[Forum] Boston Globe: Report encourages arts in the Berkshires

[Jane Hudson]

Wow, that's really great. I'm especially interested in "more  
training, marketing and infrastructure improvements in the area's  
towns to stimulate and support arts-oriented businesses." That would  
mean some real cooperation among property owners and city government.  
Then more people gathering together to broach new enterprises. It  
sounds most encouraging.

On Mar 9, 2007, at 8:57 PM, Joshua Field wrote:

>
>  Boston Globe:
>
>
>  Report encourages arts in the Berkshires
>
> http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/03/09/ 
> report_encourages_arts_in_the_berkshires/
>
> By Adam Gorlick, Associated Press Writer  |  March 9, 2007
>
> SPRINGFIELD, Mass. --Capitalizing on more than just popular  
> attractions like Tanglewood and the Norman Rockwell Museum would  
> bolster Berkshire County's economy, business and community leaders  
> say.
>
> A two-year, $1 million study released Friday by the Berkshire  
> Economic Development Corporation pushes for more development,  
> support and marketing of the area's creative and artistic resources.
>
> The so-called Berkshire Blueprint shows that about 6,000 people --  
> or 10 percent of the workforce in Berkshire County -- are involved  
> in some arts-related business that the report defines as a  
> "creative cluster."
>
> "Art means business in the Berkshires," said Laurie Norton Moffatt,  
> director of the Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge. "Until now, the  
> impact of the creative cluster on the Berkshires hasn't been fully  
> understood. It is an area ripe for economic development."
>
> Berkshire County has been plotting an economic rebound since the  
> mid-1990s, when General Electric Co. <http://boston.stockgroup.com/ 
> sn_overview.asp?symbol=GE> closed most of its operations there and  
> laid off about 25 percent of the region's workforce.
>
> "Most of the good jobs just evaporated, and we were left with high  
> unemployment and all the problems associated with it," said Tyler  
> Fairbank, president of the economic development corporation. "But  
> our economy here is no longer made up of just one large employer  
> base. It's about entrepreneurs and artists. We have an eclectic  
> economy that's creative in its focus."
>
> The Berkshire Blueprint suggests providing more training, marketing  
> and infrastructure improvements in the area's towns to stimulate  
> and support arts-oriented businesses.
>
> The Pittsfield region topped six other urban areas in jobs growth  
> -- by percentage -- in the one-year period ending in January,  
> according to the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development.  
> The 3.6 percent gain was nearly double the next highest urban  
> region, with trade, transportation and utilities sectors leading  
> the way.
>
> -- 
>
> // www.joshuafield.com
> // joshua at joshuafield.com
> // +1 [413] 329-4789
> // 121 Union Street, Studio 1E
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