CreativeCITY:
Prosperity Through the Creative Economy
WHAT IS THE CREATIVE ECONOMY?
The creative economy adopts a lens that looks at creativity across an ecosystem of intersecting job fields, across education, arts, culture and innovation, rather than viewing them in isolation. It maps the interdependence of these as unique drivers of direct and indirect economic outputs.
We use the UK’s National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta) view of the creative economy, which looks at creativity at the occupational level rather than the industry level (see the diagram below).
Resources for the Creative Economy
The creative industry is a significant economic, social, human, and environmental contributor to Calgary’s economy. At the same time, we see that it is often underleveraged and overlooked due to a creative ecosystem that is fragmented and inefficient. We are looking to change that!
Learn more about the creative economy through our reports, articles and resources below!
What is CreativeCITY?
CreativeCITY is a collaborative effort where we draw from research, community engagement, and creative leadership to maintain a living strategy for a vibrant creative economy in Calgary.
In the first half of 2021, Calgary Arts Development participated in the creation of an ecosystem report exploring Calgary’s creative economy alongside partners from Bird Creatives, RISE UP Calgary, Calgary Economic Development, The City of Calgary, and CityXLab.
We recognize the significant economic, social, human, and environmental contributions of Calgary’s creative economy. At the same time, we see that it is often underleveraged and overlooked due to a creative ecosystem that is fragmented and inefficient. We are looking to change that!
Reports (To Read, To Share, To Use!)
Continuing the Conversation
We’re pretty serious about this being a living strategy. After you’ve explored the Strategic Guidebook if you’ve got thoughts to share, ideas to brainstorm, kinks to iron out—jump over to this page and leave your thoughts. We’ll keep collecting feedback and update the plan accordingly.