The Five Creative Region Initatives: In Their Own Words

The DDN did an article on the Creative Region project a month ago, with a press report on the five intiatives that came out of the workshop facilitated by Richard Florida's consultancy.

Since then, nothing in the press, but occasionaly reports at Dayton Most Metro, which up to now was the main online source for info on this effort.

This has changed, as the project now has this website: DaytonCREATE





More importantly, the group now as fleshed out the scope and goals of the five intiatives they are working. In their own words:

1. Dayton Creative Incubator - a project to bring life back to one or several of our vacant downtown spaces by working with building owners to allow local artists to use the spaces for creating and displaying art- as well as providing community spaces where artists, musicians and other creatives can hang out, network and simply exchange creative ideas.

2. Dayton Pride- will highlight the region's many unique assets and diverse population through billboards, kiosks, bus signage, and window signage throughout the region. By rebuilding community pride, residents will become ambassadors promoting the area's strengths- thus making the region attractive to non-residents and employers considering relocating.

3. Film Dayton - establish an endowment that will fund grants to local filmmakers who are making films in the region, and to host an annual film festival- beginning in 2009- eventually featuring films funded by Film Dayton.

4. Innovation Collaborative- to integrate the area's rich concentration of artists, engineers and skilled workers into synergistic relationships to stimulate a stronger economy and promote job creation through innovative collaboration. Each year they will issue a challenge to teams of artists, engineers and skilled workers. This challenge will culminate in a celebration open to the community where these teams will unveil their innovative solutions.

5. Young Creatives Summit- bring together diverse young talent, business leaders, non-profits, universities and elected officials, to address the flight of young talent from the region. The Summit will air the concerns of young people, engage them in the region's decision making process, and help build a shared vision of how the Miami Valley can be improved.

Yer humble host has already commented on these, but the first one is sounding really promising, talking about gallery and performance space as well as third spaces.

There is something like that already happening with the Dayton Dirt Collective, who apparently have secured a downtown storefront for their space.