Coalescing Creative People
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, in his groundbreaking study of creativity, points out that "centers of creativity tend to be at the intersection of different cultures, where beliefs, lifestyles, and knowledge mingle and allow individuals to see new combinations of ideas with greater ease." Likewise, "creative individuals tend to gravitate toward centers of vital activity, where their work has a chance of succeeding." By concentrating a large number of Spokane's creative people in one place, the Phoenix Project can establish the critical mass necessary for an explosion of creativity and its concomitant rewards.
Sir Peter Hall has written that creative cities are "magnets for the immigration of talent, as well as generators of the wealth that could employ that talent." He points out that the first Internet boom "was created by classic Schumpeterian 'new men', who fitted the classic definition of entrepreneurship given by one such entrepreneur, [former Spokane resident] Henry J. Kaiser: 'Find a need and fill it.'"
Case Study: The Writers' Grotto
Writers are reputedly solitary creatures, but that's only because writing is a solitary profession. They still crave companionship, if not staff meetings. When an opportunity arises to share cheap office space with other writers, they're eager to sign on. As Ethan Watters, author of Urban Tribes, puts it: "By joining forces with several like-minded independent professionals to get a shared office space, you can create a sense of camaraderie without compromising the goals or vision of your own work."
In 1994, Watters joined with two buddies, Po Bronson and Ethan Canin, who were beginning to make their mark as writers. They got together and rented a flat in an old Victorian in San Francisco with space for six cubbyholes where they could write and rub shoulders and learn from each other. They didn't know where they would find three more writers to share the rent, but word trickled out and by 1996 they needed more space. The new location had room for nine writers. Two of the original group dropped out because rents had skyrocketed, but within a few months the new, bigger Grotto had filled up. After three more years they moved to a former dog and cat hospital. All 22 spaces were quickly filled and are being shared by 35 writers and filmmakers. When members are away their spaces are rented by the week or the month to others who need temporary space, so no office is vacant for long.
Camaraderie
The chance for camaraderie is enough to keep the writers' stamina up. As Po Bronson puts it: "The beauty of the Grotto is, when I have a bad day, at least I went to the office. A bad day working at home is a sad and lonely thing, and if a few bad days land in a row then an editing job starts to sound pretty appealing." He never did have to take an editing job. Even the funky quality of the space is appealing: "My office is one of two in an old dog kennel. The floor is sloped; they used to spray the dogs down and let the water drain out the door. I step out that door onto the roof of the parking garage, which is painted gunboat gray, and the sun shines so bright, and I squint, and I see people congregating for lunch with their take-out tuna melt sandwiches and leftover Indian samosas. Do I join them? No. I turn around and go back to write. Somehow, them just being there … or coming in at nine in the morning, having dropped my baby off at his Montessori school, hearing the clicking of keyboards – Oh! That's what I do! I write! Go write! They make it possible. They remind me who I am."
The writers share work, referrals, and advice and since founding the Grotto, the three buddies have grown into national literary figures. Watters has become noted for coining the term "urban tribes." Po Bronson wrote the number one bestseller What Should I Do with My Life? Two of Ethan Canin's novels have been turned into movies. Their shared wisdom has bred more success among other writers and filmmakers in the Grotto.
Connecting and Celebrating Successes
The Writers' Grotto has become a stop for writers passing through the city on book tours and home to writerly events that are open to the public. Many writers in the Grotto also teach and run events at other locations. When a member gets published, there's an open party at the Grotto, connecting the writers to the community and celebrating their successes.
Spokane is already home to a popular literary festival called Get Lit! whose success has made Seattle and Portland's literary communities jealous. The region is home to several small publishing houses and university presses, and Eastern Washington University's creative writing department is developing a nationwide reputation. Auntie's Bookstore has become a regular stop on major author tours. Locating the Writers' Grotto North in the Phoenix Project will give local authors and independent filmmakers an inexpensive place to set up shop and enhance our region's attractiveness for this creative sector. The proximity to a video editing suite and a recording studio for spoken-word productions will also attract writers and filmmakers to the project. Not to mention the opportunity to get Indian samosas and tuna melt sandwiches downstairs in the International Marketplace....
Case Study: The Sundance Institute - COMING SOON!
Increasing the Level of Excitement
Every time a new group or organization opens in the Phoenix Project, we can hold a celebration, whether it's the Writers' Grotto, the Artists' Atelier, the International Marketplace, the Farmer's Market, the art-film theater, the Catalyst startup center, or something else. Individual groups can celebrate their own successes: a company's first sale, a writer's new book release, an artist's opportunity for a gallery opening in New York. These private successes are rarely publicly celebrated, giving our region the sense that little is going on. The net result will be an ongoing sense of excitement, which will help build our region's momentum.
The Media Project
Spokane's strength as a center of film, audio, and video production is growing, but there are no film, audio, or video production programs at local schools. The Media Project would be a multi-media program to develop new talent in these areas, and in podcasting and production and digital rendering. The goal is to strengthen our area production facilities by training a new generation of artists and producers to staff groups like Cyan Worlds and North by Northwest.
Facilities will be shared by many users. For example, the sound stage area will be designed to be quickly converted from one application to another, so that it can accommodate everything from movie interiors to small-scale music groups to large orchestras, and in some cases include an audience. KPBX can use the facility until its more-permanent auditorium is built.
Donated or reduced-price equipment will be encouraged so that students will have state-of-the-art training using, for example ProTools for audio, and Avid or Final Cut Pro for video and off-line film. Celluloid film-editing may also be taught, on the model of San Francisco's Film Arts Foundation.
The sound stage could be another demonstration area for applications of John Saylor's modular steel and foam construction method for moveable partitions and sound baffles. For example, the sound stage could be easily reconfigured for various uses, and the large doors inexpensively insulated against sound penetration when not in use. Imagine floor-to-ceiling walls on wheels that can create a larger or smaller space next to the control room or separate film uses from audio uses for more-or-less simultaneous activities.
The KPBX Auditorium
The local public radio station needs a facility that will hold an audience of 70 or more for live-performance recordings. They may be able to use the Media Project facility until their fundraising is complete, at which point they would like to build their own auditorium. The KPBX Auditorium would most likely be built in the Public Market Wing. One design concept would have a removeable glass wall that opens both visually and physically into the market area to allow larger audiences to enjoy productions that don't require sound isolation, and would open a view into the auditorium from the market during those that do. The control room would be shared by the KPBX studios in Building C.
Sources:
Discussion with Po Bronson;
Ethan Watters, "How to Build a Grotto" at http://www.jasonroberts.net/grottobuild.html;
http://www.pobronson.com;
http://www.sfgrotto.org;
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention;
Sir Peter Hall, "Creative Cities and Economic Development," Urban Studies, Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 639-649, 2000;
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