Hi all, Several of us attended the fabulous Creative Summit held at Greenfield Community College on Saturday and co-sponsored by the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce. What impressed me was the focus on how to pragmatically utilize the arts to promote Greenfield and Franklin County's economy. There was the inclusion of Hidden-Tech and the digital arts and an emphasis on building sustainable economic entities, not just putting on arts shows (as wonderful as they are.) As someone who comes from a family that's half industrial sector and half the arts, I know how terribly hard it is for arts organizations to survive today. Artists of all stripes -- and I include writers and photographers in this category along with the fine arts -- need to learn to be entrepreneurial and utilize technology. GCC, the Franklin Chamber, the Creative Initiative -- and now Hidden-Tech as part of this effort -- can help them. Already, there are a number of entrepreneurial enterprises growing up. These folks need business planners, Web designers, financing and marketing/PR. They need to transfer their art to digital formats and find ways to utilize e-commerce to maximize sales. If you are interested in learning more, you should reach the following and say that you are from Hidden-Tech: Ann Hamilton, president of the chamber at annh at franklincc.org Dee Boyle-Clapp at "Dee Boyle-Clapp" <Boyle-ClappD at gcc.mass.edu> And look for a future Hidden-Tech/Creative Cluster program -- possibly at GCC's downtown office in February. best, Amy Zuckerman Hidden-Tech Founder, Clerk