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How to boost Delaware’s creative economy: arts advocates roll out recommendations
— By Mark Fowser
Published July 31, 2024
State Senator Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman and Delaware Arts Alliance Executive Director Neil Kirschling spoke Tuesday at The Delaware Contemporary in Wilmington
A statewide blueprint is out this week with the goal of supporting Delaware’s creative economy.
The Creative Economy Advancement and Tourism Expansion Plan, or CREATE, is a two-year undertaking of the Delaware Arts Alliance. According to its Executive Director Neil Kirschling, about 600 Delawareans took part in focus groups, meetings and surveys with the goal of determining how the state could better support the creative sector – “and how we can better utilize the arts to advance our workforce, to advance our citizens, advance our economy… largely, what we’re producing today is a set of policy recommendations that we’ll be able to utilize hopefully as a vision for the state moving forward.”
The plan was outlined Tuesday at The Delaware Contemporary in Wilmington. Additional roll-out events are taking place in Kent County and Sussex County this week.
Kirschling added that the Alliance heard stories from the arts community about challenges coming out of the pandemic: lost income, missed opportunities, inflation, and changing audience behavior. “We also heard a lot of optimism and people realizing that for the arts to be relevant, art can’t just be great for art’s sake (though we know there is intrinsic value in the arts),” Kirschling stated. “We also have to acknowledge that we’re putting people to work, and we’re contributing to the state’s economic fortitude.”
The Arts Alliance has found that Delaware’s creative economy generates $3.7-billion each year, employing 10,000 people.
“We know this will serve as a road map to nurturing our scene and putting in place the policies and investments we need to ‘unlock our super powers,’ because this is the heartbeat of our cultural identity and community cohesion,” State Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman said. “In this moment, we can use as much of that as we can get.”
Delaware Division of the Arts Director Jessica Ball said the arts and creative communities continue to demonstrate innovation and resilience.
“I think that at the heart of the arts is really bringing people together and touching people’s lives, and we will find a way to do that no matter the circumstances.”