Imagination Is a City’s Most Vital Resource

Zocaloadmin — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 07:02:51 +0000

In hard economic times, cities need to decide what industries are essential, and what programs and services can be cut down to save resources. The arts are perennial contenders for the chopping block, including what can more broadly be referred to as the “creative industries”—fields such as film, fashion, music, and publishing. As recent slashes to the budgets of everything from the National Endowment of the Arts to neighborhood school music programs have shown, the value of work based largely on imagination isn’t always clear.

But many experts, from artists to economists, argue that attempts to limit the arts are shortsighted. Sustaining a robust class of innovators and creative-types, they contend, is essential for the health of a city—both its character and economy.

So what does it take to keep the arts alive in a city? In advance of the Zócalo event sponsored by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, “Is L.A. Really the Creative Capital of the World?”, we asked people who study and support the creative industries: What should a city’s public and private sector do to nurture its creative economy?

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Imagination Is a City’s Most Vital Resource