Ten good reasons to support public art
When offered the opportunity to regularly submit commentaries regarding public art to the Athens-Banner-Herald, Athens Cultural Affairs Commission members agreed that it would be beneficial to invite other arts organizations to submit articles on public art topics of particular importance to them.
Today, our contributing writer is Randy Cohen, vice president of research and policy at Americans for the Arts, the nation's advocacy organization for the arts. Cohen is among the most noted experts in the field of arts funding, research, policy and using the arts to address community development issues. He publishes the National Arts Index, as well as the two premier economic studies of the arts industry, "Arts and Economic Prosperity" and "Creative Industries."
Cohen also led the development of the National Arts Policy Roundtable, an annual convening of leaders who focus on the advancement of American culture, launched in 2006. In addition, his 10 reasons for supporting the arts directly pertain to the benefits of supporting public art in our community.
Marilyn Wolf-Ragatz
• Marilyn Wolf-Ragatz chairs the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission, which advises the local government on arts-related issues.
Ten reasons to support the arts:
• True prosperity: The arts are fundamental to our humanity. They ennoble and inspire us - fostering creativity, goodness and beauty. They help us express our values, build bridges between cultures and bring us together regardless of ethnicity, religion or age. When times are tough, the arts are salve for the ache.
• Improved academic performance: Students with an education rich in the arts have higher GPAs and standardized test scores, lower dropout rates, and even better attitudes about community service - benefits reaped by students regardless of socioeconomic status. Students with four years of arts or music in high school average 100 points better on their SAT scores than students with a half-year or less.
• Arts are an industry: Arts organizations are responsible businesses, employers and consumers. Nonprofit arts organizations generate $166 billion in economic activity annually, supporting 5.7 million jobs and generating nearly $30 billion in government revenue. Investment in the arts supports jobs, generates tax revenues, and advances our creativity-based economy.
• Arts are good for local merchants: The typical arts attendee spends $27.79 per person, per event, not including the cost of admission, on items such as meals, parking and babysitters. Non-local arts audiences spend nearly twice as much as local arts attendees ($40.19 vs. $19.53) - valuable revenue for local businesses and the community.
• Arts are the cornerstone of tourism: Arts travelers are ideal tourists - they stay longer and spend more. The U.S. Department of Commerce reports that the percentage of international travelers including museum visits on their trip has grown annually since 2003 (from 17 to 24 percent), while the share attending concerts and theater performances increased in five of the past seven years (13 to 17 percent since 2003).
• Arts are an export industry: U.S. exports of arts goods (e.g., movies, paintings, jewelry) grew to $64 billion in 2010. With U.S. imports at just $23 billion, the arts achieved a $41 billion trade surplus in 2010.
• Building the 21st-century workforce: Reports by the Conference Board show creativity is among the top five applied skills sought by business leaders, with 72 percent saying creativity is of high importance when hiring. The biggest creativity indicator? A college arts degree. The Conference Board's Ready to Innovate report concludes that "the arts - music, creative writing, drawing, dance - provide skills sought by employers of the 3rd millennium."
• Healthcare: Nearly half of the nation's healthcare institutions provide arts programming for patients, families, and even staff. Seventy-eight percent deliver these programs because of their healing benefits to patients - shorter hospital stays, better pain management and less medication.
• Stronger communities: University of Pennsylvania researchers have demonstrated that a high concentration of the arts in a city leads to higher civic engagement, more social cohesion, higher child welfare and lower poverty rates. A vibrant arts community ensures that young people are not left to be raised solely in a pop culture and tabloid marketplace.
• Creative Industries: The creative industries are arts businesses that range from nonprofit museums, symphonies and theaters to for-profit film, architecture and advertising companies. An analysis of Dun & Bradstreet data counts 904,581 businesses in the United States involved in the creation or distribution of the arts employing 3.3 million people - representing 4.25 percent of all businesses and 2.15 percent of all employees, respectively.