By Cate Fox, Ambitio US Program Director
As a cooperative of artists operating a venture studio that invests in other creative projects, Ambitio US investee Midnight Oil Collective (MOC) finds itself constantly challenging economic assumptions. For the second year in a row, MOC curated the Arts and Culture track of the Yale Innovation Summit. This year MOC invited me ( Ambitio US Director, Cate Fox, ) to moderate a panel, “Challenging Economic Assumptions in the Creative Economy”. So, on May 30, 2024, at the Yale School of Management, our panel took the stage to discuss economics, innovation, and creativity.
Jongnic Bontemps, Composer at Bontemps Per Minute , started the panel conversation by pointing out that traditional safety nets have holes that artists often slip through, and business practices (such as royalties and project fees) are getting squeezed. Artists are being expected to do more with less, and it is not sustainable. Emily Roller, Co-Founder of Midnight Oil Collective and Makerstate, Inc. , shared that artists are encouraged to refine and hone their artistic craft, but they are rarely formally taught about the business side of managing their artistic practice. Many artists would welcome the opportunity to learn about business practices and entrepreneurship. After all, business awareness can lead to more creative freedom. [Those interested in this topic can check out CCI’s popular Business of Art (BOA) workshop and book , which is having its last CCI-produced session as we train a new set of trainers outside of our organization to deliver this content.] David Blasher, Executive Director of the MAP Fund , finished our panel’s opening remarks by sharing that financial or market success does not always reflect artistic success. While there are cases that important artistic works (those that influence an artist’s own practice or movements or others in the field) are also financially successful, it can also be the case that creative work doesn’t show a market return but still has an enduring social value or is valuable to an individual (or community’s) practice.
From there we launched into a lively conversation about assumptions we wish people made about the creative economy (examples included the roles creatives can play in reimagining persistent problems and identifying possible solutions — and creatives can use any number of organizational structures, including but not limited to the 501(c)3 — to do their work). The audience had questions and comments on a wide range of topics. At one point, I was standing at the back of the room while the panelists at the front of the room were engaged in a debate and I could see the entire room leaning forward. The next time we asked for questions there were at least ten hands in the air. It was exciting to see how ready people were to be part of the conversation, and it was clear that 60 minutes was not enough time!
It was a rare experience for me to be part of a larger event that featured leading thinkers and investors in health, biotechnology, climate, technology, AND arts and culture. Innovation always includes creativity yet rarely are artists or culture bearers included in these kinds of gatherings. I’m glad the Yale Innovation Summit didn’t let this opportunity pass (and I hope they think about more ways to integrate these topic areas in the future.) Brilliant new ideas could be just around the corner! For this experience, I really appreciated getting a chance to know these amazing colleagues and the invitation from MOC to be part of the Summit.
You can find a full recording of our conversation on the Yale Innovation Summit’s YouTube channel (linked).
What economic assumptions would you challenge about the creative economy? How would you answer that question? Hit us up on the Center for Cultural Innovation LinkedIn with your thoughts!
This article was originally published on Medium. Read it on Medium →