Ann Arbor area creative enterprises can be key in a new local and regional economy

“The creative economy has often been overlooked in the economic development literature and undervalued in economic development analyses and plans, largely because much of the wealth it produces falls just under the radar screen of conventional economic analysis,” Rosenfeld says.

“The creative economy is populated by large numbers of microenterprises, misclassified enterprises, enterprises without employees, part-time businesses, secondary or supplemenatry sources of income that are vital to a family's livelihood, and businesses embedded in other sectors,” he says.

The creative economy is a sprawling sector, powered by the output of “originators” such as artists, architects, designers of all types, game-developers, and chefs, among others. It doesn't have the pizzaz of technology-based industries, Rosenfeld notes. “Its entrepreneurs are more apt to be lone eagles...but the lone eagles are more likely to achieve their goals, remain in their nest, and attract others like them,” he says.

Rosenfeld notes that Michigan isn't the only state looking at the creative economy as it struggles to reinvent itself.

In Arkansas, local leaders are recognizing that the state can no longer be seen as just a place that produces things cheaper. They are learning that the state needs to put its own stamp on its products and infuse them with the creative assets that abound in the Natural State (Arkansas' nickname), he says.

In Mississippi, the state's economic development agency has hired Rosenfeld's firm, Regional Technology Strategies, Inc., to assess its creative assets and formulate an action plan. From the Mississippi Delta blues musicians to Oxford's literary community, the state has ample creative resources to build on.

Michigan's arts and cultural assets may be more of an untapped resource than is commonly recognized. “The art product in Michigan is one of the best in the country,” according to George Percy, a marketing expert who crisscrosses the nation organizing destination tours for travel writers. “I've come across more communities in Michigan with a focus on the arts than almost anywhere else, and these communities have made conscious efforts to make the art product accessible,” he says.

The challenge for Michigan is to recognize the economic potential of this sector and treat it with the respect that other emerging sectors receive.

Tamara Real is executive director of the Arts Alliance and is a regular columnist for AnnArbor.com Business Review.