June 17, 2003
The Status and Importance Of 'Cultural Creatives' (And Why We Should Cannibalize Richard Florida)
Alexander B. Craghead returns to the "creative class" discussion again today, taking some issue with what I said about Florida's stance possible helping to elevate the status and importance of creatives:
But I don't give a damn about my status or importance when I pick up a brush! That's not what creativity is about!
To make it more clear just what I meant: I didn't mean to suggest that creatives seek such elevation or validation from Florida or his presumptive policies. I don't seek that any more than does Craghead.
Rather, what I meant to convey was that, in general, it would be nice for the society at large to more readily consider creatives as people of stature and importance (although simply because they are creative, not because they might somehow lead to economic health).
This is especially desirable (or so I believe) when we're speaking of local creatives. Ultimately, my point is that in a culture increasingly pushed by bland and monotonous corporate mass culture and development, we need to elevate the status and importance of the genuinely local culture that if too often pushes aside in that rush to mass development.
If we can cannibalize some of Florida's popularity to foster that sort of recognition here in Portland, then I say we should go for it. But I do admit that we need to be careful about how much of Florida's approach or contextualization we allow to take hold in the process. I just don't think that risk should keep us from trying to take advantage of his increasing reknown, if we can do so properly.
I should also say, just to get into the economic health aspect for a moment at least, that what I find an intriguing possibility is that we could, perhaps, engender an entirely different sort of economic health than how such a thing is normally seen, by focusing more of our energies on the local.
This would mean, for example, fostering local creatives (which should be done in and of itself anyway) but also supporting local and regional small business before simply giving up and chasing the next big bland corporate development.
Ultimately, its this concept of locality which I want to see us steal from Florida's work and his popularity. I don't in the slightest believe we should be adopting the "Florida Way" wholesale. I just want, as I said above, to find a way to cannibalize his name for our own purposes.