Well, our clever Georgia Tourism Foundation has taken some clues from Richard Florida circa 2001 and decided to launch the fancy Georgia Made Georgia Grown website, a “free marketing website for Georgia’s art-centric businesses.” I am excited/cynical about this, so I will just post the whole damn email:
It’s here – Georgia’s Creative Economies website for marketing and promoting Georgia Made Georgia Grown Products. The website will connect buyers and sellers, corporations and corporate suppliers, locals and visitors to Georgia’s creative small businesses. The listing is free to Georgia-based artisans, theaters, crafters, agritourism venues, festival planners and others looking to enhance their marketing and advertising.
In order to prepare the website for its launch and an expected 35,000 plus monthly visitors; local creators, museum & gallery owners, farmers, entertainers and destination managers must self populate the database with their business information and imagery. Simply go to www.gamadegagrown.org and follow the instructions. Approved entries will be posted FREE for one year.
All businesses who register between November 21 and December 21, 2008 will be included in the first round of search results for this much-anticipated, first-of-its-kind and FREE website. Companies and individuals can register everyday; however, registering between Nov. 21 – Dec. 21 will ensure inclusion when the site debuts. Registering early also enters you into a drawing for a Georgia Made Georgia Grown Products gift basket.
Georgia’s Creative Economies Initiative is galvanizing arts-centric businesses and promoting Georgia Made Georgia Grown Products. Please assist us in getting the word out to the arts, theater, agriculture, entertainment and creative business community.
Visit www.georgia.org/foundation to learn more about this economic development effort led by the Georgia Tourism Foundation. Please feel free to contact the Georgia Tourism Foundation via email at tourismfoundation [at] georgia [dot] org for more information.
You know, they’re really trying, even if right now the premier sponsor of this initiative is Cabbage Patch Kids. Savannah has already branded itself the Creative Coast and has a pretty extensive website making the case for creative businesses and listing jobs in the arts/brains/green sectors. So of course at this point I could launch into a diatribe about why hasn’t Atlanta done this, etc etc etc, but I have done that before, and with our city budget woes I doubt we will see any government-sponsored activities or incentives celebrating our arts community unless our socialist president-elect resurrects the WPA Art Project.
With good jobs rapidly leaving town and Georgia politicians pathetically squandering all of our state’s potential for the sake of unsustainable, low-paying jobs, is this attempt to market and attract diversity and culture as an economic development tool at the same moment we descend into recession too little, too late? I am going to vote for “this is the best thing ever,” because now I want a job at this program when I graduate so I can fill up the state with people who look like this:
photo by Greg Alexander
In the meantime, sign up your little art business on Georgia Made Georgia Grown unless you are afraid they will start making you pay taxes, or read this inspiring endorsement from Beep Beep Gallery’s blog to start your own gallery space.
Tags: georgia made georgia grown, georgia's creative economies, nicholas komor
I would say you are more cynical than not… The concept of the Creative Economies Initiative was/is/remains the creation of Camille Ronay, my wife. The Georgia Tourism Foundation and the Georgia Department of Economic Development adopted her strategy and rolled out the concept at the 2007 Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
Over 86,000 art related jobs exist in Georgia, acording to Americans for the Arts (Washington). Codifying and identifying the artits and creative elements throughout the state is a logical. Georgia’s ranking in promoting the Arts is 36th among all other states. Even Montana and Oregon are ahead of us.
Top of the pile is Kentucky…with North Carolina, West Virginia, Alabama among others…far ahead of the Peach State.
While “Georgia Made Georgia Grown” is going on at the State/Government level, “Georgia Made Georgia Grown, LLC” is happening in the private sector. Camille’s program of on-line marketing and commercial representation of Georgia “creativity” is developing quickly.
Go to Camille’s web site, geogiamadegeorgiagrown (dot) com, and read all about it.
After all, “Art” is a business…
Regards,
Bill Ronay
Chair, Arts Development Council of Georgia
http://www.adcg.org
Publisher/Consultant, Events2000.com
Bill,
My cynicism is with Georgia’s current economy and the last six years of policies that have made ours an unfriendly state to creative entrepreneurs. Our per capita income has actually declined since 2000 – long before our present recession. And I am disappointed that the City of Atlanta did not take the lead in the state on an initiative like “Georgia Made Georgia Grown” instead of just coasting on the private sector’s commitment to arts, but I am thrilled that it is finally happening. I truly hope it is successful because arts are a powerful and sustainable economic development tool. Good luck to Camille and all the artists who benefit from her hard work.