The Inland Creative Trust
April 7, 2010 
16 Comments
Too often I feel like I’m in a room full of the most amazing creative people and the majority of them are sitting around with these awful, suffocating blindfolds on. They feel isolated and assume that no one else is in the room, so they don’t have any incentive to get up, walk around, bump into each other and realize it is time to take those silly things OFF!
There are a handful of folks who cast off their blinds long ago, and they are all running around the room ragged tapping people on the shoulders to ask, “Wouldn’t you be willing to untie this knot?” One is asking you to sign a petition. Another is imploring you to send them a postcard. Yet another is inviting you to a party, or to mentor, or to gather, or to vote.
You know that cheesy bonding ritual called the “trust fall”? When I ask people to dive into the unknown with me, too often the blindfold is so tight they just can’t take the leap. “There aren’t enough people like that around here” they say, “at least I haven’t met them.” When I assert that indeed they ARE out there, (in droves!) the suspicion is so thick I could saw a knife through it.
It is time for our creative class scene to pull itself together and get serious about revolutionizing our city. We are capable of a much higher degree of coordination. We need to take a chance, collaborate, and MAKE it happen. We need to get an ad-hoc “Sounding Committee” together to have a real discussion about what we want to have happen in this town. It is in our hands and nobody else is going to do it for us. This needs to be like Wonderground on steroids.
We will have representatives from each of the grassroots groups out there trying to get things off the ground. People from Terrain, Riverspeak, Lilac Mob, Shrinking Violets, SSYP, Spokane MarCom, Emerging Professionals, the Entrepreneurs Group, the Young Architects, the Emerging Green Builders. The list goes on and on and on. Spokane has it all and it is long since time we put the pieces together. It is on us to create the identity that will carry this city into the future. That is, the future we want it to be in right now.
What is in store for this effort? The first push would involve some pulse taking. We’d host a large-scale gathering of creative people all across the city in different disciplines. This is called a charrette, and it would be awesome. There would be taskforces formed around the issues identified in the charette(s). One could be around the issue of incubating and supporting small, local creative class businesses. Another could be around the issue of all-ages and local live music. They would succeed because they would be operating under the same holistic umbrella. There would be synergistic critical mass that would mutually reinforce the momentum of each effort. And not before long, people would feel like “Holy Moses! We can actually win when we are working together!” AND IT’S FUN.
Then the moment would be ripe to launch a grassroots capital campaign. Screw magic money from the Federal government. This would be born by the blood, sweat and tears of everyday Spokanites longing for a better way. The vision would be to fund a backbone that holds all these groups together. Not in lock-step, but in partnership and constructive conversation. A core of resources that would be dedicated to catapulting this collective agenda forward. Yes, there would be staff. And eventually, a public headquarters. The Mayor is already on board, and just about every other booster out there would be too.
The thing that really gets my garbage goat is that I’ve been thinking about this concept for quite a while, and then I wake up one morning to a Facebook invite from some random, painfully hip Portlander inviting me to pretty much the exact same thing. At some point enough is enough. You can only kick a Hillyard dog so many times before it gets up and beats the bejeezus out of you. I am sick and tired of Portland being *the* hub for this kind of innovation. We are going to create our OWN hub. And no, WE WON’T be moving there, thank you very much!
I would like to see Mary Verner’s face on a poster like this. I would like to see partnerships between venues and advertising firms and education lobbyists. Let’s create our own condensed version of the following, with more of an economic development/quality of life/creative industry spin.
About the Author
Of course “they” are out there in Spokane–it seemed like I met someone new like that every time that I went out in town, when I lived there. Good luck, Mariah!
I stood up in my lonely, quiet office on East Trent and howled and clapped and shook my derrier after I read this. Thank you. We’re making this happen every day in this great place.
Charrette…just say when.
Love on.
Very, very good item today.
Do you have a mechanism where people can donate cash to your projects? Perhaps funnel it through one of the non-profits that you work with, someone that can direct it to you and your causes? I know its best for people to get actually, physically involved, but right now that is hard for me. But I would like to send $100 to help cover some costs – a bit of printing etc. Its great if its deductible, but that is not important. Just let me know how to get the $ to you.
You might want to consider having a small reminder to “Donate” on every one of your blogs once you figure out how to do it. It might be a way to get some steady steam of income to help fund things. I think there are some good, perhaps free, online tools that allow people to follow a link and donate to you with a credit card. But until that happens just a little reminder on your blog with an address etc and I bet (hope) that you could get some cash flowing to you. Human energy is the best, but financial resources can help to build a body around the soul of a movement.
Again, great blog today!
These are wonderful ideas. Don’t forget my group. I would like to extend an invitation to you and and a group of young persons to tour the Woman’s Club and talk about how we might be a part of this effort. Let’s set a date.
Thanks Mariah,
If Spokane becomes the next Portland, I’m pretty sure you’ll be the main reason. It was good to see you on Tuesday.
This totally rocks and I am solidly on board. Let’s talk more about how to make it happen.
I would love to be a part of this, I work with a group in west central. If I can, i want to be on board.
Andrew
Agreed agreed agreed. I think that the Spokane creative class is afraid to come out of the closet because we are a little intimidated by our peers/parents/roots. A gathering to show what kind of strength and numbers we really have here would be a fabulous endeavor. I’m in!
“We are going to create our OWN hub.” Mariah, I’d hate to complain about my family life on this public forum but let me relate this back to the dinner conversation of the Hensley family. A certain something heats the room during every meal and it’s not the food. It’s the “Nicole, you need to make something of yourself. Move to Portland or Seattle and make some money.” I reply, “I don’t want to move there. They have everything they already need, while Spokane is crying for it. Why would I want to leave some place on the verge of something amazing?”And of course this conversation goes in circles over and over again. There is opportunity in Spokane for those who aspire to discover it. Spokane is a lump of clay waiting to be molded into “your hub”.
As a career driven 20s something, I feel the pressure constantly to move to the “hubs”. I think that is the wrong way to go. I want to be responsible for creating my own hub.
YES. How can I help?
Your writing is fantastic. The local-colloquialisms speak of place in a way which I think is pretty lovely.
How do we make this convergence happen? I want to be able to get together with folks, put our heads together, look around, eat good food and then celebrate to boot.
I’m in. More thoughts soon; got to go take care of some business.
Thanks for being a constant source of inspiration.
Many good ideas there. We have a wealth of University aura in and close to Spokane. So I would hope the population of professors and students would be linked to this emerging web. Also, I believe it is important to develop a sense of loyalty when it comes to purchases and patronage.
Charrettes are weekly events in our studio in downtown Spokane and a common collaborative method in the architecture/design profession. The issue with our charrette approach is that we rarely reach out beyond to a broader wealth of knowledge and the rest of the creative community here in Spokane. You referenced the Young Architects and Emerging Green Builders and I know several of us who thirst for this type of action. Sign us up!
What you guys are doing is so cool…. it’s right inline with how I feel about my hometown. I love it….. If I can ever do anything to help let me know…. I will keep you guys updated about shows we are doing over the summer and other events you might not have heard about…….. Thanks again.
I read your blog along with many other local ones and often find myself wanting to further discuss some of the topics you write about. Would you be interested in meeting for coffee to chat sometime? You seem to be involved in a lot of different areas and while I may not always agree with you or even completely understand your position on some topics, I do enjoy hearing different points of view.
The Inland Creative Trust could help local artist groups implement alternative funding models to pay for their activities.
http://www.urbanhonking.com/goldenage/2010/04/an_artistrun_benefit_society_f.html