of creativity andcreative occupations by the region’syouth. Extensive youth programs areoffered by the Foundation for the Arts,and many young people learn about film-making in year-round programs spon-sored by the Ozark FilmFest.

Less formal collectives organized bymany of the region’s artists include theArkansas Craft Guild, which brings arti-sans thoughout the Ozarks together topromote shows and other events, andwas instrumental in reserving a portionof the annual Arkansas Craft Festival to“Made in Arkansas” products. The Guild-sponsored Educational Support Asso-ciation promotes the learning of tradi-tional crafts by school age children in the region.

Museums and Cultural Centers

The Ozark Folk Center is perhaps themost prominent, but by no means theonly, cultural center in the Northeastregion. Among the region’s 22 museumsand historic sites are Osceola’s MississippiCounty Heritage Center, which traces thehistory of that county, Fairfield Bay’s LogCabin Museum (a bona fide 1850 logcabin), and the Veterans MilitaryMuseum in Hardy.

Looking Ahead

Although northeast Arkansas clearly pos-sesses significant creative assets, inter-views and focus groups with area resi-dents identified several challenges thatmust be met if the region is to realize the full economic potential of its creativeeconomy. Notwithstanding impressivestrides in terms of income growth, thelegacy of persistent poverty continues topervade the region. Limits to the dispos-able income that can be spent on the artsrestricts the further expansion of the cre-

ative economy and drives local artists toseek markets and venues for their workoutside the region. Interviewees alsocited limited philanthropic resources.Foundations are important sources ofsupport for community artistic endeav-ors, and increasing the dollars spent insupport of the arts could make a signifi-cant difference in communities through-out the region. Finally, community repre-sentatives believed that local govern-ments should be forthcoming withgreater financial support for the arts, orat least greater recognition of the impor-tance of creative enterprise to the econo-my of the Northeast region.

The Southeast: Can a RichCulturalHeritage Lift aPoor Economy?Southeast Arkansas, widely referred to asthe Delta, possesses a rich cultural her-itage. One of the South’s leading culturalcenters in the early decades of the twenti-eth century, Helena boasted a famousopera house that hosted John PhilipSousa’s band and Jenny Lind as well asShakespearean companies. With theascendancy of the blues in the region, the King Biscuit Radio Hour spread thegospel from famed Helena radio stationKFFA. In keeping with its roots, theSoutheast region today is looking to itscreative assets, among them its manymuseums and festivals, to stimulate aslow-moving economy.

Regional Overview

With high unemployment and seven ofthe Arkansas’ 17 persistently poor coun-ties, the Southeast is the poorest regionin one of America’s poorest states. Notsurprisingly, it is the only region that haslost population over the past six years.Economically, the region is fairly diverse.Five counties depend on a diminishing

manufacturing sector (30 percent ormore employed) and four have agricul-tural economies.5

The region’s population is almost evenlysplit among its four metropolitan andnine non-metro counties.6 The Southeastis by far the state’s most ethnicallydiverse region, and many of its most

important cultural assets are tied to theAfrican-American community thataccounts for two-fifths of its population.

Table 7 provides a measure of the region’screative economy using the U.S.Department of Agriculture EconomicResearch Service’s “Bohemian Index.”

Educational Institutions

One of the region’s most important cre-ative assets, the state-supported, histori-cally black University of Arkansas at PineBluff (UAPB), offers degrees in art, music,and journalism as well as courses in artand graphic design. Local cultural activi-ties and artists are the focus of a universi-ty museum and gallery. The latter recent-ly featured a multimedia retrospective onPine Bluff native and internationallyrenowned jazz artist Clark Terry.

Watercolor painter Henri Linton headsUAPB’s art department and is the drivingforce behind much of the school’s cre-ative outreach.The university’s annualblack-tie Chancellor’s Benefit for the Arts,which raises funds to support its arts andcultural activities and emphasizes theimportance of the creative economy tothe region, draws luminaries from allover southeast Arkansas. The region’sother four-year institution, the Universityof Arkansas at Monticello, also offersdegrees in the arts and sponsors artsevents on campus.

The region’s four, two-year communitycolleges do not offer degrees in the finearts, but most offer degrees in graphicdesign and related disciplines.

Events and Venues: The Delta Blues and More

The Warfield Concert Series featureseverything from symphonies to popartists, yet mention Southeast Arkansas,and most people think of the blues.Some of the region’s strongest creativeassets build on this indigenous musicaltradition. For 22 years, Helena hasplayed host to the Arkansas Blues and

36

The Museum of theArkansas Grand Prairie in Stuttgart depicts the

history of agriculture and pioneers who farmed the area.

Table 7. Full-Time Artists, Designers, and Performers in theSoutheast Region by County, 2000

County Number Number Per 1,000 Employed

Arkansas County 48 5.2

Ashley County 40 4.2

Bradley County 13 2.8

Chicot County 31 6.3

Cleveland County 20 5.5

Crittenden County 114 5.5

Desha County 0 0.0

Drew County 44 5.5

Jefferson County 210 6.3

Lee County 3 0.8

Lincoln County 10 2.2

Monroe County 6 1.6

Phillips County 20 2.2

Sharp County 39 6.5

Arkansas 6.9

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, 2006http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/CreativeClassCodes

37

Delta Wolf Trap in West Memphis Delta Wolf Trap is acollaboration between performing artists and early childhoodeducation professionals that uses the arts as a way toengage children and their families in learning and in creativeexpression. The Delta region was chosen by stART smART,a program that support arts-in-education programs foryoung children, as one of three pilot sites in the country.Delta Wolf Trap serves east Arkansas, west Tennessee, andnorth Mississippi, and makes use of drama, music, andmovement in order to get children interested in learning andinvolve their families and teachers in the children’s artisticand educational development. The goal is for the arts toÒbecome a new way of teaching, learning, and knowing.Ó

Delta Cultural Center in Helena.

Gospel music

and church

musicians are

among the

region’s most

significant

creative assets.

Heritage Festival, formerly the KingBiscuit Music Festival after the sponsor of the KFFA blues radio show that is inits sixty-seventh year of broadcast. Oneof the signature events on the nationalblues calendar, the festival draws visitorsfrom around the world who want to seethe blues performed in its birthplace.Pine Bluff hosts a yearly Jazz Fest namedfor native son Clark Terry that builds onhis and others’ jazz roots, as well as ajuried barbecue competition, Smoke onthe Water, that features music that com-plements the region’s delicacies, andHelena is home to the annual ArkansasDelta Family Gospel Festival that bringsnationally renowned acts to the Deltacommunity.

Gospel music and church musicians areamong the region’s most significant cre-ative assets. Many churches employ full-time ministers of music who organizechoirs, hold concerts, and generally pro-mote their faith through music. A largeproportion of Arkansas’ African-Americanchurches, for which music is an integralpart of the ministry, are concentrated inthe Southeast region. More than 40 per-cent of the Arkansas churches of theAfrican Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church,one of the largest predominantly African-American denominations in the country,are in the Southeast, 11 churches in PineBluff alone.7 The influence of gospelmusic and church musicians is clear withrespect to congregations, but difficult to

measure outside church halls in the larg-er context of the creative economy.

College and university facilities areamong the region’s primary performancevenues. Most of the Warfield ConcertSeries events, for example, are held inPhillips Community College’s 1,200-seatFine Arts Arena.

But music is not the only cultural assetaround which southeast Arkansans liketo gather. The thousands of migratorybirds that flock to the flooded timber-lands around Stuttgart, Arkansas arejoined every Thanksgiving by more than30,000 people flocking to the World’sChampionship Duck Calling Contest andWings Over The Prairie Festival. Amongthe creative enterprises that target the

influx of hunters is Rich N’ Tone Calls,which manufactures handcrafted duckcalls that are marketed throughout thecountry. The popularity of these meticu-lously designed creations is due not onlyto their quality, but also to the fact thatthey are manufactured in the city recog-nized to be the nation’s premier water-fowl destination. Stuttgart is also home to Mack’s Prairie Winds, one of the largestoutdoor retailers in the country, whichoperates in addition to its large retailstore an extensive mail order business.

Places and Spaces: Showing off the Region’s Past andPresent

Proportionally, the Southeast region ishome to more “museums, historical sites,and similar institutions” than the state asa whole.8 The Delta Cultural Center isbut one; most counties include small his-torical museums and, as in much ofArkansas, other unique places thatemphasize more off-the-beaten-path ele-ments of life in the Delta. Pine Bluff’sBand Museum features more than 700vintage instruments, some nearly 300years old; Stuttgart’s AgriculturalMuseum highlights the region’s depend-ence on farming through exhibits thatshow how the region’s early settlers madetheir living off the land; and local artistsdisplay their work in the GuachoyaCultural Arts Center and other galleriesand exhibit halls scattered throughoutthe region. Also in Pine Bluff is the Artsand Science Center of SoutheastArkansas, in which can be found exhibitsof local and international art alongsidedisplays that explain scientific studies interms that children can understand.

Common to all these museums is thepromotion of the Delta’s rich cultural her-itage. Efforts to capitalize on the Deltabrand include the region’s Rural HeritageDevelopment Initiative, which is champi-oning a new venture called ArkansasDeltaMade. Among the products andestablishments that carry the DeltaMadelabel to indicate that they are produced

locally are Pasquale’s (hand-rolled)Tamales of Helena (“So good you’ll suckthe shuck”), Mollie’s Originals (handcraft-ed purses made in Helena), and Miller’sMud Mill (handcrafted pottery made inDesha). These and other DeltaMadeproducts featured on the web sitewww.arkansasdeltamade.com are market-ed as “products of the soil and soul.”

Even this poorest of Arkansas’ five eco-nomic regions manages to make somefinancial resources available to its culturaland arts groups. Most of a number ofaffiliates of the Arkansas CommunityFoundation provide small grants to cul-tural organizations, and the CommunityFoundation of Greater Memphis providessome cross-border support to CrittendenCounty.

Associational infrastructure

Local economic development organiza-tions and chambers of commerce organ-ize most of the region’s festivals. In part,dependence on these organizationsreflects the small number of arts councilsand other organizations that focus on cre-ative endeavors. Although the ArkansasArts Council lists only three organiza-tions in the Southeast region that can beclassified as arts councils, far fewer thanin any other region in the state, theseorganizations are extremely active.

The Crittenden Arts Council, for exam-ple, which serves West Memphis, notonly brings noted national performers tothe community, but is also active in pro-moting the arts in the local publicschools, which earns it support from thebusiness community as well as from thepublic. The organization also supportsindividual artists including the DeltaArtist Society, a number of artists in dif-ferent media who network and occasion-ally engage in joint marketing efforts. TheGuachoya Cultural Art Center in LakeVillage brings together artists in thatDelta community.

One of the region’s most important artsinstitutions is Helena’s state-supported

38

Efforts to

capitalize on

the Delta

brand include

the region’s

Rural Heritage

Development

Initiative, which

is championing

a new venture

called

Arkansas

DeltaMade.

39

The University of Arkansas at Pine BluffFine Arts Gallery hostsregular exhibitions.

Delta Cultural Center, which pursues itsmission of promoting the Delta’s historyand culture by variously organizingexhibits on blues music, sponsoring con-certs including the Arkansas Delta FamilyGospel Festival, and assisting with thepreparation of lesson plans for areaschools that offer curricula intended tofurther students’ understanding of theregion’s rich cultural heritage.

Looking Ahead

The Southeast region clearly has a strongcultural base on which to build. Its tradi-tions are steeped in the blues and thehistory of the earliest visitors to the state.But individuals interviewed for this proj-ect expressed frustration at the region’sseeming inability to capitalize on theseand other inherent strengths. An exampleis the blues music scene. Although wide-ly promoted and well attended, the bluesfestival’s future has been rendered uncer-tain by recent funding struggles of thesponsoring organization. More dauntingeven than the survival of the event is thestruggle to ensure that blues musicremains part of the local culture. Fewpublic venues in the region feature liveblues music on a regular basis, andArkansas is rarely mentioned in travelarticles in national publications that

highlight instead blues events inMemphis and across the river inMississippi, particularly Clarksdale.

There also seems to be a need to betterintegrate its African-American communityinto the region’s creative economy. Facultyreport, for example, that because it is per-ceived to be a black institution, manypeople “don’t want to come to that sideof town” to take advantage of some dynamicprogramming in the arts offered by theUniversity of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Otherinterviewees reported that African-Americanresidents did visit community wide insti-tutions such as the Southeast Arkansas’Arts and Science Center. Although amajor part of the state’s rich musical her-itage, the African-American church hasbeen neither measured nor nurtured asan asset outside the religious community.

It is also clear that the region’s limitedresource base has had a negative impacton the arts. Cultural institutions tradi-tionally thrive in areas with strong corpo-rate and philanthropic support, resourcesthe Southeast, relative to other regions ofthe state, is sorely lacking.

The Southwest: Continuing toManufacture,but LookingAhead The recent erosion of resource-basedmanufacturing and rural population losshas left southwest Arkansas, which haslong depended on its natural resources todrive its economy, struggling to develop anew formula for economic progress. Grow-ing its creative economy is becoming animportant part of the solution. Newgrassroots cultural activities are springingup throughout the region in both tradi-tional and new media, and the region isblessed with strong educational assetsthat can be leveraged to support culturaldevelopment and train creative workers.

Regional Overview

The Southwest region encompasses 18counties that stretch from the city of HotSprings in the northeast to the Oklahomaand Texas borders on the west andLouisiana border to the south. Thisregion, which descends southward fromthe ridgelines of the Ouachita Mountainsin the north to the rolling hills and pineforests of the Gulf Coastal Plain, is largelyrural. Its 427,000 residents are aboutevenly distributed, one-third in its twometropolitan areas, Hot Springs andTexarkana, another third in its “microp-olitan areas,” and the remaining third inwholly rural counties.9 Hot Springs, theregion’s largest city, has a population ofonly 38,000. Texarkana has 30,000, theabutting city of Texarkana, Texas almostanother 30,000. The next largest commu-nities, El Dorado, Camden, andArkadelphia, all have populations of20,000 or fewer.

The region’s economy is heavily resource-based. Many residents work in the farm-ing and forestry industries, many more inthe poultry processing, wood products,and paper plants that constitute a largeshare of the region’s manufacturing econ-omy. Resource-based tourism is impor-

tant in parts of the region, particularly inthe Diamond Lakes region, OuachitaMountains, and along the Ouachita River,areas that draw hikers, climbers, campers,hunters, fisherman, and other nature en-thusiasts as well as attract large numbersof vacation homeowners.

Owing in part to its resource-based man-ufacturing activity, the Southwest is theregion most heavily dependent on manu-facturing. In most counties, at least 20percent, and in some more than 30 per-cent, of the residents work in manufac-turing industries, including fabricatingmetal products, tires and automotiveparts, aerospace components, and gar-dening and landscaping tools andmachinery.

The region is facing a number of seriouseconomic challenges:

• Outmigration is a pressing concern,most non-metro counties having lostpopulation, and the region as awhole, although total population hasgrown slightly in recent years, stillsignificantly lagging the state.

• The region’s critical manufacturingsector has been incurring significantjob losses.

• Although the region’s unemploymentrate only slightly exceeds the stateaverage, poverty plagues much of theregion, particularly the southernmostcounties, in which poverty rates rou-tinely approach and even exceed 20percent.

It is in this context that creative assets areattracting greater attention as potentialcontributors to regional economic devel-opment. Tourism officials, for example,are coming to view the creative economyas complementary to the region’s estab-lished outdoor recreation market, withthe result that tourism materials areincreasingly emphasizing the region’s pic-turesque small towns with their historiccenters, numerous music, craft, and cul-tural festivals, and cultural venuesincluding museums, performing arts

40

Tourism

officials, for

example,

are coming

to view the

creative econ-

omy as com-

plementary

to the region’s

established

outdoor recre-

ation market...

41

...the Diamond

Lakes region

has further

fueled demand

for cultural

amenities.

facilities, galleries, and historic sites.These same cultural offerings are alsobelieved to be helping to make the regionan attractive locale for vacation homes.

The Southwest region’s strongest creativeassets, its music, visual arts, and culturalheritage, are being supplemented by anemerging film and video production indus-try. The region’s largest, best establishedcultural center, Hot Springs, long-stand-ing dependence on tourism has spawneda range of cultural activities, and growthin retirement and vacation home owner-ship in the city and the Diamond Lakesregion has further fueled demand for cul-tural amenities. The approximately 400artists and performers living in HotSprings in 2000 according to federal datahave likely increased in number since.

Hot Springs hosts numerous music, craft,and cultural festivals and has a thrivinggallery district, several performance ven-ues, and a number of museums andexhibit spaces. The city’s signature annualcultural events are the nationally recog-nized Hot Springs Documentary FilmFestival and Hot Springs Music Festival.In part because of the film festival andpresence of its organizer, the Hot SpringsDocumentary Film Institute, the city hasalso attracted a number of small film andvideo production businesses.

Other important concentrations of creativeassets are found in Arkadelphia, Texarkana,and El Dorado. Two universities in Arka-delphia, Henderson and Ouachita Baptist,offer degrees in a number of artistic disci-plines and provide venues for the visualand performing arts. Faculty and stu-dents of these institutions contribute sig-nificantly to the community’s cultural lifethrough performances, exhibits, and pri-vate teaching. A local arts organization inTexarkana has spurred development oftwo new major cultural facilities, a the-atre and a visual arts center, and in ElDorado a number of small-scale events,venues, and educational programs, manysupported by local philanthropic and artsorganizations, have combined to provide

a range of cultural opportunities in avariety of disciplines, primarily music,the visual arts, and dance. Cultural assetscan also be found on a lesser scale insome of the region’s smaller communitiesincluding Camden, De Queen, Hope,Magnolia, Mena, and Mount Ida.

Table 8 reports for each county in theSouthwest region the number of artists,designers, and performers and their rela-tive concentrations. The data underscorethe role played by Hot Springs (GarlandCounty), Arkadelphia (Clark County),and Texarkana (Miller County) as centersof the region’s creative economy.

Educational Institutions

The Southwest region’s creative economyenjoys considerable support, particularly

Table 8. Full-Time Artists, Designers, and Performers in theSouthwest Region by County, 2000

County Number Number Per 1,000 Employed

Calhoun County 12 5.1

Clark County 129 12.1

Columbia County 87 8.2

Dallas County 5 1.4

Garland County 400 10.9

Hempstead County 3 0.3

Hot Springs County 55 4.1

Howard County 48 7.6

Lafayette County 7 2.2

Little River County 20 3.4

Miller County 139 8.2

Montgomery County 25 6.7

Nevada County 23 5.4

Ouachita County 48 4.2

Pike County 30 6.1

Polk County 20 2.4

Sevier County 24 3.5

Union County 97 5.2

Arkansas 6.9

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, 2006http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/CreativeClassCodes

in the fine arts, from three four-year insti-tutions. Henderson University andOuachita Baptist University in Arkadelphiaand Southern Arkansas University inMagnolia as well as the two-year TexarkanaCollege offer degree programs in thevisual arts, drama, and music, the latter aparticular strength. The region also has atleast 11 private dance schools, two the-atre-affiliated drama schools, and 40music teachers offering private music les-sons or classes.

The commercial arts enjoy somewhat lessextensive support. Degrees and certifi-cates in graphic design, computer-aideddesign and drafting, web design anddevelopment, and mass media communi-cations, among other disciplines, areoffered by the aforementioned institu-tions as well as by Cossatot CommunityCollege in De Queen, National ParkCommunity College in Hot Springs, RichMountain Community College in Mena,and Southern Arkansas UniversityTechnical Branch in Camden.

Arkadelphia’s Henderson University andOuachita Baptist University both offerbachelors degree programs in a variety ofartistic disciplines. The most extensiveofferings are in music, followed by thevisual arts. Ouachita Baptist offers pro-grams in vocal studies, instrumentalstudies, church music, and theory andcomposition. Henderson offers a musicdegree with options in vocal and instru-mental music.

Ouachita Baptist also offers degrees ingraphic design and studio art. Mediumsinclude painting, drawing, ceramics,mixed media, and computer graphics.Henderson offers a degree in digital artand design. Both institutions offer

degrees in theatre arts, and Hendersonoffers a degree in mass media communi-cation. These institutions also offerdegrees in music and visual arts educa-tion, and their presence affords opportu-nities for local musicians to obtain pri-vate music instruction. Six of sevenArkadelphia music teachers listed on theArkansas Music Teachers’ Associationweb site are on the faculties of one or theother of these institutions.

Hot Springs, although the region’s majorarts and cultural center, does not have astrong post-secondary educational base,but is home to a unique public secondaryschool for which the arts is one of threeareas of academic focus. National ParkCommunity College, the city’s only high-er education institution, offers a non-degree choral music program and anassociate degree program in graphicdesign, and has proposed a degree pro-gram in photography. Texarkana College,in Texarkana, offers associate degree pro-grams in art, drama, and music, the lattercurriculum being the most extensive.Although on the Texas side of the border,the college offers in-state tuition toArkansas residents through a reciprocalagreement with the state of Arkansas.

In addition to its degree programs,Texarkana College’s continuing educationdepartment hosts the Bill Moran Schoolof Bladesmithing, a partnership betweenthe college, the American BladesmithingSociety, and the Old Washington HistoricState Park near Hope that keeps alive oneof southwest Arkansas’ most celebratedcraft traditions. At the primary and sec-ondary level, the Texarkana Regional Artsand Humanities Council works withschool districts in Texarkana and two near-by communities to introduce arts into the

42

Degrees and

certificates

in graphic

design, com-

puter-aided

design and

drafting, web

design and

development,

and mass

media com-

munications,

among other

disciplines,

are offered...

Texarkana’s ArtSmart pro-gram integrates the artsinto education by having

students get creativeincluding making a comic

strip about geometry.

Phot

oco

urte

syof

Rich

ard

Jenk

ins.

43

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts in Hot Springs is a state residentialschool for academically talented high school juniors and seniors. One of the few state math and sciencehigh schools that includes the arts in its title, it offers a wide range of programs including Art andScience of Photography, American Folk Music and Acoustics, Multi-Dimensional Art, Studio Art, and ArtHistory. Math and science students learn science through art and learn art through science. Last year,for example, the folk music and acoustics class performed ÒBack Roads to WoodstockÓ at the OuachitaLittle Theatre. President Clinton, who introduced the legislation that created the school when he wasgovernor, spoke at its 2007 commencement. The school recently introduced a documentary film pro-gram in partnership with the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute, and is contributing to documentingArkansasÕ cultural history through its Arkansas Memory Project, a student-produced archive of Arkansashistory research and teaching materials. begun in 1998, that includes official documents, publications,maps, letters, narratives, recordings, photographs, art, and other artifacts.

As shown in SouthernLiving in Hot Springs.

schools through its ArtsSmart program,whereby visiting artists help teachersintegrate the arts into daily instruction.

Southern Arkansas University (SAU) inMagnolia offers bachelors degrees in anumber of artistic disciplines includingvisual arts (studio art, graphic design),music (vocal and instrumental), theatre,and mass communication (with anemphasis on broadcast and print journal-ism) as well as advanced degrees inmusic and arts education. In nearby ElDorado, Southern Arkansas CommunityCollege offers courses, but no degree pro-grams, in the visual arts and music.Faculty members at these schools alsoprovide private music instruction inMagnolia and El Dorado.

Events and Festivals

Communities throughout southwestArkansas celebrate the region’s artisticand cultural heritage and showcaseregional and national creative talent withnumerous events and festivals. More than50 are held annually, including 13 musicfestivals (many featuring Arkansas’ home-grown bluegrass music), 11 crafts festi-vals, nine history and cultural festivals,six visual arts festivals, three culinary fes-tivals, two dance festivals, one documen-tary film festival, one literature festival,and six multi-disciplinary festivals.

Hot Springs, also the region’s majortourism destination, hosts more than 20

events and festivals annually includingjazz and gospel music festivals, craftsshows, art festivals, cultural heritage cele-brations, and dance festivals.. The HotSprings Documentary Film Festival,which shows more than 100 documen-tary films, and Hot Springs MusicFestival, which brings together for aseries of performances established andemerging classical musicians fromthroughout the United States, attract thelargest and most far-flung audiences.

The region’s smaller communities hosttheir share of cultural events and festi-

...Texarkana

and two

nearby

communities

introduce arts

into the

schools

through its

ArtsSmart

program...

vals. The Ouachita Mountain communityof Mena has a particularly active schedulewith a bluegrass festival, a monthly seriesof bluegrass concerts, a crafts festival, anarts festival, and a dance festival. ElDorado hosts five annual events that fea-ture the visual arts, music, cultural her-itage, and regional cuisine. Among themore unusual events found in thesesmaller communities are the ArkansasStorytelling Festival at De Gray LakeState Park near Bismark and the Quartz,Quiltz, and Craftz Festival in Mount Ida.

Places and Spaces

Venues for arts and cultural displays,exhibits, performances, and productionsprovided by higher education institu-tions, local governments, private non-profit organizations, and individualartists and entrepreneurs, among otherentities, include:

• At least 34 facilities that display orsell visual arts, including one artmuseum, 11 exhibition spaces, 13private galleries, and nine artists’shops and studios;

• At least 23 museums (excluding artmuseums) and four visitors’ centersfocused primarily on area and cultur-al studies;

• 10 performing arts facilities (includ-

ing theatres, concert halls, and audi-toriums) and at least eight clubs andrestaurants that regularly featuremusical performances; and

• 15 film and video production facili-ties and two music recording studios.

These venues, although scattered through-out the region, are most heavily concen-trated in Hot Springs and Arkadelphia.Hot Springs has at least 17 galleries andartists’ studios, many clustered in thecity’s Gallery District, five museumsincluding a local history museum, a sci-ence museum, a Madame Tussaud’s WaxMuseum, the Hot Springs National ParkMuseum, and a muscle car museum, andseveral clubs and restaurants that featuremusical performances. Although the citydoes not have a performing arts center,three facilities provide performance space,the largest being the Hot Springs Conven-tion Auditorium. The Hot Springs Docu-mentary Film Institute’s Malco Theatre,which presents documentary films dur-ing its 10-day Documentary Film Fest-ival, schedules other film presentationsand events throughout the rest of theyear. Hot Springs is also home to at leastnine film production businesses thanks,in part, to the presence of the Docu-mentary Film Institute. Film productionbusinesses can also be found in Mena, El Dorado, and Texarkana as well as elsewhere throughout the region.

Henderson State University and OuachitaBaptist University have provided Arka-delphia with high quality exhibit andperformance space. Henderson State’sArkansas Hall includes a 965-seat audito-rium and 162-seat studio theatre, and itsRussell Fine Arts Center includes the Har-wood Recital Hall and Russell Fine ArtsGallery. Ouachita Baptist’s Jones Perform-ing Arts Center seats 1,500 and its VerserTheater 200. Henderson also has a muse-um of natural and social history.

Associational Infrastructure

Southwest Arkansas has a fairly strongsupport structure for creative activities,

44

...local arts

groups believe

that additional

resources and

more ways to

link artists

together are

needed, as

are avenues

for producing

and marketing

their work and

strengthening

relationships

with other seg-

ments of the

community.

Ouachita Art Trail: Mena has long been the center ofactivity in Polk County, which is rich in creative history andculture. Until recently, however, the only way for tourists tobuy the wares of local artists and artisans was to happenupon their home business or booth at a local fair. Threepartners recognized this undertapped market and cametogether to address it. The Ouachita Creative CommunityCouncil, Rich Mountain Community College, and Mena ArtGallery are creating an artisan trail that marks the locationsof area craftspeople and other attractions to make themmore accessible to visitors. Once a year, as the OuachitaArt Trail studio tour, the trail will provide collaborative mar-keting for area artists. It will eventually include a brandingcomponent, with ÒOuachita CreationÓ being used to desig-nate the work of local artists.

45

especially music and the visual arts. Mostcommunities with high levels of suchactivity—Hot Springs, Arkadelphia, ElDorado, Magnolia, and Texarkana, forexample—have local arts councils or otherarts support groups. Even in communi-ties with lower levels of creative activity,such as Ashdown, Hope, and Nashville,local arts councils can be found, and anew organization is forming in Camden.Hot Springs also has a number of organi-zations that specialize in particular artis-tic disciplines including the visual arts,documentary film, and jazz. Most ruralareas lack much networking. Such localarts groups as there are believe that addi-tional resources and more ways to linkartists together are needed, as are avenuesfor producing and marketing their workand strengthening relationships with othersegments of the community.

Some local arts groups have been instru-mental in developing and operating artsfacilities, most notable among them, per-haps, the Texarkana Regional Arts andHumanities Council, which operates thecity-restored Perot Theatre that presentsmusic and theatrical performances.TRAHC also transformed a former federalcourthouse into the Regional Art Center,which presents a series of changing artexhibits. On a smaller scale, El Dorado’sSouth Arkansas Arts Center has devel-oped a multi-use facility that housesthree art galleries, a theatre, ballet andphotography studios, classroom space,and open studio space for artists.

The region’s formal philanthropic base forarts funding is limited. Four foundations,two in El Dorado, one in Arkadelphia,and one in nearby Amity, make arts andcultural grants.

Looking Ahead

Developing its creative economy holdsthe potential to generate considerableeconomic benefits for a region grapplingwith economic and demographic change.But although the Southwest region boastsa wide range of creative activities, they

haven’t yet achieved the critical massneeded to become a significant creativecluster. The challenge for the region is tobuild, coordinate, and leverage its cre-ative assets so as to catapult its creativeeconomy into a more central role in itseconomic life.

Regional branding might help. The regiondoesn’t have a well-defined cultural imagelike the Delta or Ozarks. Whether it canforge a distinctive creative identity andbecome known for unique creative prod-ucts, and whether, building on the prom-ising start of the Hot Springs DocumentaryFilm Institute and a small core of filmand video production businesses, it canbecome a center of film and video pro-duction are important questions theregion should be asking.

The region should also be exploringopportunities to more fully leverage itsconsiderable educational assets. Couldeducational resources be mobilized tospin off new creative enterprises, helpartists and musicians learn entrepreneur-ial skills, retain graduates with creativetalent, and serve as venues for network-ing and information sharing?

The region’s many independent artists,often living in isolated rural communi-ties, face the challenge of developing bet-ter ways to communicate among them-selves, with partners such as the tourismindustry, and with markets. What newtechnologies might be tapped and organi-zational structures formed to integrateand scale up disparate creative activities?

Only by finding ways to meet these chal-lenges will the region be able to morefully capitalize on the only partially tappedpotential of its creative economy.

The challenge

for the region

is to build,

coordinate,

and leverage

its creative

assets so as

to catapult its

creative econ-

omy into a

more central

role in its eco-

nomic life.

The Northwest: Creativity andRapid GrowthThroughout mostof the twentiethcentury, northwest Arkansas, whichstretches from Fort Smith to the Missouristate border, was a prototypical poorsouthern rural region that attracted fewoutsiders and had fewer minorities. TheU.S Department of Agriculture in 1980classified five of its 16 counties as having“persistent poverty.”10 The region washeavily dependent on agriculture andsome growth in manufacturing foremployment. Seven of its 16 countieswere designated “agriculture-dependent,”three “manufacturing dependent.” EurekaSprings, popular in the early twentiethcentury for its curative waters, lost muchof its rejuvenative appeal with the matur-ing of medicine.

Regional Picture

The picture of northwest Arkansas paint-ed above predates the ascendancy ofmega-retailer Wal-Mart and poultry giantTyson that transformed the region. It’s nolonger sleepy, depressed, agricultural, oreven industrial. Wal-Mart employs nearly30,000 people, its 1,200 suppliers anoth-er 12,000 or so. Add Tyson Foods, J.B.Hunt, and their respective suppliers andyou have one of nation’s densest “logisticsclusters,” one that relies on a continuousflow of highly skilled employees fromaround the world. The Northwest region,which had 30 percent of the state’s popu-lation in 2006, has since 2000 grown atmore than 14 percent, nearly three timesas fast as any other region.

Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale, andFayetteville as well as surrounding andmore remote towns are experiencingexplosive growth as new jobs are createdand business travelers pour into the area.New construction underway in andaround Bentonville, the home of Wal-Mart, in the form of 2,300 residences, 14banks, 6,600 hotel rooms, and numerous

shopping centers and restaurants is val-ued at approximately $2 billion. Thepopulation is growing so fast that a newschool is required about every sevenmonths, and the once tiny regional air-port is now served by every major airlinewith non-stop flights to Los Angeles,Chicago, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Houston,and the Research Triangle, among otherdestinations.

The need to attract workers from all overthe world is one reason arts and culturehave become so important to the region.Although its communities have a strongcultural heritage in traditional music andarts, the region has not been able to com-pete for young talent with urban hubslike Austin, Atlanta, Memphis, or the Re-search Triangle. The influx of more archi-tects, interior decorators, people emplo-yed in the architectural crafts, and land-scape and web designers means an evengreater demand for art and cultural events.

To the east, the historic Eureka Springs in Carroll County has experienced aneconomic resurgence as a magnet forartists and writers and a popular site forweddings and conventions. Nearly 38percent of the county’s work force, morethan six times the state average, is em-ployed in the arts, entertainment, recre-ation, accommodations, and food servic-es, and the county was recognized as anational “Rural Arts Haven” in a recentU.S. Department of Agriculture paper.Boone and Benton counties are both wellabove the national average in concentra-tion of artists, performers, and designers,and the region’s largest cities, Fayettevilleand Fort Smith, are increasingly relyingon the arts and culture and investing indowntown cultural districts to competefor the new people and companies andtheir incomes.

The entire region is attracting large num-bers of retirees, also major consumers ofthe arts and culture. Six northwest Arkan-sas counties were designated “retirementcounties,” defined by the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture as having an over-sixty

The need to

attract workers

from all over

the world is

one reason

arts and cul-

ture have

become so

important to

the region.

46

The Communication ArtInstitute, a writers’ colonyin Eureka Springs.

population that has grown by more than15 percent due to immigration.

The region is now beginning to get atten-tion in the national press. The New YorkTimes travel section, for example, featured:

• Fayetteville in April 2006, calling it“flush with youth, culture and natu-ral beauty, a college town that lovesits football, but . . . also has a grow-ing arts and music scene, a historicdowntown with a 19th centurysquare, galleries, farmers markets andarts festivals, the Walton Arts Center,and good restaurants”;

• Eureka Springs in 2007, describing itas “some weird cross of Asheville, NCand Oak Bluffs, MA, all perched onthe side of a hill that would makeSan Francisco proud and topped witha grand old hotel. In short, it’s fun.”

Construction of the Crystal BridgesMuseum of American Art is well under-way on a 100-acre site in Bentonville.Designed by world-renowned architectMoshe Safdie, the museum is the talk ofthe art world. The 100,000 square footbuilding, which will house three gal-leries, a public education learning centerwith an auditorium, a professional educa-tion area, and visitor services includingmeeting spaces, museum store, and din-

ing areas, is expected to bring hundredsof thousands of visitors annually to theregion when it opens in 2010.

Table 9. Full-Time Artists, Designers, and Performers in theNorthwest Region by County, 2000

County Number Number Per 1,000 Employed

Baxter County 106 7.0

Benton County 575 8.0

Boone County 144 9.5

Carroll County 210 17.9

Crawford County 111 4.8

Franklin County 19 2.5

Johnson County 10 1.0

Logan County 45 4.9

Madison County 28 4.5

Marion County 55 2.7

Newton County 17 4.8

Pope County 146 5.9

Scott County 10 2.1

Searcy County 13 4.2

Sebastian County 438 8.3

Washington County 885 11.5

Arkansas 6.9

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, 2006http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/CreativeClassCodes

47

Educational Institutions

The region’s leading educational institu-tions play a significant role in supportingits creative economy.

• The University of Arkansas’ School of Architecture in Fayetteville wonnational recognition in 2007 fromthe Association of Collegiate Schoolsof Architecture, American Institute of Architects, and American Instituteof Architecture Students, and theCommunity Design Center, also inFayetteville, won two awards fordesign education.

• The University of Arkansas’ MFAprogram spans ceramics, design,painting, printmaking, photography,and sculpture, and has, since 1966,included one of the strongest gradu-ate creative writing programs in thecountry with courses in poetics andfiction theory as well as traditionaland contemporary literature.

• The University of Arkansas’ MFAprogram also includes film and com-munications, although not with a fulldegree, but strong enough to affordactors “equity contract points.”

• Northwest Arkansas CommunityCollege’s Communications & ArtsDivision has a graphic design degree

program, communication arts, per-forming and visual arts, and an asso-ciate of arts degree that transfers to a baccalaureate.

• Arkansas Tech, in Russellville at thesouthern edge of the region, hasdepartments of art and music withmajors in fine arts, graphic design,and music.

• North Arkansas College in Harrison,in its liberal arts, not occupational,track, offers programs in studio art,multimedia, and graphics and webdesign.

• The University of the Ozarks in Clarks-ville, the first racially integrated col-lege west of the Mississippi, hosts theWalton Fine Arts Center, a state-of-the-art performing arts complex.

The New Design Center in Fayettevillehas become the first school of design inthe state. Founded in 2005 by SoniaGuttiérrez to “put Arkansas on the mapin design,” the center offers a two-year,68-credit certification program in digitaldesign that includes graphic design, multi-media, games, video design, and webdesign as well as the business skills need-ed to convert creativity into income.

The region is also home to 23 privateschools of art, music, and dance includ-

48

The region

is also home

to 23 private

schools of art,

music, and

dance includ-

ing the Eureka

Springs School

of the Arts...

Eureka Springs School of the Arts, in western

Arkansas, which offersmore than 40 summer

workshops and year-longclasses for youth and

for adults.

49

ing the Eureka Springs School of theArts, which has master classes and sum-mer workshops for adults and youth in awide range of disciplines including clay,acrylics, woodturning, drawing, photog-raphy, and jewelry. The Main Street Crea-tive Community Center, also in EurekaSprings, offers after-school arts programsfor youth and evening programs foradults. Another 46 individuals offer pri-vate lessons or classes.

Events and Festivals

The more than 200 major annual events,fairs, and festivals that feature, market, orhighlight the art, design, entertainment,and history of the Northwest region,which do not include the many one-timeevents organized to celebrate a particularoccasion or experience, include:

• 30 arts and crafts shows;

• three children’s events;

• 105 community celebrations;

• 13 culinary festivals;

• three performing arts events;

• four design shows;

• six film festivals;

• four literary events;

• 10 pageants and parades; and

• 37 nature or seasonal festivals.

In 2006, the second annual FayettevilleArts Festival generated $50,000 in sales,more than double the previous year’s total.

Places and Spaces

From the largest performing arts centersto local art galleries and the walls of cof-fee shops, any places or spaces explicitlybuilt or designated for the production,marketing, or display of art, design, orculture constitutes a regional asset.Consider, for example, the following:

• Fayetteville is designating and zoninga downtown cultural arts district tohelp it leverage its heritage and cul-ture and stem the flow of businessesto suburban malls.

• Fayetteville’s Walton Arts Center lastyear presented a Broadway series, danceseries, international musicians, sym-phonies, and world-class performers,and supported in-school residencies.

• Fort Smith created in its conventioncenter an “Artplace” with paintingsand sculptures, held a reception, soldthe art, and selected 12 sculptures tobe strategically situated throughoutthe city to enrich the environment.

• Springdale’s Arts Center of theOzarks, which has been supportingand promoting the area’s arts formore than four decades, hosts con-certs, children’s theatre, crafts fairs, a gallery, and food festivals.

• Eureka Springs’ historic auditorium,opened in 1928 with a concert byJohn Phillip Souza, has since featuredsuch stars as Ray Charles, Judy Collins,Bill Cosby, Bela Fleck, Emmy LouHarris, Alison Krause, Lyle Lovett,and Randy Newman.

Music, especially, is not confined to the-atres or centers in the Northwest region.No fewer than 13 restaurants, seven cof-fee houses, and 18 clubs, heavily concen-trated in Washington County and aroundthe university, regularly schedule appear-ances by musicians. The region alsoboasts 44 film and 24 music studios.

Eureka Springs is also among Northwestregion cities that have devised uniqueways to use space. In a downtown park-ing lot lined with art, during “Lucky 13Starlight Outdoor Cinema” weekends,classic movies alternate with recent hitsprojected on the side of a building, com-plemented by pre- and post-movie liveentertainment (and sometimes outdoorslumber parties).

The Arkansas Arts Councils list 47 artgalleries in the Northwest region, 25 inEureka Springs, four in Bentonville andFayetteville, and the remainder distrib-uted among the other eleven communi-ties. Increasingly, restaurants (includingEureka Springs’ Mud Street Café and

Cottage Inn Restaurant), coffee shops,specialty stores, and even bed and break-fasts are displaying and selling art, andsome of the world’s best-known designersare represented in Abetica’s showroom, agallery of designer furnishings in Rogers.One issue artists face as the region growsand becomes more prosperous is cost.Artists surveyed in Fayetteville in 2005indicated a need for more affordable stu-dios and housing and more venues toreach markets.

Associational Infrastructure

The creative economy of the Northwestregion is locally organized, generallywithin specific disciplines and mainly inthe crafts and performing arts. Fayette-ville is home to a dance coalition andblues society, Bull Shoals to an arts andhumanities council, and Siloam Springsto the Sager Creek Arts Association.Harrison and the rural Subiaco have artscouncils and Gentry a fine arts society.Some are membership organizations; others host affairs at which their con-stituents can meet and interact. We foundfew examples of regional organizationalforums for any of the other elements ofthe creative economy. Social relationsamong those involved in design, mediaarts, and culture seem to depend onnational professional associations andinformal connections, often made at themany events and festivals the regionhosts throughout the year.

Museums and Cultural Centers

The Northwest region is home to 46museums ranging from the Wal-Martstore in Bentonville, Old Jail Museum inGreenwood, and Frog Fantasies in EurekaSprings, to Snake World in Berryville, tomuseums of art and science includingCrystal Bridges in Bentonville, which,when it opens in 2010, will contain thenation’s largest collection of American art.

Looking Ahead

As the state’s fastest growing region, north-west Arkansas’ greatest challenge will be

to distinguish itself from other rapidlydeveloping metro areas by managing itsgrowth and urbanization in ways thatretain its cultural heritage and give newand old citizens alike a sense of place.

New residents brought by new jobs offertremendous opportunities for the creativeeconomy, as clients for designers andarchitects, consumers of goods, and col-lectors of art. Crystal Bridges is expectedto attract tens of thousands of new visi-tors each year. Creative amenities will playa large part in attracting the kind of tal-ented employees the new industries needand in enticing tourists to stay longer. Theregion’s educational systems will bearsome of the responsibility for helpingpeople to learn the competencies neededby the new businesses including the cre-ative enterprises that provide services andsupport as well as arts-related experiences.

New residents and businesses will alsoincrease the diversity to the region, gen-erally a positive attribute in building cre-ative economies and attracting talent. Itwill be a challenge to integrate old andnew in a region not so long ago ratherisolated, and to maintain traditions andpreserve positive aspects of the culturewhile catering to new forms of growth.

The CentralRegion: Little Rock and BeyondEleven-countycentral Arkansas is a diverse and thrivingregion in which the creative economy isexpressed in many forms: through thedesign-based manufacturing firms Kohlerand Munro Shoes, through fine arts ven-ues such as the Chamber Music Societyof Little Rock, through culture- and localhistory-based celebrations such as theMalvern Brickfest, and through the cellu-loid creations presented at the OzarkFoothills Filmfest. Urban and somewhatwealthier than much of the rest of the

50

Creative

amenities will

play a large

part in attract-

ing the kind

of talented

employees the

new industries

need and in

enticing

tourists to

stay longer.

51

Table 10. Full-Time Artists, Designers, and Performers in theCentral Region by County, 2000

County Number Number Per 1,000 Employed

Conway County 46 5.4

Faulkner County 318 7.5

Grant County 34 4.5

Lonoke County 56 2.3

Perry County 3 0.7

Prairie County 18 11.4

Pulaski County 1744 10.1

Saline County 341 8.5

Van Buren County 62 15.9

White County 117 4.0

Woodruff County 8 9.9

Yell County 28 11.1

Arkansas 8127 6.9

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, 2006http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/CreativeClassCodes

Seven

institutions of

higher

education

contribute

significantly

to the

Central

region’s

creative

economy.

state, the Central region enjoys a strongconcentration of Arkansas’ creative assets.

Regional Overview

The eleven most urban counties of thehighly urbanized Central region togetheraccount for more than 33 percent ofArkansas’ total population and includenot only the state’s most populous city,Little Rock, but half of its ten largestcities. It has a slightly higher householdincome than the state’s other regions, andrelatively more households in the wealth-iest, and fewer in the poorest, brackets.

The region’s economy has a strong white-collar emphasis. Much of employment is concentrated in professional services,government, education, and sales, althoughmanufacturing and construction and trans-portation and logistics are strong. Inthese three categories, the Central regionappears to be beginning to successfullyshift towards new, globally competitiveindustries. Its manufacturing strengths,for example, traditionally bricks, lumber,and paper, are transitioning to advancedmaterials, biomanufacturing, and aero-space. The region’s foundation in foodprocessing also remains strong and con-tinues to attract new firms.

But the creative economy does not seemeven to be on the radar screen in theregion’s economic profiles and strategicplans. A 2004 strategic economic devel-opment plan by Angelou Economicsmakes no mention of creativity or thearts. Tourism is widely seen to be impor-tant to the area, though, and with manyof the region’s significant tourism assetsbased on creativity, tourism-relatedstrategies for economic developmentwould be likely to involve creative assetsin some way. Certainly, the proportion ofartists to the overall employment baseseems to suggest that a degree of impor-tance attaches to the creative economy.

Educational Institutions

Seven institutions of higher educationcontribute significantly to the Central

region’s creative economy. The Universityof Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) offersbachelors degrees in studio art and arthistory and masters degrees in both andin art education. Its three fine arts gal-leries accept exhibition proposals fromlocal artists, providing not only an im-portant public venue for them but alsoopportunities for the local community to experience art (university faculty regularly offer lectures related to thegallery installations that are free andopen to the public). A minor in digitalgraphics enables UALR students to pur-sue more industry-specific arts educa-tion and training.

The University of Central Arkansas inConway provides gallery space in itssmall Baum Gallery of Fine Arts and stu-dent-run Black Box Gallery. Somewhatmore application focused than UALR’sprogram, its arts instruction leads todegrees in art education, art history,ceramics, graphic design, painting, pho-tography, printmaking, and sculpture.

The region’s educational institutions alsooffer a number of performance-related

degree programs including several inmusic, dance, and theater. Central BaptistCollege’s music program is among themore interesting, offering music as adegree with a minor in business, Chris-tian counseling, or religious education.This program structure reveals an elementof Arkansas culture that became clear atthe beginning of this study: that music,like the visual arts, can be “applicationoriented,” experienced not only as per-formance, but also as a part of many pur-suits and occupations, particularly as re-late to African-American faith institutions.

North Little Rock’s College of AspiringArtists, embedded in Shorter College’stwo-year associates degree program, combines the study of music and busi-ness applications, but from a novel per-spective. TCAA brings business, sales,and management know-how to bear onthe world of music with the goal ofteaching students not only how to refineand improve their performing, playing,and songwriting abilities, but also how to manage the external aspects of themusic business.

Events and Festivals

Tourism is a significant contributor tocentral Arkansas’ economy, and theregion’s creative assets, together with theareas natural beauty and amenities, areamong the primary drivers of tourism. Ata series of outdoor business events knownlocally as Little Rock’s “Big DowntownThursdays,” for example, local musicianscreate an environment conducive to casu-al networking while local artists create

and sell visual art on site. Another exam-ple is “Making ‘It’ in Arkansas,” a round-table on filmmaking in the state thatincludes discussion of what it offersnovice and seasoned filmmakers.

The region is particularly rich in festivalsand events. The following inventory,which excludes the region’s many ad hocfestivals and special events staged as one-time celebrations, is likely an undercount:

• 18 music festivals

• 21 crafts festivals

• Nine culinary festivals

• 10 festivals celebrating some aspect oflocal or Arkansas history and culture

• Three literature festivals

• 12 additional festivals that are multi-disciplinary or celebrate dance, film,or the visual fine arts

Bringing art and creative endeavors outinto the open for everyone to experienceand enjoy contributes to the quality oflife in the region, important not only forits own sake, but also for its effect on the desirability of the region as a place to live and for businesses to locate. Apublic that comes to live with and enjoythe presence of art and creative displaysis more likely to consume the work oflocal artists and craftspeople, and attendthe festivals at which that work is madeavailable.

Places and Spaces

Some of the most distinctive venues forthe presentation and experience of art are found on the campuses of the Central

52

A public that

comes to live

with and enjoy

the presence

of art and cre-

ative displays

is more likely to

consume the

work of local

artists and

craftspeople...

Right and Left Brain Learning at Parkridge Magnet High School for Mathematics, Sciences, andthe Arts: Arkansas has what might be the nationÕs only magnet school that combines typically left brainlearning of math and science with typically right brain learning associated with the fine arts. Serving threeschool districts in Pulaski County, the 300- student school enrolls 100 in the fine arts each year. The cur-rent National Merit Scholar semi-finalist is a drama student. Learning in this unique institution is interdisci-plinary, with science students taking arts classes, fine arts students taking math and science, and all inter-mingling and exchanging experiences. The schoolÕs annual spring musical is open to all, and more thanonce a lead part has gone to a science student.

53

region’s institutions of higher education.The University of Central Arkansas’ SilasD. Snow Fine Arts Building, for example,houses Centre Stage, a fully equipped,307-seat proscenium stage with adjoiningshop areas for scenery and costume con-struction. Also on UCA’s Conway campusare the Studio Theatre, a newly equipped“black box” space, and the Donald W.Reynolds Auditorium, a new, 1,200 seat,state-of-art equipped performance hallwired for live radio and television broad-casts. On the Hendrix College campuscan be found two performing arts venues,Staples Auditorium and Cabe Theater.

In the region’s many less formal venues,performance, although secondary to, isnevertheless closely allied with, the estab-lishments’ primary function. Performersin restaurants, clubs and bars, and coffee-houses, for example, enhance the envi-ronment and create an atmosphere that is conductive to eating, drinking, andsocializing. The Central region has nofewer than:

• 36 clubs and coffeehouses that dis-play local art on their walls or pro-vide venues for live music;

• nine restaurants that do the same;

• 14 halls and auditoriums; and

• eight higher education venues.

Spaces specifically set aside for the expo-sition of the arts or culture include Cad-ron Settlement Park (or, assuming a “looser”definition of culture, Pickles Gap Village)in Conway, the sculpture Promenadealong Little Rock’s River Front, and thestill developing historical and arts dis-trict of downtown North Little Rock.

Associational Infrastructure

Because central Arkansas is home to the state capital, it has as well as manyorganizations and institutions that sup-port the creative assets and economy ofthe region many others that have state-wide responsibilities. The organizationalinfrastructure that serves as the founda-tion for the Central region’s creativeeconomy is consequently not organizedalong disciplinary lines to the degree thatit is in the other regions of the state.Twenty-one of its arts organizations andguilds are multi-disciplinary. Seven ofthese are foundations or exclusivelyfunding organizations. The other four-teen are broad-based organizations suchas arts or culture councils that promote awide range of creative endeavors. Sevenof the twenty-one multi-disciplinaryorganizations have a statewide mission.

The Gann Museum inBenton commemoratesthe town’s bauxite mininghistory – starting with thisdistinctive building, theonly known structure inthe world made entirelyout of bauxite.

The other fourteen are focused on small-er units such as towns or counties. (Thearts organizations generally do not organ-ize along regional lines, but rather tendto be either local or statewide.)

Among the arts organizations in theCentral region that do organize along dis-ciplinary lines are:

• seven organizations that are focusedon drama;

• four organizations that promotedance;

• 19 organizations that perform or pro-mote music; and

• three visual arts and crafts organizations.

Looking Ahead

With its strong base of creative and arts-based assets, the Central region is rich increative and cultural experiences andopportunities. Its urban centers, centrallocation, relative wealth, and role as thestate’s capital all confer advantages notshared by the state’s other regions. Itschallenge now is to exploit these advan-tages in a way that makes the arts not

only a pleasing amenity and touristattraction, but an integral part of thelocal economy.

The region’s creative economy, however,as noted earlier, is not mentioned in itseconomic development strategic plans,seeming to be regarded as an economicfactor only to the extent that it providesactivities for tourists. This is a trap that is easier for the Central region to fall in-to because, unlike other (in many casespoorer) regions of the state, its creativeeconomy activities and offerings are notorganized along the lines of any particu-lar cultural identity. The Delta blues,Ozark folk traditions, even eclectic ex-pressions of the northwest are culturalidentifications directly connected to therespective locales’ primary modes of cre-ative expression and the types of creativegoods for which they have come to beknown. If its creative economy is to beadvanced and its impact on the overalleconomic fortunes of central Arkansasincreased, the Central region will need to tease out its cultural identity andexplore how to develop its creative as-sets within the context of that identity.

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55

Previewing Opportunities and Challenges

The Delta Cultural Centerin downtown Helena is amuseum of the heritageand culture of theArkansas Delta.

The state of Arkansas has a sizablereserve of assets to offer its creativebusinesses and people. They rest in

the state’s educational institutions, calen-dar of events, and places in which cre-ativity is developed, displayed, andshown. They reside in the organizationsthat represent, and that fund and serve,creative enterprises and people, and inoriginal products produced by those peo-ple and enterprises. Some of these assetshave been planned and managed at thestate level, others at the community level.Some are the ideas of inspired citizenswanting to serve their communities, oth-ers commercial ventures expecting tomake a profit. Taken together, the assetsthat we have been able to uncover inboth expected and unexpected placesconstitute a solid foundation forArkansas’ creative economy. Nonetheless,these assets also reveal gaps, where astronger support system might generatenew opportunities and greater success inadvancing the creative economy, especial-ly in the rapidly growing media, digital,and design markets. This final sectionsummarizes the opportunities and chal-lenges identified by our analysis:

Although the creative economy, broadlydefined, encompasses a wide range ofindustry sectors and companies, it can besubdivided into sets of companies withlike characteristics. The previous reportdefined four such sub-clusters.

• Visual, literary, and performing artsincludes artists and artisans, photog-raphers, writers and publishers, andart schools.

• Entertainment and media artsincludes radio and television stations,recording studios, bookstores, andfilm production companies.

• Product and environmental designincludes architects and interior deco-rators, graphic design and culinaryarts, and ornamental ironwork com-panies.

• Cultural heritage and preservationincludes museums, historical sites,historic preservation and renovationefforts, and foundations.

Because some companies and arts institu-tions fit more than one category, the sub-clusters are not mutually exclusive. Butviewing the creative economy throughthe lens of these sub-clusters neverthe-

less makes it easier to observe regionalstrengths and weaknesses, identify newopportunities, and formulate strategiesfor plugging gaps.

Arkansas’ Creative Economy: Overview of Assets, Opportunities,and Challenges What emerged from the focus groups,interviews, and analyses was an apprecia-tion for the state’s artistic and culturalstrengths, the opportunities available toit, and the challenges it faces in trying tofurther develop the economic potential of its creative economy, particularly in itspoorer and more rural communities.

STRENGTHS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Creative expression is ubiquitous. State-wide, Arkansans engage daily in a widevariety of creative activities. Whetherestablishing a small museum to celebratetheir community’s local heritage or par-ticipating in small-town community the-ater or online poetry blogs, residentsexhibit a strong propensity towards cre-ative activity and creative expression.Even in communities in which no signifi-cant economic contribution of the artsand creativity is in evidence, the ground-work is laid in the form of interest in andappreciation for the creative elements oflife. A creative economy emerges whencommunities build upon this foundationof natural creativity and link it to localand regional economies.

Arkansas’ educational system values thearts. Appreciation for the arts starts earlyand runs deep in Arkansas. The arts haveretained a more prominent position inArkansas’ than in most other states’ pub-lic K-12 education, and the state is hometo one of very few state math and scienceschools that have added the arts. TheArkansas School of Math, Science andthe Arts provides an exemplary model forintegrating left and right brain thinking.A number of Arkansas communities,moreover, are participating in the state’sArts in the Schools program. This brings

artists into the schools to share their cre-ativity with the students in order to helpto keep creative traditions alive, especial-ly in disciplines related to the local com-munity’s artistic heritage.

Creative people are attracted to Arkansas.The state’s abundant natural resourcesand beauty, and attendant recreationalactivities and life styles, attract creativepeople. These natural resources, togetherwith a relatively low cost of living, makeArkansas an ideal place for artisans,designers, and high-tech entrepreneurs to live and work.

Arkansans feel a strong sense of place.Arkansans’ sense of place is rooted intheir identification with the creative andcultural economy. Interviews and focusgroups revealed a strong common theme:that Arkansans feel a strong attachmentto, and appreciate the distinctiveness oftheir state, their regions, and their towns.This is reflected in widespread interest inand commitment to celebrating local her-itage and issues of local interest as well asin the embracing of homegrown andindigenous products and creative andcultural traditions.

Infrastructure supports creative sectors.The arts, design, and related organiza-tions that form a support infrastructurefor the creative economy at the state,regional, and local levels are mostlyfocused on niches in which they provideinformation to, and support the work of, their constituencies with the goal ofbringing the experience of art and designto all Arkansans.

CHALLENGES AND NEEDS

Greater statewide coordination across thecreative economy. Arkansas has manystrong arts-focused organizations, but nosingle organization that ties all the piecestogether, that represents all of the state’screative economy constituencies and doc-uments their needs and successes. TheArkansas Arts Council’s role is an impor-tant one, but it is not to be a statewidecoordinating body for all sectors of the

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Arkansans’

sense of place

is rooted in

their identification

with the cre-

ative and cul-

tural economy.

57

Many institu-

tions of higher

education pro-

vide valuable

and, in some

instances,

innovative

sources of

instruction in

creative and

arts-related

fields.

creative economy. With creative activitywidely dispersed throughout the state,new organizational structures and com-munications methods might be needed to promote information sharing, net-working, and collaboration among cre-ative individuals and enterprises.

More emphasis on, and coordinationamong, creative economy career pathswithin higher education. Many institu-tions of higher education provide valu-able and, in some instances, innovativesources of instruction in creative andarts-related fields. What is lacking is aunified leadership group to coordinatetheir activities and a statewide strategyfor leveraging their resources to advancethe creative economy. Coordinationbecomes increasingly important as thecontribution of these assets to the state’screative economy grows.

Economic development entities’ limitedunderstanding of and appreciation for thepotential of the creative economy.Chambers of Commerce and economicdevelopment organizations, in rural areasin particular, are not sufficiently informedabout, and focused on, the state’s creativeeconomy. Economic development practi-tioners generally do not appreciate thefull scope of the economic roles, poten-tial, and contributions of that economy.

Cultural constituencies within the state’screative economy are isolated. Racialdivides persist within the creative econo-my. Although their culture and art areimportant elements of that economy, theAfrican-American and growing Latinocommunities are only slowly, and withdifficulty, becoming involved in formalarts activities that include a variety ofethnic and racial traditions.

Arkansas does not have a widely recog-nized creative identity. Some Arkansasregions and communities have well-established creative economy brand iden-tities, but the state as a whole does not. Itcontinues to be viewed as agriculturaland industrial. Crystal Bridges will be amajor factor in changing that image, but

it will take a focused effort to extend anew image from the northwest corner tothe entire state.

Drilling Down into the Sub-ClustersEach of the four sub-clusters has a par-ticular set of strengths and challengesaround which it can build a frameworkfor future actions and recommendations.

The visual, literary, and performing arts

This is the sub-cluster most commonlyassociated with the creative economy, andis, in fact, a major source of its content.Although artists, writers, and performersare numerous, Arkansas is best knownfor its literary arts and music traditions,particularly in the Ozarks and Delta.Notwithstanding formidable pockets thathave gained national recognition, the artsand crafts are less visible statewide.

STRENGTHS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Deep strengths in specific creative niches.The literary arts, in particular, have arich, deep tradition in Arkansas, reachinginto every corner of the state. An expan-sive base of support that includes strongcollege and university creative writingprograms, networks of published andyet-to-be published authors, literary festi-vals, venues for readings, a well-knownwriters colony, multiple online and printliterary journals, and bookstores has enabledArkansas to turn out a plethora of goodand great writers.

Gospel and choir music in the African-American churches, though it often goesunnoticed in measures of the creativeeconomy, is nevertheless a significant cre-ative asset. The College of AspiringArtists is exemplary among efforts toblend the cultural, social, educational,and economic potential of gospel music.

Traditional creative roots that continue tobe nourished today. Many communitieshave maintained strong folk craft tradi-tions to the present day, some even con-tinuing to develop and revitalize them.

Examples include Mountain View’s folkmusic and the state’s extensive networkof quilters.

World-class creative communities. Thearts and crafts communities of EurekaSprings and Hot Springs, both highlight-ed in recent editions of “The 100 Best ArtTowns in North America,” are already onAmerica’s cultural map. When complete,Crystal Bridges will elevate the entireNorthwest region to a new level in the artworld, and has the potential to changethe cultural landscape of Arkansas. Thesuccess of these regions in attractingattention and tourists from around theworld needs to be leveraged to brand theentire state.

Local networking among artists and arti-sans. Artists in many communities haveestablished with their peers social andbusiness networks, and arts councils incommunities such as Texarkana and Jones-boro are playing a major role in promotingthe arts and culture. This work is beingdone in other communities by smaller,volunteer-led groups such as MountainView’s Off the Beaten Path Tours.

CHALLENGES AND NEEDS

Expanded and reoriented educational pro-grams. The many programs related to the

creative economy offered by the state’shigher education institutions are viewedas fine arts and cultural assets, not aseconomic opportunities. Programs inhow to start and manage a businessenterprise in the arts are still underdevel-oped at most of these institutions. Al-though the “arts” part of Arkansas Schoolof Math, Science and the Arts has beenunderfunded. progress has been madeand this reflects the ingenuity and per-sistence of the administration and staff.

Business needs of artists. Many artistsexpressed a need for help in pricing,marketing, and selling their artwork, andmany who currently sell primarily to thetourist trade would like to export theirart as well. Many also are finding studiospace and art-congenial housing harderto come by, particularly in regions enjoy-ing growing economic and cultural pros-perity (Fayetteville and the Northwestregion, for example). Communities inwhich real estate costs are rising beyondwhat artists can afford risk pushing outone of the assets primarily responsible fortheir prosperity.

Stronger connections between the philan-thropic and creative communities. Foun-dations are viewed by artists and culturalorganizations throughout the state as

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Communities

in which real

estate costs

are rising

beyond what

artists can

afford risk

pushing out

one of the

assets primarily

responsible for

their prosperity.

Arkansas artists registry, a service of the

Arkansas Arts Council that provides web links

to member artists.

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The blues, for

example, has

deep roots in

the Arkansas

Delta, and

is part of the

cultural and

regional identity

of those who

live there, par-

ticularly the

African-American

population. Yet

the Delta real-

izes little eco-

nomic impact

from its blues

heritage.

being less than forthcoming with fundingfor creative economy activities and proj-ects. That this study’s analysis identifiedthe strong base of foundations and phil-anthropic corporate support for the artsas a strength suggests that either this baseis not being fully capitalized upon or itssupport is not being well communicated.Whichever is the case, connectionsbetween potential supporters and the artscommunity need to be strengthened.

Entertainment and new media

Although this sector of the Creative Econ-omy has not been particularly well endowednor well known, the technical and digitalsides of the arts are important becausethe state is investing in them in its schoolsand their market potential is significant.

STRENGTHS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Recognized strength in the documentariesniche. The importance and value of doc-umentary films is growing. Examples ofthis include, the My Community pro-grams in which high school students pro-duce documentaries of their home towns,the ascendancy of the nationally knownHot Springs Documentary Film Instituteand its work with the Arkansas School ofMath, Science and Arts, and the OzarkFoothills Filmfest with its focus onArkansas subjects.

Filmmaking skills and opportunities inthe schools. The EAST program is making

a connection between the digital andmedia arts and science in Arkansas highschools, and giving young people ideasabout career opportunities in these fields.Also contributing in this area is the TTauri Filmfest, at which youth films areshowcased and earn awards. And, an on-line community extends the reach of theseefforts to budding filmmakers in some ofthe state’s most rural communities.

Growth in film production. The numberof films produced in Arkansas has grown,from one or two per year in the 1980s, to four or five per year in the 1990s, tomore than ten per year since 2000.

CHALLENGES AND NEEDS

Increased marketing and development ofAfrican-American arts. Arkansas’ creativeeconomy has some unique and distinc-tive aspects that should constitute enor-mous assets. The blues, for example, hasdeep roots in the Arkansas Delta, and ispart of the cultural and regional identityof those who live there, particularly theAfrican-American population. Yet theDelta realizes little economic impact fromits blues heritage. The Arkansas Bluesand Heritage Festival (formerly the KingBiscuit Blues Festival), for example, al-though it is national in scope and bringsin tourist dollars, draws too little onDelta-based musicians for performancesand has little connection with the Delta’slocal and regional economies.

Table 11. Films Produced in Arkansas

Years Motion pictures Documentaries TV series or films Total

Prior to 1970 10 2 1 13

1970-1975 13 0 1 14

1976-1980 13 0 2 15

1981-1985 6 0 6 12

1986-1999 25 0 6 31

1991-1995 15 0 6 21

1996-2000 22 1 3 26

2001-2005 30 5 11 46

2006-2007 26 10 13 49

Distance from entertainment and newmedia power centers. The US entertainmentand media industries are based primarilyon the two coasts. To make and maintainconnections with these power hubs requiresovercoming the disadvantages of distanceand being removed from the “scene.” Atthe very least, it requires travel and cre-ative ways to build relationships.

Intense competition among states for film-ing locations. Other states, such as neigh-boring Louisiana, have devised com-pelling and attractive incentive programsthat draw filmmakers. Arkansas lackssuch programs.

More attention to the media arts in com-munity college programs. Many of theskills needed to capitalize on thestrengths of the entertainment and mediaarts would logically be developed incommunity colleges. Because the com-munity colleges have not yet developedthe capacity to build those skiils, out-of-state film crews often bring in their ownworkforce, and the Arkansas loses out onthe jobs and the revenues..

Relatively few recording studios. The rela-tively small number of recording studios(proportionate to what would be expect-ed for the state’s population) hinders thedevelopment of local semi-professionaland emerging musicians who need torecord in order to market themselves andbuild their reputations.

Product and environmental design

This sub-cluster encompasses all aspectsof design including buildings, interiors,products, packaging, and branding. Thestate’s design potential seems quite strongwithin the manufacturing sector, and themanufacturer’s survey emphasized thatthis asset can be highly leveraged tostrengthen that sector.

STRENGTHS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Arkansas manufacturers are ahead of thecurve. Manufacturers’ growing under-standing of the value of design to theirmarkets and competitive positions isreflected in plans to increase investmentsin design. This bodes well for their abil-ity to innovate beyond the design andaesthetic qualities of their products,which are increasingly considered to bethe focus of consumer choice and thuskey to competitiveness in national andglobal markets.

New demand and market niches in greenconstruction. Expansion of Arkansas’green building niche (there were 25LEED certified projects underway in thestate in early 2008) promises to open upnew opportunities for architectural andinterior design firms.

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Poster for the 2007 May Festival of

the Arts held annually in Eureka Springs.

61

Arkansas

needs to

develop its

base of

architectural

talent to

ensure that, at

the very least,

Arkansas-

based projects

can be under-

taken by top

ranked, in-

state architec-

tural design

firms.

Growing understanding of the economicand social value of design. Increasingly, thestate’s institutions and private companiesare beginning to realize the value of inte-rior design and invest more heavily in it.

CHALLENGES AND NEEDS

A stronger educational infrastructure fordesign. The state’s lack of a strong base ofdesign talent is not being addressed byits higher education institutions. Edu-cation for architects is limited. Only oneuniversity offering an undergraduate pro-gram and no graduate programs beingoffered, and programs in graphic andweb design need to be bolstered to sup-port advertising, manufacturing, andother creative sectors.

Greater use of in-state capabilities forpublicly funded construction. Too manyarchitectural design projects, includingpublicly funded projects, are going toout-of-state architectural firms. Arkansasneeds to develop its base of architecturaltalent to ensure that, at the very least,Arkansas-based projects can be undertak-en by top ranked, in-state architecturaldesign firms.

More on-ramps to the information high-way. Arkansas ranks 47th in the countryin terms of broadband access. This hasserious has implications for the creativeeconomy, including limiting regionalartists’ access to markets and discourag-ing online training in such fields as digi-tal design.11

Cultural heritage and preservation

Arkansas stands out in its efforts to pre-serve, maintain, and market its naturaland historical assets. Almost every com-munity has historical sites or nature pre-serves, or both.

STRENGTHS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Cultural heritage assets as educationaltools. Arkansas has been able to effective-ly integrate culture into its public school

curricula, to a much greater degree thanmost states and despite the increasedemphasis on testing for basic skills. Thisemphasis on arts and culture reflectsleadership at the state level, primarilythat of former governor Mike Huckabee.To maintain this emphasis, the currentleadership will have to somehow signalits continued high-level commitment to aplace for the arts and culture in education.

Pride in local culture and heritage. Thestate’s hundreds of regularly scheduledand advertised cultural events and festi-vals that showcase local heritage, art, and culture not only attract visitors andgenerate income, but also instill in resi-dents, and particularly in youth, a senseof pride in and appreciation for place.Many Arkansas museums also highlightlocal culture.

CHALLENGES AND NEEDS

More extensive marketing of cultural her-itage by economic development entities.Although Arkansas is artistically and cul-turally rich, because of its cultural identi-ty and pride in its heritage, the state hasnot really begun to translate its culturalriches into economic riches. Regionssuch as the Arkansas Delta, as mentionedearlier, could do more to market theircultural assets, and regional economicdevelopment organizations that activelypromote tourism could more aggressivelymention and market the arts and cultureto enhance their economic impact.

Increased cultural representation.Arkansas has a variety of cultures thatcontribute rich histories to its creativeeconomy. To date, it has proved difficultto connect these to and integrate themwith the larger creative economy. Thestate needs to ensure that the full rangeof Arkansas’ culture including African-American and Latino elements are repre-sented, and work to expand the audiencefor activities and events in which thesepopulation groups are already represented.

Notes

1. Joel Kotkin, quoted in Samuel Western,Pushed Off the Mountain, Sold Down theRiver: Wyoming’s Search for its Soul (Moose,WY: Homestead Publishing, 2002).

2. Kevin F. McCarthy et al., Gifts of the Muse:Reframing the Debate About the Benefits of theArts. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation,2004.

3. Julian Stallabrass, Art Incorporated: TheStory of Contemporary Art, Oxford, UK:Oxford University Press, 2004.

4. Elizabeth Currid, The Warhol Economy:How Fashion, Art, & Music Drive New YorkCity, Princeton: Princeton University Press,2007.

5. The USDA Economic Research Service’scounty typology can be used to determinewhether a particular county’s economy is de-pendent on a particular industry or industries.

6. Pine Bluff, including three counties, is itsown MSA; Crittenden County, which includesWest Memphis, is part of the Memphis,Tennessee MSA.

7. http://www.ame-church.com/.

8. Based on location quotients calculated fromCounty Business Patterns, 2005.

9. A metro area assumes a core urban area of50,000 or more population, a micro area anurban core of at least 10,000 (but fewer than50,000). Each metro or micro area consists ofone or more counties including the countiesthat contain the core urban area as well asany adjacent counties that are significantlysocially and economically integrated (as meas-ured, for example, by commuting to work)with the urban core.

10. Ranked in the lowest quintile of per capitaincome in every census since 1950. Lloyd D.Bender et al., The Diverse Social and EconomicStructure of Nonmetropolitan America, RuralDevelopment Research Report No:49, Washing-ton DC; U.S. Department of Agriculture

11. “Pryor set for hearing on state’s broadband,”Northwest Arkansas News, August 25, 2007.

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