Supercharging Edmonton's Creative Economy

Edmonton’s artists, creators, venue operators and festival producers are more than cultural contributors - they’re entrepreneurs. From my time with Grindstone Theatre to launching and running the Edmonton Mural Festival - there’s thousands of creators in this city every day launching projects, building audiences, create jobs, and bring neighborhoods to life.

Yet too often, our municipal systems treat our cultural industries as “extras,” rather than powerful economic engines, and put up roadblocks that kill innovative ideas before they can come to life.

Here’s how we can supercharge Edmonton’s creative economy:

1. Boost arts funding: we haven’t met our Connections & Exchanges goals, and arts funding hasn't kept up with our growing city. Let’s fix that now.

2. Cut red tape: simplify permits for festivals, events, and installations.

3. Fix broken processes: galvanize the industry to advocate for fixes to processes like AGLC’s public-event license and building code issues that prevent temporary pop-ups.

4. Share what we already own: make assets like recording spaces, porti-potties, staging, and lighting gear easier to borrow, and foster partnerships to increase event infrastructure usage.

5. Reimagine empty civic buildings: turn an underused city owned building (there's two sitting empty in the Arts District) into artist quarters: with workshops, studios, and rehearsal rooms.

   The City owns underused sites that could be used for storage and rehearsal space too.

6. Prioritize making better spaces through Public Art: think if the Talus Balls were at Churchill Square - they'd be like Chicago's Bean! Can you think of any other areas of Edmonton's core neighborhoods that could use some visual interest? I can, and its not on the side of yet another freeway.

All of these recommendations include working better with music venues, festival producers, and new cultural industries, finding where gaps currently exist, and tackling them head on.

By supporting our creative economy with the same seriousness we give to other industries, we can spark year-round vibrancy, attract talent, and build core neighbourhoods that people are proud to live in.