Incubating skills for a creative economy is the mission of ECO-STAR North, a program dedicated to Arts, Creative, and Climate Entrepreneurship. We support this vision through a powerful combination of community-based participatory research, interdisciplinary artistic practice, and applied AI research.
Understanding the ECO-STAR North Methodology for Innovation
No hero completes their quest alone, and no great idea is built by a single person. The ‘Team’ is the circle of people you gather around you to bring your vision to life. This isn’t just about who is on the payroll; it’s about the full constellation of skills, wisdom, and connections you need to succeed.
The key here is to think in terms of attributes, not just individuals.
What kind of energy does your project need? Do you need a storyteller? A meticulous planner? A community connector with deep roots? A wise elder who can offer a long-term perspective? Your “team” might include mentors, advisors, community partners, and volunteers.
Be bold and think beyond your usual networks. The most resilient teams are often the most diverse, bringing together different life experiences and points of view. It’s about weaving together a group of people who are not just skilled, but who share a deep commitment to the project’s ‘why.’
What We’re Learning:
We are radically reframing ‘Team’ to be a ‘Circle of Relations.’ Drawing from Indigenous models of governance, this means moving away from hierarchy and toward a network of mutual support. A “team” might include non-human elements—the land, the water, the ancestor’s stories—as active partners. For interdisciplinary arts, this is transformative. It encourages collaborations that are fluid and non-hierarchical. A ‘team’ becomes a temporary collective, a ‘super-organism’ of artists, scientists, Elders, and youth, each contributing their unique wisdom to a shared creation.
ABOUT THE ECO-STAR NORTH PROGRAM
ECO-STAR North invites artists, educators, and community leaders to join in co-creating this new path forward — where innovation grows from the land, the language, and the stories that have always been here.
This project has been seeded in 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 Manitoba Arts Council Indigenous 360 Program, The Labovitz School of Business and Economics at the University of Minnesota Duluth, The Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects program, and the OpenAI Researcher Access Program.
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