Creative sector growing in R.I.

Matt Grigsby, Founder, Ecolet and Julia Li Partner
Matt Grigsby, Founder, Ecolet and Julia Li Partner

Design firms are enjoying a renaissance of sorts across the Ocean State.
Since the economy turned sour in 2007, the state’s creative businesses – as categorized by state law – have been growing. For the last six years, an overall 52 percent growth in creative-sector businesses and 13 percent gain in creative-sector jobs in both nonprofit and for-profit industries was observed in Little Rhody, according to a nationwide study using Dun & Bradstreet data.
As of Jan. 1, 2012, the design and publishing industries had 1,086 businesses and 2,699 employees in the state. Of that total, there were 195 architectural companies employing 709 people, and 758 design companies with 1,297 employees, more than all other artistic categories with the exception of the visual arts/photography.
Released annually by Americans for the Arts, the Creative Industries in Rhode Island report is part of the nationwide study designed to track the presence of arts-related entities in six creative industries: museums and collections; performing arts; visual arts and photography; film, radio, and TV; design and publishing; and arts schools and services. The report only includes businesses that have registered with Dun & Bradstreet.
According to the report, last year the creative sector in Rhode Island added 770 jobs, or 6 percent, and 460 new businesses, or a 16 percent boost.
In arts-related jobs per 1,000 residents, the state ranks 6th in the nation in having the most people employed in the creative sector, with 12.72 jobs per 1,000 residents. In arts-related businesses, Rhode Island ranks 17th in the nation at 3.07 businesses per 1,000.
Lisa Carnevale, policy and advocacy director for the Rhode Island Citizens for the Arts and partner with Myranda Group, a Rhode Island advertising agency, said the growth in creative-sector businesses “is noticeable around the city and the state.”
The large gains are primarily due to design-related businesses and jobs. Over the past six years, this industry showed a 194 percent increase in businesses (from 258 in 2007 to 758 in 2012) and 142 percent increase in jobs (from 535 in 2007 to 1297 in 2012). Carnevale attributes some of the growth to the strong influence of higher education in the city. Schools like Johnson & Wales University and the Rhode Island School of Design teach design and architecture as undergraduate classes. “It’s another piece of the knowledge-innovation strategy for the economy,” she said.
These industries, including architecture and design, are becoming an increasingly important component of modern “knowledge-based” economies. Not only are they thought to account for higher-than-average growth and job creation, they are also vehicles of cultural identity that play an important role in fostering diversity.
Matthew Grigsby is the founder of Ecolect Inc. of Providence, an industrial-design consulting firm that finds, tests and uses sustainable materials, technologies and manufacturing. He is also the co-founder of Anchor, a design-incubation space in Providence.
“Our strategy is to find work out-of-state and to bring it here,” he said. “We work with a lot of companies all over the world. There’s not a lot of money in the state so we have to look elsewhere,” he said. As a result, he believes some companies are making a name for themselves, both inside and outside the state, but have kept their businesses in the area.
Ecolect is located in Providence near the Cranston Street Armory, Firehouse 13 – an art and music venue – and the Pearl Street Lofts, an up-and-coming community. “All that energy starts to work together and I think people are starting to recognize this area, especially on the west side, as a creative, vibrant place,” Grigsby said.
‘There were a lot of events happening in the creative community and some buzz started over the last few years. The mentality shared among the community right now is that it’s time to get to work, it’s time to really make it happen now,” he said. •

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