Art of State

It seems every street in Portland has its own neighborhood gallery. Just today I was talking about "the state of art" in Portland with one of the three owners of the Sirens gallery. When I asked her which end of town her gallery was in she told me it was in the "gallery district". This term was new to me but I must say I welcome it. I hope to see more like it in the development of Portland's Creative Economy.
I would like to think of Portland as a place that approaches urban living and planning creatively. This appeals to me on every level. The idea of having districts reflect their interest in the arts through their name if only informally, is fantastic. We are expressing a cultural value for the creative process when we do this.
I of course am not saying we should start renaming streets. I guess what I want to say is, "What a great city I live in!" We have a gallery district. A large portion of local businesses show local artists work regularly. We have many oppertunities for education in the creative process. Our city had a creative summit. It is fantastic our city's mayor held a creative economy summit for us citizens! We are so fortunate.
I have never been to a city as welcoming to creative individuals as Portland is. I went to every major metropolitan city in the south of Australia. I toured nearly every town and city in New Zealand. Despite all of these adventures in exotic places I was very homesick. I thought it was national differences but it did not feel any better in LA, San Fran, Boston, Cape Cod, Augusta, Maine, or NYC. I missed Portland, Maine. It was not until I got out of the bus in Portland and walked up Congress Street that I felt that aching go away. This is a very special place.
Portland is a home in this way for many people. I identify myself as a creative person in everything I do. Imagination plays a role in my work with Portlands oldest residents at 75 State Street. It also inspires me to value Portlands youngest citizen's as visionaries rather than just school kids.
Last week I attended a public meeting where a teen said he felt unheard. I heard a public official in the Portland School systems say the art curriculum could be cut because of a short budget. The place where I worked was filled with lonely people. Their day would have been better if they were visited by a schoolchild from Portlands Schools. Solutions to these problems can be found by listening, thinking,then engaging in a creative problem solving.
I value innovative and integrative approaches to education. They engage our schools in a creatively vital Portland. We should treat every problem we have in Portland, educational, social, financial, even medical as an opportunity to engage in creative conversations. Portland will continue to be looked at as a flagship city if we are successful in doing this. Now more than ever the counntry needs good role models. Problems can be solved in similar ways on national levels as well.
Please engage your friends, neighbors, children, and families in creative conversations.