An Ecosystem for Creative Innovation

How can we take the existing building blocks of our arts community - artists, creators, investors, organizations - and create a competitive ecosystem built to amplify and accelerate artistic and creative innovation?

July 2011

Recently, I was invited to give a presentation at the Mayor's Think Tank: "Our Arts, Our City". It was the first in a series of key events meant to stimulate dialogue about a broad, bold vision for the City of Edmonton, integrating arts, culture, business and community. In the room were the city's top business and arts leaders, along with a number of next geners (myself included).

Here's the highlights from my presentation on "Building an Ecosystem for Creative Innovation":

		Let's talk about ecosystems. An ecosystem is defined as "an integrated system of living species, their habitat, and the processes that affect them."
		When thinking about the arts in our city, it's useful to use this analogy of an ecosystem. Where we take the existing building blocks - artists, creators, organizations - and realize that each part has relevance in a city wide "creative ecosystem".
		But the question we need to ask ourselves, is what kind of creative ecosystem are we building in Edmonton. Will it be a desert ecosystem, where parts exist in isolation and silos, and where survival is the game?
		Or, will we evolve our creative ecosystem to be more like a coral reef, an ecosystem that's built to flourish and grow. Where we stop trying to prevent people from leaving and competing for market share in a market of only a million people, but instead create a system that thrives on people coming and going?
		The key to a thriving "creative ecosystem" built to thrive in the future is one built around "creative innovation". Where the creation of new ideas and new works is at its heart. And I believe that Edmonton can be a powerful centre for creative innovation. The talent is around us - we just need to connect the dots.
		Let's look at another era of creative innovation. The Italian Renaissance that started in the 13th century sparked a period of great cultural and intellectual transformation in Europe across the arts, science and technology.
		A new breed of creators emerged, like DaVinci, Alberti and Michaelangelo, all concentrated in a single region in Italy, and exploded from there. Innovations in architecture, literature, painting, science, philosophy, and music resulted in advanced in styles, approaches, designs, and ideas.
		A new breed of investors emerged like the Medicis, one of the richest families in Italy, who were very interested in the rebirth of learning in Europe, and under their patronage the Renaissance flourished. They spent money on their city and supported creators by educating them and supporting them with the necessities to innovate.
		The Renaissance was a period amplified creative and artistic innovation. It was a game changing time where ideas, creators and investors all came together to transform Italy into the cultural center of Europe. I believe that Edmonton's creative ecosystem needs a game changer like this.
		Why? Well today, creative innovation around the world continues to advance at a rapid pace. Audiences are evolving where and how they consume content. This map shows where innovation is becoming increasingly concentrated. Creators - artists, engineers, entrepreneurs, scientists - seek out thriving creative ecosystems to exist in.
		Conventional wisdom claims that innovation happens in isolation, but the rules are changing. The work that we do through initiatives artsScene, Startup and TEDxEdmonton is built around bringing different minded people together. We believe that creative innovation comes from the collision of ideas and people.
		In his book, "Where Good Ideas Come From", author Steven Johnson describes ideas not as "aha" moments in isolation, but rather stem from networks of connected ideas and concepts. I used to spend a lot of time at the Banff Centre, where artists, engineers, scientists, and business leaders would come together formally and informally, resulting in new thinking and new work.
		I like to think of the city as one giant creative incubator. Let's take Edmonton's excellent theatre community. Where every theatre company, every stage, and every training program, works in sync towards a greater purpose - to create a connected pipeline for creative and artistic innovation in theatre.
		The game changer isn't more money. The game changer isn't more talent. To me, the game changer is shifting our thinking around building Edmonton's creative ecosystem around exporting creative and artistic innovation as a whole to the world.
		25 years from now, I think Edmonton will be an epicenter where creative and artistic innovation originates and explodes from. The question is how will we get there? One solution we have is our Edmonton Champions Project, a creative development strategy built around a framework of 4 parts:
		Accelerators are intensive, mentored, creative development programs where ideas are rapidly transformed into market-ready products within tight windows of 6-12 months. It's about getting products in front of audiences faster.
		The second strategy aims at establishing physical creative spaces and hubs where the collision between great ideas and people can happen. Places where creators create, events happen, and community gathers.
		The third strategy focuses on the network, connecting creators with mentors, investors, and partners. The objective here is to create more meaningful and reciprocal relationships between creators and investors built around shared purpose.
		Finally, we're establishing focused, private sector seed funds to invest at the earliest stage of creative development, where creators need it the most. And we'd wrap accelerators, networks and spaces around our investments.
		Now this is just one of the ways we're changing the game, and I'm sure there are plenty of other ideas that are forming today. In all cases, let's think about how we cultivate a competitive creative ecosystem built to output creative and artistic innovation. Because looking back 25 years from now, I want to see Edmonton not as just a big city, but a great city.