Creative Economy Expert Peter Kageyama Delivers Keynote Address at Savannah’s Critical Issues Forum

CreativeTampaBay president Peter Kageyama grew up in Akron, Ohio, a Rust Belt city he describes as “bleeding talent.” Today, he works to attract members of the “creative class,” along with their leadership and innovation, to a region of Florida which includes 2.4 million residents in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.

At the Savannah Critical Issues Forum, an invitational event organized by HunterMaclean that presents real-life solutions to important issues facing Savannah, Kageyama outlined the keys to success in the twenty-first century creative economy. He used the event, which was held at the Hilton Savannah DeSoto on February 15, as a way to share success stories from Tampa Bay and to offer advice about how Savannah can mobilize to attract even more twenty-first century talent.

In his keynote discussion, “Building a Creative Class: How Successful Cities are Recruiting Tomorrow’s Business Leaders,” Kageyama addressed what cities like Savannah need to do to attract a talented workforce. “Growth is good,” he told the audience, which was comprised largely of local business leaders as well as city and county officials. “But smart growth is better.”

Part of smart growth, he explained, involves planning ahead to attract the creative class, a term originally defined and promoted by Richard Florida in his landmark book,” The Rise of the Creative Class.” This educated workforce of 40 million employees, he said, comprises only 30 percent of the U.S. workforce, but earns 50 percent of all wages and salaries.

Kageyama, who has traveled to Singapore, China, England and Germany to research creative industry initiatives and best practices that can help American cities reach their fullest potential, discussed how successful cities attract and retain creative class talent through strategic collaborations and alliances. He stressed the need to “look like the solution, not the problem” and the importance of adopting a collaborative attitude which cuts across conventional boundaries and involves a wide range of individuals and organizations. “We’re not just about creativity,” he said. “We’re about twenty-first century competitiveness.”

He emphasized the importance of developing community events -- from erotic poetry readings to wearable art functions -- that attract a younger audience. “Don’t be afraid to add a little heat to the mix,” he said. “That creates waves in the young talent pool.”

He also focused on the strategic need for “civic acupuncture,” which allows cities with limited resources to target strategic points and create a cascade effect that ripples throughout the community. “Finding those points of intervention and knowing where to put the pin is really important,” he said. “Change requires champions. Find your next generation of leaders. They’re the ones who are going to help change Savannah.”

Event organizer and moderator Brooks Stillwell, managing partner at HunterMaclean, kicked off the Critical Issues Forum by emphasizing the importance of the creative economy in Savannah and noting that a drive for innovation fuels a range of local companies, from Memorial Health and JCB to Gulfstream and the Savannah College of Art and Design.

“The real economic driver in the future is going to be knowledge-based and creative businesses,” he said. “This is an issue that impacts our quality of life and economic development here in Savannah.”

SavannahNow.com