It’s safe to say there’s a symbiotic relationship between a community’s economic situation and its cultural vitality.
This Friday, Oct. 17, that relationship will be discussed as the first episode of “The Innovators Talk Show,” a newly launched, in-depth conversation series, gets underway at Guild Hall (158 Main St., East Hampton, 631-324-0806), closely examining creative ideas in business and business strategy, with a focus on businesses located on the East End.
Part of Guild Hall’s broader mission to build a stronger, more vibrant community through the arts, tomorrow’s “talk show” will be a conversation led by Guild Hall executive director Andrea Grover and Malcolm Carfrae, founder and principal of Carfrae Consulting. Carfrae is a leading voice in global communications and public relations, and, with a career spanning two decades at the helm of world-renowned brands, he now advises clients across fashion, luxury, retail, and hospitality on bespoke strategies that drive global recognition and cultural relevance.
“The talk show format is new for us and more intimate and autobiographical than a panel discussion — perfect for a podcast,” Grover says, noting the title came about due to the abundance of creative thinkers from every cultural field who live out here and can share their stories on how they did it.
According to Grover, Carfrae foresaw the importance of social media for brands when he originated the Instagram campaign #mycalvins over 10 years ago. Now with his own consulting company working with global brands, and he also has special insight into the Hamptons, where his clients include Wölffer Estate Vineyard and The Hedges Inn.
Meant to inspire every size of enterprise, from mom-and-pop shops to corporations, because the ideas are scalable, Grover says, future talks will touch on subjects like tapping into AI or hiring members of the creator economy to find efficiency, originality, and to support the local economy.
“There was a recent arts funding buzzword called ‘placemaking’ that describes how arts and culture enhance the vitality, quality of life, and the economy of a community by attracting residents and visitors and even creating jobs,” she says. “In 2022, Guild Hall commissioned a study by HR&A Advisors that confirmed that millions of dollars for the local economy are generated annually by the activities of Guild Hall. The relationship between arts institutions and the fiscal health of a region is indisputable in study after study. How to survive and thrive in a seasonal resort community is a bigger question that we’ll discuss in the talk show. As a small business, Guild Hall is constantly adapting to the shifts in our community size.”
The talk show part of the program will run 30 minutes, kicking off with a lightning round of four or five questions before getting to the “meat and potatoes” of the discussion. It will be followed by 15 minutes for questions from the audience. The Innovators series is open to everyone with a special focus on Guild Hall’s Community Pillars, a group of philanthropic businesses that provide support for the cultural institution through an annual $1000 contribution.
According to Grover, the series will evolve based on new developments in business and in the interests of the community, noting there are hundreds of individuals to interview and topics to cover, from hybrid work environments to the changing patterns of consumers to artificial intelligence — two subjects that are impacting every industry.
“‘The Innovators’ name means each featured guest will be looking around the corner in their respective fields,” she says. “This series is about celebrating growth and evolution in business and staying relevant in a rapidly evolving environment. We want to spark conversations that are as relevant to the East End as they are to the global stage. The suggestion box is open.”
“The Innovators Talk Show” will run tomorrow from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 per person. To snag yours, click here.
