About

Creative County Initiative

In partnership with the Barr Foundation, the Creative County Initiative (CCI) will invest more than $2 million in the arts, culture and creative sector of Essex County over at least the next five years. Together with our communities, we are committed to supporting a strong ecosystem for arts, culture and creative enterprise that is SUSTAINABLE, EQUITABLE and ACCESSIBLE for all in our region.

The work of Creative County...

Creates

a regional voice for arts, culture and creative expression in Essex County.

Promotes

transformative community and economic development.

Elevates

arts and cultural experiences that celebrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and access across communities.

Invests

in artists and the creative economy in an environment of rapidly changing demographics.

Celebrates

Essex County as a vibrant place to live, work, create and collaborate.

In response to the immediate needs of artists in the wake of COVID-19, ECCF has partnered with Rocky Neck Art Colony to launch the Essex County Artist Fund to support and lift up artists across Essex County.

2020 - 2022 investment areas

Experience

A regional online calendar allowing artists and arts and cultural organizations to promote their events and experiences, share resources and information across the arts community and so much more.

Public art & creative placemaking grants

Funding for new, collaborative placemaking and public art projects.

Cultural planning

Engaging communities in municipal planning that is inclusive of arts and culture.

Capacity building trainings

Opportunities for arts and culture organizations to further their missions and compete in our creative economy.

Convenings

Bringing all parts of the creative system together to learn, network, inspire and thrive as one united ecosystem. 

Communications and connectivity

Helping artists and organizations reach new audiences, grow financial support and connect with each other.

More about Creative County...

Racial equity statement

ECCF's Creative County Initiative is a systems-based commitment to supporting a strong ecosystem for arts, culture and creative enterprise that is SUSTAINABLE, EQUITABLE and ACCESSIBLE for all in our region.

Creative County holds racial equity and justice as core values. During this period of pain, stress, and national uprising and solidarity, we are committing to address injustice and systemic racism through the work of CCI.

We pledge to:  

  • Continually work to meet goals of diversity, equity, inclusion and access (DEIA) in our work across Essex County, recognizing that continued learning and adapting is needed.
  • Create and support a CCI Racial Equity Working Group to ensure that our commitment to DEIA manifests in CCI's programs, policies, and structures with intention, integrity, and sustainability.
  • Educate ourselves as to white privilege and systemic racism and learn how to build equity and inclusivity in all areas of CCI investment.
  • Create opportunities for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian - and other people of color - who, through arts, culture and creativity, bring meaning to our communities.
  • Build community through deep listening, learning, partnering, and collaboratively working to create a more equitable and just society.

Creative County Initiative strives to serve the health, well-being, and creative economy of Essex County communities by strengthening the region’s arts and culture ecosystem. CCI embraces a collaborative approach to building systems of sustainable support across all sectors for the creative makers, organizations, and citizens who bring creativity, connectivity, and meaning to our communities. Through its work, CCI strives to build community through cultural and civic engagement.

2020 is a time to pause, reset, reprioritize and continue to model the change we want and need in our world.

Understanding the challenges

During the early planning period of this initiative, we spent time and resources to identify the creative sector’s greatest challenges. Six regional focus groups, 400+ respondent surveys, and economic data showed that Essex County is a culturally diverse region rich in arts and culture, which are necessary for strong, connected communities. Yet effective strategies to connect and support the creative sector across our region had not been developed.

This data showed clear needs from the arts and business communities:

  • We need CONNECTION ACROSS THE REGION AND ACROSS THE CREATIVE SECTORS.
  • We need SHARED AND EXPANDED RESOURCES for funding, creative spaces, and personnel/leadership development programs.
  • We need EDUCATION AND TRAINING to build capacity for collaborative work and stronger arts organizations.
  • We need MORE ART IN PUBLIC SPACES for greater access and engagement.

Creative County goals

Phase 1

2017-2019: To build an arts ecosystem across our region and invest in arts, culture, design and creative enterprise that is sustainable, equitable and accessible for all.

Phase 2

2020-2022: Equip the Essex County arts and culture community with knowledge, tools and systems to increase the visibility and impact of the transformative power of arts and culture.

This data showed clear needs from the arts and business communities:

  • We need CONNECTION ACROSS THE REGION AND ACROSS THE CREATIVE SECTORS.
  • We need SHARED AND EXPANDED RESOURCES for funding, creative spaces, and personnel/leadership development programs.
  • We need EDUCATION AND TRAINING to build capacity for collaborative work and stronger arts organizations.
  • We need MORE ART IN PUBLIC SPACES for greater access and engagement.

Pilot phase success

During the first 2-year pilot phase, $750,000 was invested in four strategies:

  • Granted more than $300,000 to collaborative partnerships, bringing to life 12 Public Art and Creative Placemaking projects across our region. Learn more.
  • Convened 125 participants from 30 communities in support of cultural planning initiatives and mapping our critical cultural resources.
  • Gathered more than 700 attendees at the Essex County Arts & Culture Summit for meaningful discussion, workshops and networking to embolden the local arts sector.
  • Launched EssexCountyCreates.org, a regional online platform for artists and cultural organizations to enhance their visibility and share resources across the arts community. Learn more.

Creative County steering committee

Karen Ristuben headshot

Karen Ristuben

Program Director
Creative County Initiative
k.ristuben@eccf.org

Karen Ristuben -  Program Director, Creative County Initiative

John Andrews -  Creative Collective LLC

Rachel Borgatti

Nonie Brady - Community activist, philanthropist

Danielle Coates-Connor  - Communications consultant

Aaron Clausen -  City Planner, City of Lynn

Ana Colmenero -  Board Member, Peabody Essex Museum

Michelle Finamore  - Fashion + Design Curator, Arts Consultant

Steve Immerman -  President, Montserrat College of Art (retired)

Katie King - Owner, KM Recruiting

Noah Koretz - Director, Transformative Development, MassDevelopment

Ana Tinajeros - Founder Dance to Power, Afro-Latin dance artist

Pedro Miguel Soto - Creative Economy Senior Fellow, MassDevelopment

Lisa Miller-Gillespie - Executive Director, Lawrence Festival of the Arts

John Moynihan - Executive Director, Firehouse Performing Arts

Jean Nichols - Biotechnology executive (retired)

Cristian Recinos - Community Activist

Casey Soward -  Executive Director, Cabot Theatre

Jennifer Welter - Town of Lynnfield, Planning & Conservation Commission

Eunice Zeigler -  City of Methuen City Councilor, singer/songwriter

 

ECCF

Beth Francis - CEO

Hehershe Busuego - Director of Programs & Racial Equity

Stratton Lloyd - V.P. Community Leadership

Jon Payson - Former ECCF Board Chair

Kelly Shea Knowles - Director of Development and Communications

Michelle Curran - Communications writer, storyteller

John Colucci - ECCF Board Chair

 

CCI Advisors (prior members)

 

Rosario Ubiera-Minaya - Executive Director, Raw Artworks

Jackie Rosenthal

Greg Federspiel  - Town Administrator, Manchester-by-the-Sea

Barbara Lorenc  - Arts-focused property developer and Chair. Econ Dev Committee Amesbury Chamber of Commerce

Deborah Greel  - Public Art Director, City of Salem (retired)

Felipe Collazo - Musician and President, Bread & Roses Festival

Lillian Hsu - Public Art Director, City of Cambridge

Judith Farzan - Board Chair, Essex Arts Center

Doneeca Thurston -  Executive Director, Lynn Museum