Who Counts? The Data Gap Shaping Creative Economies

Cities say they support the creative economy, but funding and policy decisions run on data, and creative work rarely fits the categories built to measure it. Opnr CEO Dre Wallace sits down with Kevin Kay (Detroit Music Collective), Yesenia Gomez (Vizions Dance Company) and Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert (Sounds of the Zoo) to unpack what Detroit’s music census revealed, and what it means for how West Michigan counts, supports and invests in its own creative economy.

Together, they’ll unpack what happens when communities start measuring industries that have historically been overlooked, what new opportunities emerge when better data exists and what West Michigan could learn from Detroit’s experience.

This isn’t just a conversation about music. It’s also about data, visibility, entrepreneurship and economic development. It’s about who gets counted, who gets left out and how data shapes the way communities invest in their future.

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