Creative Innovation Zone is core to historic Smoketown's renaissance. Powered by a $250,000 ArtPlace America grant, and secured in partnership with YouthBuild Louisville and IDEAS 40203, Creative Innovation Zone is a workforce-development project committed to the concept that art and culture play a fundamentally critical role in the social and economic revitalization of a neighborhood: It’s a belief that artists and thinkers — the inventive, imaginative, and creative — all have essential roles in shaping their communities’ social, physical, and economic futures.
The Creative Innovation Zone forms a new and unique public and private coalition with members from all sectors of the economy including the Smoketown community, Louisville Metro Commission on Public Art, Louisville Metro Housing Authority, businesses, and private funders.
Because the strength of any community is directly related to the quality of life of those who live and work in it, the Creative Innovation Zone projects will focus on three core initiatives: job creation, job skills training, and the nurture of green spaces. Consequently, one of the most important goals we have will be the creation of 20 new jobs in Smoketown by the end of 2015.
