Citistates Group

BETH SIEGEL (Mt. Auburn Associates) – Optimists say that because the French Quarter remains intact, New Orleans’ tourist economy will survive. Pessimists suggest that the city might need to be leveled. Pragmatists recommend that city officials look to Houston to learn how to develop a “real economy.” Few leaders consider that restoring the city’s cultural economy must be part of the recovery equation.

After a year of working in Louisiana, Mt. Auburn Associates believe that culture — abundant, renewable and clean — is Louisiana’s metaphorical oil. Our study, Louisiana: Where Culture Means Business focuses on creating new jobs, new enterprises and a better quality of life for the producers of that culture: Louisiana’s people. Sponsored by Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu and released four days before Katrina hit, it found that cultural enterprises provided tens of thousands of jobs and accounted for 10% of the New Orleans economy — a number that excludes related jobs in the tourism industry and also surpasses that of the oil, gas and chemical industries.

So has Katrina washed away these plans for cultural economic development? Far from it. What is required is an investment in people and incentives for ‘human capital recovery’.

First, there must be a serious commitment to developing a local, skilled workforce. The Creole building crafts and artisans created the architectural landscape of New Orleans. If this landscape is to be preserved, a new generation must be equipped with preservation and reconstruction skills. Similar opportunities exist in the culinary, music, and film industries. Cultural skills training programs, therefore, should be fast tracked in the redevelopment efforts.

Second, a Cultural Conservation Corps must be established to identify and support New Orleans’ creative diaspora. New Orleans’ Offbeat magazine and WWOZ radio station have created online registries of displaced musicians. Efforts like these need to be supported and expanded.

Financial incentives must be developed and offered to artists and creative enterprises on par with those offered to conventional businesses. A recovery package for New Orleans needs to target cultural entrepreneurs — those individuals willing to take the initial risks of building an enterprise in the city.

Finally, Louisiana needs to rebuild its cultural industries with new attention to the people who originate the culture — the Indians, African slaves, Acadian and Caribbean exiles, Creoles and free people-of-color. Its distinctive culture was created largely by poor people who often fail to reap a proportional share of its economic benefit. As Louisiana rebuilds it needs to ensure meaningful economic opportunities for all Louisianans.

Rebuilding New Orleans will require vision, commitment and resources. But whether Katrina leaves behind a legacy of loss or a rejuvenated cultural metropolis is a choice, not a foregone conclusion. Bring back the artists and the culture — and they will bring back New Orleans.