Skip Maine state header navigation

Agencies | Online Services | Help

Skip First Level Navigation | Skip All Navigation

Home > Policy Initiatives > Creative Economy

Creative Economy

The people of Maine demonstrate their creative skills every day, and I am proud to celebrate their artistic accomplishments. That's why I'm committed to enhancing Maine's creative economy, bringing the talents of Mainers to the forefront of global arts endeavors.

  • My economic plan recognizes that we must invest in Maine people and Maine's cultural heritage. The economic engines that create opportunity are our people --- our youth, our creative workers, and our creative entrepreneurs. Together, we have seen results from our investments in education, cultural resources, technology, and downtowns. And we have just begun.
  • The cornerstones of the new economy are talent, technology, and tolerance. Over the last five years, the rate of people moving into Maine from other states has been the seventh highest in the nation. We have reversed the trends of the 1990s. And Maine's personal income growth rate has been higher than the national average. People are moving to Maine with their businesses because we have invested in Maine's natural resources and Maine's cultural heritage. Maine is a magnet for economic growth.

Working together we have:

  • Invested in cultural institutions and community-based grants for museums, artists, historic preservation projects, and libraries --attracting new funds from major private foundations like the Creative Capital Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
  • Created the ConnectMaine Authority, to expand broadband and wireless services into underserved areas of rural Maine.
  • Supported new high-end cultural and heritage tourism downeast and in Maine's mountains and created a Pine Tree Zone pilot for tourism destination development in Cutler along Washington County's bold coast.
  • Invested in Maine's Downtown Center and downtown revivals in Bangor, Lewiston-Auburn, Portland, Bath, Calais, and more.
  • Expanded entrepreneurship programs in our schools, colleges, and communities; and prioritized small-business and microenterprise programs for new graduates in technology fields, and for artists, homemakers, and entrepreneurs.
  • Created the "Maine Attraction" film incentive program to attract movie productions to Maine, and to grow Maine-based film production businesses.
  • Guaranteed that Maine's doors are open to all people without discrimination. Maine's high growth creative businesses depend on a growing and educated workforce that draws from all corners of the state. We have created opportunities in our economy and in our communities for women and minority populations, for the disabled, for non-traditional workers, and for our youth.