Creative Economy Definitions

From the New England Creative Economy Council

The New England Council's June 2000 study, The Creative Economy Initiative: The Role of Arts and Culture in New England's Economic Competitiveness broadened the definition of the creative sector, and demonstrated that it is a key contributor to New England's economic competitiveness.

Within this newly defined framework, the creative sector includes not only the activities of nonprofit cultural organizations but also commercial enterprises engaged in the applied arts. By further extending the analysis to include individual artists and self-employed creative professionals, the study recognizes the role of creative workers as one of the critical segments of the region's workforce. The study also examines the importance of arts and culture in contributing to a region's quality of life - an increasingly important factor in defining the competitiveness of communities in New England.

Together, these components are New England's Creative Economy:

The Creative Cluster

This term refers to a group of organizations and professional entities. It includes nonprofit institutions, commercial businesses and individual artists (as sole proprietorships) that produce goods and services based in cultural enterprise, the fine or applied arts.

Film, textiles and boatbuilding are three thriving creative clusters in Maine.

The Creative Workforce

This group of individual workers may be employed within the creative cluster of industries, in an industry outside the creative cluster (such as a designer at an accounting firm), or they may be self-employed. The creative workforce is composed of individuals whose jobs require a high level of skill in the cultural, fine, or applied arts.

Creative workers abound in Maine. They teach, create, generate technical innovation, drive design and cultivate change. They include:

Software Developers	Dancers	Curators
Boatbuilders	Directors	Authors
Filmmakers	Designers	Architects
Actors	Musicians	Photographers
Announcers	Archivists	Painters
Sculptors	Craftspeople

Creative Communities

These are geographic locations within New England where quality of life is directly connected to higher concentrations of creative workers and creative cluster industries. Creative communities understand and value their cultural assets. They support diversity and innovation. These communities are a powerful draw to tourists, but also contribute to the economic stability of New England.

Rockland and Bangor are two examples of creative communities in Maine.