South Dakota’s Creative Capital: Brookings
Scott Meyer on Creating a Creative Community
Nov 25, 2014

Why box up creativity and confine it to one event a year? That was the question Scott Meyer and a group of community members wrestled with as they planned an upcoming TEDx event for their South Dakota town. But without a good answer, the group decided to shift its focus from planning a one-time event to turning their town of just under 23,000 people into a continuous stream of creativity.

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Welcome to Brookings, S.D., the state’s official creative capital. But that title means more than a fancy hashtag on Twitter (#creativecapital), and having creative-minded individuals take up residence in the area. It means Brookings is focused on actively building assets in the community that make creativity possible — think inclusive environments, supportive networks, and financial resources.

“Brookings is a knowledge hub,” Scott said. “With South Dakota State University, the state art museum, the state children’s museum, innovative manufacturers and leading thinkers, it is a perfect place to focus on creativity.”

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Scott should know. After a decade away he moved back to his hometown, Brookings, and co-founded two companies with his brother, John Meyer. Scott runs 9 Clouds, a digital marketing and education firm, while John runs Lemonly, an infographic design agency.

“I realized I do my best work here and I have the greatest chance of changing the world here. The community provides a testing ground for new ideas,” Scott said. “If I can find a solution that works in Brookings, I can then share it with the world. If we start locally, we have the greatest impact globally.”

He’s now dedicated to encouraging that same spirit of creativity and entrepreneurship as he and a team of like-minded individuals work to establish his hometown as the state’s creative capital.

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Pollen: Who’s on your team and where did the idea of a creative capital originate?

Scott Meyer: We looked around at our community and saw all the interesting ideas and people in it. We wanted to put a name on the energy and enthusiasm, so the Creative Capital made sense. It has a double meaning as well, which is the capital we are building through our creativity. We believe that creative communities are those that are most tolerant, vibrant, and economically successful. Our creativity truly is a force for economic change.

The great thing about the Creativity Capital movement is that all are welcome to contribute in whatever amount of time or energy they can. Key members include: Coy Yonce, Amanda Quam, Jennifer Johnson, Craig Pahl, Courtney Schmligen, Tim Nichols, Tyrelle Schweitzer, Meghan Danielson, and more.

P: What are the steps you’re taking to make Brookings a creative capital?

SM: We created an entire week focused on creativity and then crowd-sourced participation. Anyone with a creative idea to share could promote their event on our calendar. We had over 30 events ranging from music and theater, to poetry and street art. The best part was that I only organized two of the 30 events. It was a true celebration of the creativity in our community. Our website was the main way we shared these events with our community.

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P: You’ve said creative capital is the assets that make creativity possible. What assets does Brookings have, and where are you looking to expand?

SM: Brookings has talent, a history of entrepreneurship, and industry leaders such as Daktronics. We also have a history of community-focused policy, such as including additional taxes for education, municipal run amenities, and philanthropy to support community-enriching spaces such as the South Dakota Children’s Museum or local parks and green spaces.

The asset we need to build is the courage and permission to start new businesses, organizations, and ideas. We have the resources to support new ideas, so we need community members to know they are responsible for building the community they want to live in.

P: What are the challenges of establishing a creative capital?

SM: Building a shared mission is always challenging. We create consistent, weekly events to have a meeting place for creators, and then host larger events such as TEDxBrookings to build excitement and make enough noise that policymakers and business leaders can’t ignore the movement.

P: You said every community has some sort of creative capital. Who do you hope Brookings inspires? Are other communities inspiring Brookings?

SM: We are learning from communities in the region like Fargo, N.D. and Boulder, Colo. We are hoping to inspire and help build the entire region. We are seeing activity blossom in South Dakota cities such as Watertown, Aberdeen, Yankton, and Sioux Falls. We like to think that we are helping build this momentum, while also benefiting from it.

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P: I love this tagline from your Twitter bio: “Helping rural stay relevant in South Dakota.” What does this mean to you and how do you put it into practice?

SM: The best idea should win, whether it is in the center of Brooklyn, N.Y., or Brookings, S.D. My mission at both 9 Clouds and in Brookings, S.D., is to create the resources and confidence so our creative community members can put their big ideas out there. In fact, for many rural communities the ability to now connect to anyone, anywhere is the last, greatest hope for revitalizing their communities.

P: How do you move beyond simply sharing ideas to inciting action? What projects are you excited about locally?

SM: To inspire action, we have to force people to take accountability. Our goal is to build the stage and gently push people into the spotlight. When they stand up in front of their community and say, “This is my idea and what I want to do,” there is immediate accountability. People around town will ask them how they are doing with their project, they’ll try to help them finish, and they’ll get additional press from their activities.

A great example is Christophina Lynch. She is originally from Sierra Leone and is a Ph.D. student in pharmacy at South Dakota State University. She spoke at 1 Million Cups about her mission to gather excess medical supplies to send back to help fight Ebola. Her story was so inspiring that we invited her to speak at TEDxBrookings (here’s her talk). 3M, which has a presence in Brookings, heard her speak and partnered with her to ship 3M medical supplies to Sierra Leone. All of this happened because she was brave enough to talk for six minutes to the community.

Want to get involved with the work Scott and others are doing in Brookings? Here are two ways you can now:

  1. Watch the group’s TEDxBrookings videos on YouTube.
  2. Participate in the group’s weekly 1 Million Cups gatherings. Attendees are encouraged to share a project, idea or business, and the community will rally around them to help finish or improve it. Sign up here: http://brookings.sites.1millioncups.com/
Posted by on Nov 25, 2014

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