State of Creativity Launch

Utopia Joe as Producer/Artist was one of six exclusively chosen VIP Creative Ambassadors including Olympic Gold Medal Winner Bart Connor, Governor Brad Henry, Prosthetic Expert/Inventor Jay Martin, Music Composer Jerod Tate and Astronaut Thomas Stafford for the State of Creativity Launch with special televised reel of the upcoming series for The Utopia Joe TV Show for OETA/PBS during a worldwide launch event.

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OKLAHOMA CITY - While memory of the state's centennial celebration is still fresh, it's time to put Oklahoma on the path toward becoming an innovative leader for the next 100 years, Oklahoma Creativity Project Executive Director Phil Moss said.

The first step may very well be the official launch Friday of the Oklahoma Creativity Project, a statewide effort to promote creativity in culture, commerce and education. The Chesapeake Energy- sponsored event is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 NE 52nd St.

"We want to create an environment in the state and our partner organizations to have more open attitudes about looking at opportunities for change," Moss said, and by doing so attract creative people and who help improve the quality of life and drive economic development.

"We might examine policies or strategies that may have worked for us in the past, but because of the changing nature of the economy or the changing nature of our demographics, or the use of technology, might suggest that we try something new as we move forward," he said.

The project will focus on education, commerce and culture because those are the three areas that organizers feel they can initiate the longest-lasting and deeply affecting changes, Moss said. Each area will have committees that will identify examples of change that the project advocates.

"What we really don't want to do is create an organization that says, 'We're here to promote innovation and creativity, but we're going to define it and tell you what to do,'" he said. "Because if we do that we're going to miss opportunities to consider approaches we hadn't thought of, and that's the essence of creativity."

Gov. Brad Henry designated 2008 as the Year of Creativity. First lady Kim Henry has been chosen as one of several creativity ambassadors, which include Olympic gymnast Bart Conner, music composer Jerod Tate, fine artist & film maker Joe Bohrer and astronaut Thomas Stafford.

Creativity Project sponsors are the DaVinci Institute, Academy for State Goals, Oklahoma Centennial Commission, the Kirkpatrick Foundation, and Oklahoma A Schools, cited by Moss as an example of creativity in education for introducing arts into the daily school experience.

The 40-member board of directors includes law firm partners, college deans and presidents, business executives, elected officials and other community leaders.

Board Chairman Burns Hargis said in a prepared statement the project will "bring focus to unite Oklahomans in inspiring, harnessing and cultivating our creativity in commerce, culture and education to produce innovations leading to greater prosperity, growth and advancement in our next 100 years."