Publication:Northwest Arkansas Times; Date:Jun 25, 2007; Section:News; Page Number:1
Arts industry provides economic boost as well as impact on culture
BY MARSHA L. MELNICHAK Northwest Arkansas Times
Nonprofit art is an industry that creates jobs and generates revenues, according to a national study conducted last spring and fall that included Benton and Washington counties in Arkansas.
“The arts are a good, sound investment,” said Terri Trotter, vice president of external affairs for the Walton Arts Center, referring to the recently published report, Arts & Economic Prosperity III.
“Investing in arts and culture is an investment in developing the economy of your region, whether that’s the city of Fayetteville or Northwest Arkansas,” she said.
Trotter said nonprofit art in the two counties generated more than $1.5 million in taxes and fees for state and local governments, created more than 500 jobs and stimulated more than $16 million in economic activity.
“It’s a different way to look at the arts and culture industry,” she said. “It shows really conclusively that the arts are more than an amenity. They are an industry that creates jobs and generates tax revenue. This is an industry, and investing money in it reaps economic rewards.”
The study, conducted by Americans for the Arts, looked at the economic impact of the nonprofit arts and culture industry. It studied the direct economic impact of the organizations themselves, the indirect impact of the organizations’ expenditures, and the economic impact audiences made by attending events.
The Walton Arts Center served as a clearinghouse for Benton and Washington counties, finding and identifying the nonprofit organizations and forwarding and collecting results from the surveys about jobs, income and revenues generated.
The center also provided the people power for audience intercept interviews from about 20 events of different genres and in different places in the area. About 50 interviews were collected at each event.
Trotter said the study also shows the great potential to grow the arts and cultural industry, particularly to capitalize on cultural tourists coming into the region.
“Something this study and others have shown is that cultural tourists spend a lot more money,” she said. “Pulling in tourists is one thing; pulling in cultural tourists, who we know spend more money, is another thing.”
The study showed the difference between what a local person spends compared to what someone who’s traveling spends.
Relative to the national average, nonlocal visitors in Benton and Washington counties spent more than the national average, about $50 compared to about $40.
Of the 823 persons surveyed as they left events, those who gave local zip codes spent about $20 per event.
Audience members were approached as they left events, asked if they would be willing to participate, and, if they agreed, handed a clipboard with survey questions created for the national study.
“They just filled it out right there and handed it back,” Trotter said. Arts center personnel collected the surveys and sent them to Americans for the Arts to analyze the data.
Spending in the survey referred to related spending and did not include the ticket price. Concessions, restaurants, hotels, souvenirs and gifts are examples of related spending.
Most of the responders in Northwest Arkansas were local; about 18 percent were identified as nonlocal, compared to about 39 percent nationally.
We have fewer tourists than the national average, but each individual is spending more, Trotter said, explaining the data.
“To me, that’s a big flashing sign,” she said. “Look at the opportunity we have to capitalize on this and to make sure we’re preparing to welcome and host visitors.”
Trotter said the Crystal Bridges museum coming to Bentonville will help draw nonlocal tourists to Fayetteville as well as the area.
She explained that museums serve as destinations.
“So when the rest of the community, particularly the arts community, can make plans around that, then we can all capitalize on that,” she said. “It’s not only good for the Walton Arts Center; it’s good for Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas as well.
“When I’m able to bring folks from Crystal Bridges down here for a performance and then they go across the street and have dinner and stay wherever they stay, that’s good for everybody.”
The Arts & Economic Prosperity III study shows how that incremental spending adds to what’s going on in the community and plays back into the tax revenue generated.
“It gives us a new way to talk about what we do,” Trotter said, adding that the study provides data to support what people in the arts and cultural community already know.
For example, she said, “We know that having the arts in a community is good for the community. Not many people will argue that. We also know it’s good for the community in multiple ways. It creates the quality of life you need; it creates an interesting and vibrant community in which to live. But it also generates economic activity just like any other business.”
Partnering with arts center to fund the study in the area were the University of Arkansas, city of Fayetteville, Bentonville Chamber of Commerce, Fayetteville Economic Development Council, Fayetteville Downtown Partners, Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, the Northwest Arkansas Council and Wal-Mart.
