The Case for Creativity in Michigan

Arts, culture and arts education, and the creative industries, are integral to economic development, essential to a vibrant quality of life and a vital tool for learning. These collective qualities make a powerful contribution to strategic efforts to regain Michigan's competitive stature on the global stage.

The creative sector can help drive Michigan's reinvention through its innate ability to energize private investment and spending in local economies, while attracting new businesses and talent throughout Michigan. Acting as hubs of activity, the creative sector creates the places people want to live, filled with enrichment, education and entertainment.

School districts with strong arts programs to teach children the cooperation, collaboration, discipline and problem-solving skills needed to become the next generation of innovators are more attractive to businesses and families, and where arts education is available, graduation rates increase significantly.

To state the argument succinctly, the arts: Put people to work. Produce tax revenue. Are a business magnet. Attract spending. Energize private funding. Transform the lives of people and our communities.