CreativeGround Platform Gets an Upgrade

CreativeGround.org is the dynamic directory that celebrates New England's artists, creatives, culture bearers, arts and culture organizations and creative businesses. A unique combination of database and directory, the user-generated and maintained profiles on CreativeGround provide a real-time picture of the broad spectrum of creative people and places at work in the six New England states and the important connections between them.  

CreativeGround 2.0 is here!

The site's Public Launch will be a year-long focus on inviting members of the New England creative economy to participate in community building and promotional activities for the networking platform. The user interface has been upgraded to have improved accessibility, and a refreshed aesthetic that promotes visibility of, connection with, and knowledge-building of the region’s creative economy. Search and connect with creative New England. Browse profiles for cultural organizations like libraries and theaters, creative businesses like recording studios and design agencies, and creatives of all disciplines. 

By cultivating key community and data partnerships, and leveraging new communications channels, CreativeGround is spotlighting and uplifting the voices and conversations of the creative community. Sharing the stories, relationships, and data of the creative community empowers its people with more knowledge, connection, and resources. When creative communities are supported, all communities thrive. 

Originally launched in 2014 as a merger between previous directories MatchBook and CultureCount, CreativeGround has spent the past seven years receiving feedback and shifting in response. An upgrade to the technical platform, Drupal, meant the timing was ripe to transition to a new CreativeGround experience that would be more accessible, friendlier, and invite more interaction with the data and excitement about its use for sector advocacy.  

CreativeGround is New England’s community-generated, free, online arts and culture directory that provides visibility, connection, and information to support a region-wide creative network. Spotlighting the stories, relationships, and data of the creative people and places at work empowers the creative community with more resources. 

Some of the upgrades made: 

• The user experience is now more accessible; the site meets AA accessibility standards. 
• Users can search by keyword or select fields in one page, view profile results in a list or a map, and sort those results in multiple ways 
• Profiles have a new look. Improved navigation makes viewing, contacting, and claiming a Profile easy.  
• Profile owners can add new disciplines, activities, and special designations to their profiles, as well as the profile status of "On Hiatus," when taking a creative break 
• Profiles now have Scores that indicate their completeness. We provide Profile owners goals for updating their Profiles to maximize their scores and Search results can be sorted by Profile Score. 
• The site now has an API (Application Programming Interface) to allow partners to integrate CreativeGround profiles into another website. 
• A new blog that shares stories about the New England creative community.  

Whether you’re rooted in the creative community, or are cultivating creative relationships, we invite you to dig into the dynamic directory.

Connect with Creative New England