Arts organizations in communities like ours do lots of things to support the efforts of artists and arts programs in and around their homes. They are organized by individuals willing to say up front that they feel arts programs and artists of all kinds are an important part of community life. Sometimes those arts patrons cannot always say for certain why they feel that way. Often their attitudes are a closely held personal belief; for others it is a commitment based on positive arts-based experiences for them or their children. However, in the past more cynical folks in communities like ours scoffed at the efforts of arts support organizations as being “fluff,” or “superfluous” to the central concerns of raising revenues and adding tangible assets to a community’s ‘quality of life’ and ‘desirability quotient.’ However, the evidence is now clear: those cynics were wrong in more than one way.
In 2002, nonprofit arts organizations from towns, cities and metropolitan areas across the U.S. participated in a national survey seeking to measure the economic impact of arts programs. The results of the research is available online at the Americans for the Arts web venue and is highly revealing. I have referenced some of the survey’s results before in this column, but some revelations deserve a second look. The essence of the study’s findings is this: Non-profit arts organizations generate billions in economic activity annually; flourishing arts programs create jobs (2.09 million), government revenue ($11 billion), and household income ($47.4 billion) annually; and audiences at non-profit arts events also provide jobs (2.76 million), revenue ($17.4 billion), and income ($42 billion) in addition to the money they spend on admission to events. You can confirm this data at http://www.artsusa.org/information_resources/research_information/services/default.asp, where the data’s methodology and results are published in full.
What this means for us is a multi-faceted answer. It might mean that the powers in charge of the Three Sisters (St. Marys, Kingsland, and Woodbine) and our lovely county might need to consider a manner to provide direct economic support of the Arts Camden and Crooked Rivers efforts. It might also mean that well-placed persons with connections to state and federal funding ought to take a look at establishing a permanent place on a budget line for the burgeoning arts programs in this community. Or, it might mean that corporations with an interest in bringing residents and visitors with disposable income to our community as workers and consumers should consider taking the first steps toward corporate sponsorships for arts programs that will sustain our beginnings over the next decade and beyond. There are numerous other possibilities that a sustained community dialogue on this subject might discover.
Opportunities for this week and the future: Portions of “Crooked Rivers’ Sisters Three” can be seen at Gilman Memorial Waterfront Park in St. Marys on Saturday (July 15) at 6:45 p.m. Scenes and songs from the show will be performed. If you missed Sisters Three in April and May, this weekend is a chance to get some of the flavor of the show; there are special prices if you take kids, and special ‘hot-tix’ prices for the show only, to see Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” at Alhambra Dinner Theatre, now playing through 7.16; Players by the Sea offer “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial” complete with Captain Queeg and his mutineers, touching on military justice and personal responsibility through Saturday, 7.15, with special prices for military, seniors and students; check out the “Summer Splash” exhibits at the South Gallery of Florida Community College South Campus through 7.27; enjoy jazz fusion with Sypro Gyra at the Florida Theatre on 7.14, 8 p.m.
If you have ideas or events you want me to share with readers, send me a note at pkraack1@tds.net.
7.12.06
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