Create Wisconsin Hosts “Creative Economy Tour” 

State Representative Todd Novak and Local Leaders To Participate

Tour Highlights Strength of Creative Economy Businesses to Local Communities

Mineral Point, WI – Create Wisconsin, the state’s leading community cultural development organization, will be joined by local State Representative Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville) in Darlington and Mineral Point on Friday, October 7th, to discuss the positive impact creative businesses have on the local economy, local tourism, and how they effect workforce attraction. 

“I am honored to participate in this tour and hear directly from local small-business leaders of how their businesses impact to their rural communities,” said State Representative Todd Novak. “Creative businesses like these have helped provide a unique identity for our communities in Southwestern Wisconsin.  They play a vital role as hubs for tourism, workforce attraction, and local meeting places for people to gather.”

Representative Todd Novak has co-authored legislation, including 2021-2022 Assembly Bill 422, that would creative a rural creative economy grant program. Additionally, Representative Novak has advocated for additional state investment for the creative economy, including a state investment in the Monroe Arts Center. 

According to the US Department of Commerce’s Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account, the value added by arts and cultural activities to Wisconsin’s economy was $9.6 billion in 2020, encompassing more jobs than the state’s beer, biotech, and papermaking industries. As the post-pandemic world takes shape, now is the time for Wisconsin to invest in the creative economy to ensure that the state remains a place where people want to live, work, and play.

“We are thrilled that state leaders like Representative Novak are participating in this tour and learning of the successes and challenges of these local businesses and resources,” stated Anne Katz, Executive Director of Create Wisconsin. “Southwestern Wisconsin is a prime example of how the creative sector can help grow and diversify Wisconsin’s economy and improve community well-being.”

Tour Details

9:00 am: Driver Opera House Center for the Arts, 250 Main Street, Darlington – Tour & Roundtable Discussion

Partcipants:

• Leona Havens, Board member, Driver Opera House Center for the Arts, Darlington 

• Bill Mitchell, President, Rountree Gallery and Wisconsin Arts Board member, Platteville

• Kathy Hennessey, Director, Monroe Arts Center, Monroe  

• Angie Wright, Director of Communications, Mining and Rollo Jamison Museums, Platteville

10:45 am: Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts, 18 Shake Rag Street, Mineral Point – Tour & Roundtable Discussion

Participants:

• Sara Lomasz Flesch, Director, Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts, Mineral Point 

• Mike Christensen, President, Shake Rag Alley

• Ben Brummerhop, Mineral Point Gallery/Chamber of Commerce 

• Carole Spelic and Richard Moninski, Green Lantern Studios, Mineral Point 

• Claire Johnston, Brewery Pottery and Fall Art Tour, Mineral Point 

• Bill Webb, President, Board of Directors, Mineral Point Opera House, Mineral Point 

• Christia Harrington, Theatre Manager, Mineral Point Opera House

The media is welcome and encouraged to attend. Contact Anne Katz at Create Wisconsin (608-255-8316) or akatz@createwisconsin.org for details.