Create Denver: The building blocks for a creative community

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has been a strong advocate of developing Denver as an arts and culture center. He has made frequent reference to Richard Florida's "Rise of the Creative Class."

I just attended a meeting on Monday in conjunction with the release of "Space Matters: A Report from the Mayor's Task Force on Creative Spaces."

Here are some of my thoughts on the challenges of creating creative spaces for music.

1. With so much of music tied to alcohol venues, it becomes very age-specific. There are relatively few places for all-ages shows. At the same time, some of the clubs are not particularly welcoming of anyone over the age of 30, particularly those with kids and jobs. Families can't bring their children, and the shows start too late for anyone who has to get up for a job or kids.

2. The report addresses zoning and regulations, and how to make it easier for the arts community to develop affordable space. Regulations are a particular problem with club/bar owners. Given that they need to meet more regulations than other types of creative spaces, maybe it would be easier to develop performance spaces than to try to help more club/bar owners to open those types of spaces.

3. The music community is more a collection of sub-communities -- cliques, in some cases -- than an united group. The close ties between some of the indie music bands and their counterparts within the visual arts and film communities reinforces a "hipster image" that discourages participation among a wider demographic. In other words, perceiving themselves as outside the "mainstream," some bands have bonded together with young creatives in other media, which has created an artist "elite" which can be exclusive rather than inclusive. This actually might be very good in terms of marketing Denver to the rest of the world, but can discourage some people from becoming involved.

4. At the same time, much of the music community does not participate in resources even when they are available. Workshops, meetings, community planning programs are often poorly attended by musicians. Progress in the music community is likely to come from a few individuals who take an initiative than from broad committees where everyone is welcome. It is hard for me to imagine any music program that can achieve a buy-in from wide group of musicians. Further compounding the problem is that quality in music varies greatly. Some performers are going to be excluded if activities are meant to promote the best in local talent. So you need to divide music resources between participatory spaces for the hobby musicians (who may never attract audiences but may be strong supporters of the local scene) and performance spaces to showcase the areas best talent (who will attract audiences and attention).

You can find a number of resources and a downloadable report here:

Create Denver: Art & Economic Development - Space Matters: A Report from the Mayor's Task Force on Creative Spaces

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