In a world driven by online perfection and follower counts, we’ve chosen a different path — one rooted in real relationships, shared values, and grassroots action. This is what community-first work looks like.
From Production to Curation, Connection, and Taste
Generative AI has fundamentally and permanently altered the landscape of creative work. In a world where high-quality text, images, and music can be produced in seconds, the old metrics of creative value—technical skill, speed, and volume of output—are being devalued. This is not a threat, but a profound invitation to evolve. This principle outlines the new creative mindset required to thrive in the algorithmic age. Our human value is shifting from mere production to the uniquely human arts of curation, taste, asking beautiful questions, and forging authentic connection.
When everyone has a supercomputer in their pocket, the most valuable skill is no longer having the right answers, but asking the right questions. The new artist is a philosopher, a DJ, a storyteller, a convener.
The Curator and the Connoisseur: The Value of Taste
In a world of infinite content, the new scarcity is not content itself, but attention and meaning. The most valuable creative act is no longer just making a new thing, but finding the right thing, contextualizing it, and sharing it with a community that trusts your perspective. This is the role of the curator and the connoisseur. It is the art of taste. Taste is a deeply human faculty, a blend of knowledge, intuition, and personal experience that cannot be replicated by a machine. It is the ability to distinguish the meaningful from the mundane, the timeless from the trendy. The creative entrepreneur of the future will build their brand not on the volume of their output, but on the quality of their taste.
The Philosopher: The Art of the Beautiful Question
Generative AI models are answer-generating machines. They are only as good as the questions we ask them. In this new landscape, the “prompt engineer” or, more poetically, the “question artist” becomes a central creative role. The ability to formulate a “beautiful question”—one that is open-ended, provocative, and elegantly framed—is now a core competency. A beautiful question can unlock unexpected results from an AI, but more importantly, it can unlock new ways of thinking in our own minds and in the minds of our collaborators. The innovator’s primary tool is no longer the solution, but the question that precedes it.
The Convener: The Power of Authentic Connection
An algorithm can generate a community newsletter, but it cannot host a community potluck. It can simulate a conversation, but it cannot build a relationship based on mutual trust and shared vulnerability. In a world that is becoming increasingly mediated by technology, the most valuable and sought-after experiences will be the ones that are deeply and authentically human. The role of the creator is shifting from being a solitary maker to being a convener—someone who brings people together, holds space for meaningful conversation, and builds a true community around a shared purpose or passion. Your greatest product is the community you build.
Provocations for the Creator
- Instead of asking “What can I make today?”, ask “What is worth amplifying today?” or “What forgotten gem can I share with my community?”
- Spend an hour crafting a single, perfect question to guide your next project. What is the most beautiful question you can ask?
- How could your business or project create an opportunity for genuine, in-person human connection this week?
- If an AI could handle 80% of your production tasks, what would you do with that reclaimed time and energy? How would you invest it in the uniquely human aspects of your work?
About the Program
ECO-STAR NORTH is a multifaceted initiative that operates at the intersection of applied research and interdisciplinary arts. At its core, the project is a rigorous inquiry into how mainstream innovation frameworks can be thoughtfully decolonized and adapted to serve the unique cultural and economic landscapes of creative communities. Rather than a top-down model, it functions as a living social sculpture, employing community-led, arts-based methodologies to co-create tools and knowledge. The project weaves together threads from creative entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, climate action, Indigenous epistemologies, and emerging technologies, framing the development of a sustainable and sovereign creative economy not just as a business challenge, but as a collective work of interdisciplinary art.
This project was made possible throughout 2025 with generous support from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design Creative Entrepreneurship Program, Enterprise Development Group, The Arts Incubator Winnipeg, Art Borups Corners, The Labovitz School of Business and Economics at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Manitoba Arts Council, The Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects program, and the OpenAI Researcher Access Program.
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