Blaine event awarded National arts agency honors conference

New approaches to employing the talents of Maine residents and attracting the skills of others outside the state were the focus last month of a Blaine House Conference on Maine’s creative economy at the Bates Mill Complex in Lewiston. Now, the two-day event has been cited as an outstanding example of creative initiatives and has been given a national award as a model for sparking economic activity through the arts.

The National Association of State Arts Agencies announced today that the Blaine House Conference will receive an Innovation Award, given annually since 1998 to recognize a state arts agency or regional arts organization program designing innovative strategies for conveying the public value of funding the arts. John Rohman, a board member of the Maine Arts Commission and one of the conference organizers, will accept the award July 18 in Washington, D.C.

“We have been making the case that the creative economy can drive Maine’s future,” said Alden Wilson, executive director of the Maine Arts Commission, which planned the conference. “It’s not only the arts commission that is behind this. The state government is behind it, too. This award brings attention to the fact that this movement is gaining more steam. It furthers the cause of the Maine economy beyond state lines.”

In part, that potential to influence other states made the Maine application stand out in the competition.

“The members of the committee were very impressed with the creative-economy conference,” said Johanna Misey Boyer, director of leadership development at NASAA, a membership organization that represents state and jurisdictional arts agencies. “They noted the 15-month planning time for the conference and how the organizers built up excitement in the state. Of the nominations received, the committee said Maine’s had the biggest application within the state and the greatest potential to be a model for other states.”

In the months leading up to the conference, Rohman and other organizers traveled throughout the state meeting with arts leaders and organizations, economic developers and local politicians to discuss the conference. The goal was to promote the conference but also to define creative economy, a term used to indicate economic growth based on workers in a range of creative fields including technology, medicine, architecture, consulting, engineering and the arts.

The Maine Arts Commission, which planned the conference, expected more than 300 participants. More than 700 attended the presentations, discussion groups and keynote speeches by Richard Florida, one of the leading voices in the field, and Gov. John Baldacci.

“This award is an honor to receive,” said Baldacci last week. “The artists in our state are important to our economy and to our education system as well as to social capital development. The creative economy isn’t just about artists, but they are an important ingredient. They aren’t an appetizer. They are a main course.”

For Rohman, Bangor’s former mayor and a board member at NASAA, the award is a sign that Maine is accomplishing the goals of the conference, even as the final reports are still being collated for a presentation to the governor later this week.

“If we are going to talk about creative economy, then we better talk about the resources each community has,” said Rohman, who is also chief executive officer at WBRC Architects in Bangor. “That’s why we wanted to hold the conference at the Bates Mills instead of in Augusta, where Blaine conferences are usually held. We wanted to demonstrate that we can work with an existing building – a school, a storefront, a mill – in a community and make it a place people want to be. I like that this award is an innovation award, and that it’s based on a novel approach to solving an issue. It’s not just about doing a successful conference. It’s about doing a conference that is different from others. It makes Maine a blueprint for other states to approach difficult tasks or communications issues.”

Alicia Anstead can be reached at 990-8266 and aanstead@bangordailynews.net.