Where the Wild(ly) Creative Things Are

Words by Ryan Waterfield 

 

Jackson Hole Fosters a Thriving Arts Community

 

Jackson Hole is a place of extremes—the rugged landscapes, high peaks, and weather patterns. Athletes chasing the higher, faster, bigger adventures. But Jackson is also a hive for extremely creative people and arts organizations that support and nurture this vibrant community of makers.

And now there’s a name for this movement—a name that pays homage to the wild that drew most people to the Jackson area—“Wildly Creative,”—a collaborative campaign launched by Jackson’s Center for the Arts and Center of Wonder produced in partnership with the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board to raise awareness about Jackson’s creative community.

The artists living in Jackson—the sculptors, painters, actors, musicians, filmmakers—say that it’s the wild places and the out-of-the-way places that first drew them to Jackson and continually inspire them. The “Wildly Creative” campaign offers artists and arts organizations a platform to highlight and exhibit their work while giving the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board a way to tell another story about Jackson, a story that hasn’t traditionally received as much play as rugged landscapes, wildlife, and outdoor adventures have. But anyone who has lived in or visited the area understands that Jackson isn’t Jackson without the interesting, creative, cultured, and engaged people who populate the area.

The economic impact that the arts community has in Jackson is significant. According to a recent study done by Americans for the Arts, Jackson’s nonprofit arts and culture sector generates $51.2 million in total economic activity each year. The Wildly Creative campaign will foster the collaboration between more than two dozen Jackson-based non-profit and for-profit arts and cultural organizations in an effort to spread the good word about the community’s thriving arts scene. Input sessions and creative campaigns including this video led and created by Jackson-based New Thought Digital Agency, are part of the strategy to increase momentum. In addition, the campaign will include video profiles of local artists, an Instagram influencer program, print and digital ads, and marketing workshops for members of the arts community.

To follow the Wildly Creative campaign or to learn more about the Jackson area creative community, visit dailywonder.org/wildly-creative