The following is a copy of a letter I sent to Gov. Rick Snyder last week. A version of this ran in Crain’s Detroit Business.
Dear Governor Snyder:
I applaud your foresight and vision in hosting the 2013 Governor’s Economic Summit (GES) last week at Cobo Center. I agree wholeheartedly that Michigan needs to focus on job supply and demand in order to make a measurable dent in our job creation goals. However, I’d also like to draw attention to a vital industry that was missing from the conversation: the creative sector.
As I sat and listened to your opening address, and then watched with pride as 10 students gave their elevator pitch, I was fascinated by the fact that at least half the students were focusing their education in the creative industries. I heard these writers, designers, art directors, digital media artists and marketing students talk about the jobs they are seeking in their prospective fields. As an Advisory Board Member for the Detroit Creative Corridor Center (DC3), I was thrilled to see so many young people charging into the creative economy.
I say this because the past three years have proven that the creative economy is a key driver in Detroit and Michigan’s economic growth. Just last month at the Detroit Policy Conference, urban studies leader Richard Florida gave a keynote presentation that underscored this fact. Creative companies such as Campbell Ewald, Lambert Edwards & Associates, and more, are bringing jobs and opportunity to Detroit at a rapid pace. In fact, the creative industry is the third largest private sector employer in Detroit. Skidmore Studio came down to Detroit in 2011 and we have hired 10 people since we’ve moved here!
While overall employment in Michigan is expected to grow by 7.6 percent from 2010 to 2018, jobs in the creative sectors are expected to grow by 11.9 percent, according to the DC3. How can we ignore the third largest group that is undoubtedly propelling our region forward? The creative industry needs to be represented in the discussion in a much more prominent manner.
The absence of the creative sector was further highlighted as I found myself wandering aimlessly around the GES in search of the Creative Industry Breakout Session. I walked by the Healthcare and Agriculture conversations, passed the Energy and Finance rooms. I even found the Manufacturing and Management sessions, but I never found the Creative group. Yes, the industries represented are all critical job creation sectors; but the creative industry is just as fundamental in today’s economy.
I stood in the hallways of Cobo Center and imagined the students who were probably feeling similar. As a 25-year veteran of our creative constructs, I’m used to having to force my way into conversations, but students don’t yet have the experience to do the same. So I reached out to one of the students who said they wanted a career in the creative sector. And sure enough, without prompting, he talked about being somewhat confused and frustrated with the lack of creative opportunities and companies who understood his needs. After talking with him about his disappointment in the creative representation at the conference (or lack thereof), I just couldn’t sit back without speaking up. Like you, I want to focus on improvement and “just doing the right thing.”
We need to create a way for these students to be part of the conversation. Let’s give them – and the creative industry – a place at the table. These are voices that need to be heard and ideas that will help Detroit and Michigan succeed. We can’t continue losing talent to other cities with strong creative communities. By legitimizing and formalizing the creative industry in our state, we can make a strong statement that we are leading the way forward for our country.
Let’s show everyone that the creative class is a force of change, and that because of it, we are building a robust, vibrant, and sustainable city and state.
Sincerely yours,
Tim Smith
President and CEO, Skidmore Studio
@smithcastle
