| New Statewide Program for Local Artists |
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| Thursday, 12 June 2008 | |
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New Statewide Program for Local Artists Griffin, June 11, 2008 – Griffin-Spalding County Sande Cropsey of the Griffin Area Arts Alliance is working with the Georgia Department of Economic Development's Tourism Foundation on the business development series of the state's Creative Economies Initiative. The Creative Economies Initiative, a national model, provides a structured, customized economic development program for arts centric businesses promoting Georgia Made Georgia Grown Products. Sande Cropsey will be on the local team spearheading the business development program for area artists that want to be a part of the state's Creative Economies Initiative. A series of training sessions tailored to creative business owners will be conducted across the state and in Griffin-Spalding County from June to September. These sessions will include topics such as marketing, business development, financial planning, workforce development and other subjects requested by area artists. From October 2007 to January 2008 town hall meetings were conducted in the state's nine travel regions, and local artists provided feedback on the business development courses needed to help their businesses grow and thrive. To promote Georgia's creative industry – artists, entertainers, crafters, agritourism venues, and more -- a web registry is being developed with locator information and listings to connect arts centric businesses with tourists and consumers. This new tool is a major component of the Creative Economies Initiative and will help drive business to local gift shops, museums, galleries, authors, farms, lodges and other creative enterprises that sell authentic Georgia Made Georgia Grown products. "I am thrilled and honored to represent our community on this important economic development initiative aimed specifically at the creative industries. We have so many wonderful artists and businesses that will benefit from the professional development and the marketing boost that will come from the web listings on the state website." Sande Cropsey is a local author, President of the Griffin Area Arts Alliance, and Co-Chairman of the Flint River Writers Group. The regularly scheduled meetings of GAAA are held the first Tuesday of each month at 5:00 P.M. at the Griffin Regional Welcome Center (although not the month of July). GAAA hosts a weekly radio program on WHIE 1320 AM. To hear more about art-related activities in this region and receive updates about "Georgia Made Georgia Grown," tune in on Saturday mornings at 10:00 A.M. To learn more about our involvement with the program, please contact Sande Cropsey at sjcworks@aol.com. Please list "Georgia Made Georgia Grown" in the header so as not to be mistaken for SPAM. For more information about the Tourism Foundation's Creative Economies Initiative please contact Stefanie Paupeck, GDEcD's Communication Specialist, at spaupeck@georgia.org or 404-962-4075. |
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