Rethinking the rules. Reworking the formula. Knocking down walls. Finding new paths.
On Wednesday, August 10, MDA and the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) hosted a Creative Economy Summit at the Jackson Convention Center in downtown Jackson. At the event, Governor Haley Barbour and officials from MDA and MAC introduced and rolled out a new study of Mississippi’s creative economy.
The two agencies commissioned the study in order to better understand the people, enterprises and organizations that comprise this key sector in the state and to gauge the impact the creative economy has on the state’s overall economy.
The study revealed that nearly 61,000 Mississippians are employed in the creative sector, including employees of creative companies and employees of non-creative companies that are employed in creative occupations.
The Creative Economy Summit explained the findings of the study and offered informational sessions and roundtable discussions to educate attendees on ways they can grow their local creative economies.
Governor Barbour gave the keynote address, and roundtable sessions and breakout sessions covered topics such as Developing Your Community’s Unique Assets, How Communities Can Effectively Tell Their Stories, Cultural Marketing: How Communities are Capitalizing on Their Cultural Assets, Capitalizing on the Culinary Arts, Success Stories: How Other States are Growing Their Creative Economies and more.
The event closed with a best practices panel, and attendees concluded the day at the King Edward Hotel, where the 135th Mississippi Blues Trail marker was unveiled.
To view the creative economy study and learn more about Mississippi’s creative economy and the resources available to help your community grow your creative economy, visit www.mscreativeeconomy.com.
