Jackson Free Press

Some people, such as visual artists, already know they are part of the creative economy. But many people have never heard the term before, Malcolm White, executive director of the Mississippi Arts Commission, said.

The creative economy is made up of anyone who is involved in a creative enterprise, including chefs, designers, performing artists and writers. It also includes people who might not normally be associated with the arts, such as the people who make stoves, print books or clean auditoriums. The creative economy also has people who do creative jobs in non-creative industries, such as the person who designs labels and logos for a poultry factory.

All these people are part of the state's creative economy, which provides jobs for about 60,000 Mississippians.

A new study of Mississippi's creative economy, "Realizing the Economic Potential of Creativity in Mississippi," shows the positive impact artistic enterprises can have on the state and local economies. White said the creative economy makes up about 3 percent of Mississippi's total economy. In other states that have done similar studies, the creative economy has been anywhere from 1 to 5 percent of the total economy.

Now that Mississippi has a snapshot of the creative economy's impact, White said Mississippi has an opportunity to focus its energy on growing that sector.

"This existed totally organically," White said. "None of this was recruited, developed or incentivized. For me, it gives us a baseline to start, and now we can begin to figure out ways to grow it."

MAC and MDA commissioned the study in 2009, using statistics from 2008. The recession and Hurricane Katrina likely had an impact on the study's findings, and the statistics will soon be updated using 2010 census numbers, White said, probably by the end of the year.

White said that although other states have done creative economy studies, Mississippi is the only state he knows of that did one during the recession. He also said this is the first time Mississippi has looked at non-profit and for-profit organizations and enterprises side-by-side. The study is now part of the Mississippi Development Authority's strategy for the state, he said.

MAC and MDA introduced the study at a summit Aug. 10, which brought artists, community leaders and government officials together to talk and learn about what communities around Mississippi are doing to encourage the arts. About 400 people attended.

At the end of the day, the summit held a "best practices" panel that included David Watkins, CEO of Watkins Development, who helped to revive the King Edward Hotel and Standard Life building in downtown Jackson. Panelists discussed how places like Jackson's Fondren District, the University of Southern Mississippi and Oxford had all used the arts as a resource to draw visitors.

Some of the panelists were concerned that young Mississippians feel that they must move away from the state for jobs and opportunities. Watkins said developments that make both artistic and financial sense help Mississippi compete with other areas of the country when people are deciding where to live.

"It's not just competitive—that's not good enough," he said. "We've got to be dramatic and dynamic and bold in order to capture the next generation of Mississippians to this state."

White said artistic enterprises do not just provide jobs directly; they can be a deciding factor when a large manufacturer, such as Toyota or Nissan, is considering whether to move to Mississippi.

"They locate in places that have a high quality of life, and quality of life really is about arts and entertainment and cultural amenities," he said. "That's what the creative economy provides."

To learn more about places where the creative economy is thriving and to download "Realizing the Economic Potential of Creativity in Mississippi," visit http://www.mscreativeeconomy.com.