creative cities
Cultural
exChange
distriCt Can be a hub for
arts and innovation
by Jennifer McFee
12 | WINTER 2013
'peg
biz
I
t's no secret that Winnipeg is home to a robust arts and culture
scene. Now there's a movement afoot to build on this inventive
undercurrent to grow a truly creative city.
Thom Sparling, executive director of ACI Manitoba, points out that a
shift is already underway in the Exchange District. The area continues
to attract artists, along with start-up tech companies that have set up
shop along Adelaide Street in a strip known as Innovation Alley.
"When you bring arts and culture in the creative sector in proximity
with the tech sector, both sectors experience exponential growth,"
Sparling says.
"You're bringing together people who think differently and you're
putting similar problems in front of them. All of a sudden, you're
creating things that would never have been created otherwise."
To help foster these connections, Sparling is developing a creative
campus website to act as an interactive social-media tool.
But he says more physical infrastructure needs to be developed for
art space, gathering spots and living areas.
"I sit in my office at the corner of King and McDermot and there's
100,000 square feet of empty, vacant space," Sparling says.
"We need to fill that space with creative types and grow
the excitement."
Manitoba Museum executive director Claudette Leclerc has an ideal
spot in mind for a creative cultural campus.
