By Creative Startups Lead Researcher Mike Young
Shiprock is not a ship. In Navajo, the ancient volcanic neck—rising thousands of feet in seeming isolation from the miles of high desert below—is known as “Tsé Bit’a’í,” or “rock with wings.” Looking up at this rock, some see the prow of a schooner. Around it, they see endless scrub, all the color of almost: almost clay, almost gray, sage that never quite wakes up into green. Seen like this, the rock is steering (like a ship) through the sky. It sails the dust. Out of nowhere it towers, and the only thing you pass through is your own awe.
But others—who have been looking at this rock for a while longer—don’t see a ship. They see the ridges trailing away on either side. Those are wings. The rock is not sailing: it’s mid-flight.
Seen like this, Tsé Bit’a’í is not alone at all. As one of many eroded volcanoes in the greater Four Corners area, it is part of the Diné Volcanic Field. These pocks and veins have been around: they are the remains of 30 million year-old eruptions, according to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. They might be scattered, but they are neighbors. There are intrusions and extrusions. Even rock isn’t quite the right word: try “minette, vogesite, and kimberlite.” See a bird that carried the ancestors of the Diné people to here. Feel more than your own awe.
In late January, I drove Highway 491 north through the Navajo Nation with community organizer, vocalist, DJ, and the Executive Director of Vital Spaces, Raashan Ahmad. Each of us is eager to be first to spot the famous monadnock. “I think it’s that one?” We take out our phones. It doesn’t feel right. “No, it’s that one.” Our fingers hover over the record button. “My friend took me here years ago—I think that big one.” The fog is in the way. There are plenty of rocks. They’re all impressive. Some feel defiant. Others bashful. “Loopy—isn’t that rock kind of like… loopy?”
But then we see. Fog covers the top, but it doesn’t matter. That’s Tsé Bit’a’í. Plenty of rocks. Trucks and fences. Snow and power lines. Freshly painted mile markers. There’s no such thing as nowhere. The past might’ve erupted 30 million years ago, but people are still shifting.
Late January is a huddled time in northwestern New Mexico. All of the state’s renowned blue skies are hard to come by. If you’re lucky, it’s just cold. If you’re not, you can’t see through the snow. But when Ahmad and I traveled through the Northwest part of the state—Region 1, according to the New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD)—we found more than enough ingenuity, resilience, cultural preservation, and creative entrepreneurship to make any color of sky come alive.
We were traveling for the first leg of our exploration into New Mexico’s creative economy. I am a writer and researcher for Santa Fe-based Creative Startups, which runs accelerators and incubators for creative entrepreneurs all over the world, publishes in-depth analyses of creative economy ecosystems, and crafts development strategies that center creative and cultural enterprises.
In 2023, New Mexico House Bill 8 (signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham) established the New Mexico EDD’s new Creative Industries Division, intended to support the state’s creative economy and the people working within it. In the Land of Enchantment, that’s quite a few people.
Almost 1 in 9 New Mexicans make at least part of their living in the creative economy, and New Mexico boasts more artists and artisans per capita than any other state. Creative industries generate almost $6 billion in economic activity for New Mexico, and work in the creative economy pays $1.37 billion in wages and salaries. According to the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, this figure is “roughly equal to the total paid by the state’s mining industry.”
In other words, the creative economy is not just the vibe of New Mexico: it's the vitality.
What New Mexicans have long experienced within their communities and family businesses has also been recognized by economic development organizations across the state. The comprehensive economic development strategies (CEDs) for both the North Central New Mexico Development District (NCNMEDD) and the Mid-Region New Mexico Council of Governments (MRCOG) both strongly agree on the regional potential of the creative economy. According to the NCNMEDD, the region’s labor in the creative economy sector is almost twice that of national averages, while MRCOG points out that the creative industries have “proven to be flexible, responsive, and resilient for employers and employees alike.”
Almost 1 in 9 New Mexicans make at least part of their living in the creative economy, and New Mexico boasts more artists and artisans per capita than any other state. Creative industries generate almost $6 billion in economic activity for New Mexico, and work in the creative economy pays $1.37 billion in wages and salaries.
However, while creativity, culture, and artistic entrepreneurial traditions thrive throughout New Mexico, the economic benefits of these pursuits have not historically been evenly dispersed. So the EDD put out a call for proposals to craft a 5-year statewide plan for the Creative Industries Division and chose the proposal submitted by a coalition of New Mexico-based (and globally respected) organizations: Creative Startups, Vital Spaces, and the Poeh Cultural Center.
Collaborating with our shared areas of expertise, we are diving into quantitative and comparative research: shaking forth the stories of economic statistics, analyzing similar divisions and program models around the country, and hunting down industry forecasts that align with New Mexico export opportunities. This research will culminate in a plan for the Creative Industries Division rooted in equity, with enhanced education and workforce training initiatives. If all goes well, the Creative Industries Division will help make creative livelihoods more accessible, dependable, and sustainable for more people across the state.
But the whole point of life in the creative economy is that life is about more than the economy. To understand how this Division can best support creative livelihoods and economic stability across New Mexico, we need to meet creatives across New Mexico. We need to talk to creatives where they live and work, where they take risks and raise families.
So we’re also pursuing an ethnographic research strategy of listening sessions, focus groups, meals, studio tours, and one-on-one interviews. Through in-person writing exercises and targeted surveys, we’re collating thousands of words that envision bold successes for communities. And we’re trekking across nearly all 120,000 miles of New Mexico: from Zuni to Clovis, Raton to Lordsburg, Farmington to Las Cruces, at least one community in all 33 counties. We’re attempting to better understand what makes the state’s existing creative industries rev—and how best to accelerate their future.
The timing is urgent. Without a strategy that aims to help make creative livelihoods work better for more people across the state, New Mexico risks losing its status as a leader in a booming sector. In 2021, the US creative economy added $1.016 trillion to national GDP. By 2030, G20 Insights predicts the creative economy could account for 10% of global GDP, and Deloitte believes the world will see up to 40% growth in creative sectors by 2030. With automation and AI transforming all corners of industry, well-supported creative economies—and the innovations they produce—are not solely the engines of culture. They are, arguably, our brightest economic tomorrow.
So in this series of dispatches from New Mexico—as Creative Startups, Vital Spaces, and the Poeh Cultural Center work together to travel and meet—we will share what we find. We will try our best to connect stories from disparate places. We will weigh possibilities, opportunities, and legacies. We’re lucky to be spinning dust and eating chile in a place that has inspired so many words already—what former Albuquerque poet laureate Hakim Bellamy calls “sacred heart ink” in his poem “New Mexico 2050?”
As winter turns to spring, the fog will lift—like it has for millions of years—from Tsé Bit’a’í. And we will try our best to reflect the shine of New Mexico’s creative industries and find a few answers to the question at the end of Bellamy’s poem: “But what about the Nuevomexicanos?”
Interested New Mexico creatives are encouraged to sign up to voice their perspective, keep up to date with events, and get involved. By joining the list, creatives will continue to play a significant role in shaping the future of the Creative Industries Division, receiving relevant information and opportunities for further contribution. Don't miss out on staying connected and actively participating—sign up now to ensure your voice continues to be a driving force in this transformative initiative.
About the New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD):
The mission of the New Mexico Economic Development Department is to improve the lives of New Mexico families by increasing economic opportunities and providing a place for businesses to thrive.
Our programs and initiatives support our mission. The New Mexico Partnership is a statutorily-created public-private organization under contract to the department to market the state globally in order to attract new jobs and investment. Department programs provide direct assistance to New Mexico businesses and communities. Programs and services for businesses can be found in the Business Resource Center. EDD also administers several programs that support community development.
About Creative Startups
Creative Startups based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has a proven track record developing economic strategies and programs leading to measurable economic growth in the creative industries. At the forefront of the creative economy for 15 years, Creative Startups develops strategic plans for regional governments, supplies in-depth economic analyses of assets and market opportunities, supports cultural and tribal institutions, and develops and delivers innovative programs for creative entrepreneurs and artists. Through their work across New Mexico, the USA, and the world, Creative Startups has developed a comprehensive understanding of the technologies and trends driving the remarkable expansion of creative industries.