Oregon's creative culture

Three boomers walk into a neighborhood wine bar after work ... No, not to purchase a fancy bottle of pinot noir. They (and I'm one of them) are there instead to learn more about The New Oregon Interview Series, billed as a series of public conversations with "various artists, chefs and other instigators" on topics ranging from music, film and books to food, fashion and the visual arts.

In short, it's all about the people, mostly in their 20s and early 30s, who make up Oregon's creative class and the subjects that motivate them. The notion of the creative class, of course, was popularized by Richard Florida in the 2004 book "The Rise of the Creative Class," and is very much in evidence in Portland. City leaders have welcomed these young people -- with their college degrees and D.I.Y. ethic -- to Portland because Richard Florida and other researchers have shown that arts, culture, heritage and the economy are all powerfully linked.

The higher the percentage of residents with post-secondary education and the more open (as in diverse and tolerant) the climate, the more a metropolitan area can expect to rely on these knowledge workers in a future that demands creativity and innovation.

Granted, there isn't much anyone can do in the face of this horrible recession we're in. Oregon's 12.1 percent unemployment rate is the nation's second highest. But a look around this city -- at the many indie-oriented businesses, the jobs tied to film, animation and the arts -- tells you we're attracting these very people who in past years might have gravitated to New York, San Francisco or Boston.

With all that as backdrop, it was a delight to meet two of these very creative people -- Nora Robertson and Tiffany Lee Brown -- two nights ago, when they described The New Oregon Interview Series before a small crowd at Blackbird Wine Shop. Nora's first interview with a couple of fashion designers is already online, and the first live interview in the series is scheduled June 24 at Urban Grind East in Northeast Portland. Unless a conflict arises, I plan to check it out. Maybe you should, too.

Recommended reading: A profile of Tiffany and her Easter Island project that ran in The Oregonian.