A summit of 100 creatives

What’s your community’s manifesto? Memphis knows. The Memphis Manifesto summit took place in May 2003, a great first step in establishing a beta community.

Hosted by Creative Class author Richard Florida, Smart City Radio’s Carol Coletta selected 100 creatives in politics, arts, design, media, technology and academia, business, economic development and nonprofits, from Austin to Toronto, Portland to Providence, to meet in Memphis on the first of May to draft a manifesto for creativity in cities. Why should cities care? Because creativity creates economic growth.

What did the Creative 100 come up with? You can read the Memphis Manifesto to find out, and the ten summary principles sound very familiar, which include: Invest in the ‘ecosystem’ (ie cooltowns), embrace diversity, value risk-taking, be authentic, invest in quality of place, and support continuing education in creativity.

What happens when a local Creative 100 becomes a real working guild, then a founding population for a revitalized neighborhood? That’s what this website is all about.

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