Impact of the arts

A recent national study showed the arts are having a big economic impact across the United States.

The study, "Arts and Economic Prosperity III," conducted by the not-for-profit group Americans for the Arts, looked at the economic impact of the not-for-profit arts and culture industry in 156 communities and regions in the United States, from large metropolitan areas to rural counties in the Midwest. St. Louis was one of the cities included in the study, which found the not-for-profit arts and culture industry there generated $561 million in economic activity and supported 18,537 full-time jobs.

Leaders in the arts community and government in Cape Girardeau say the city could benefit by quantifying the economic impact of the arts here. However, no current studies on the subject exist -- which is also the case for the state of Missouri.

A key aspect to such a study would be to survey attendees of arts and cultural events and to determine how much money they are spending on those events. Currently in Cape Girardeau, the agencies that might logically compile such data say they don't have the resources to do it.

"I think people often fail to realize that there are only four of us in this office," said Chuck Martin, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau. "That makes it extremely difficult for us to determine something like this."

Painters worked on the last panels of the "Missouri Wall of Fame" mural Oct. 9. (Southeast Missourian file)

Martin said the group has some figures on how many people attend the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri's biggest event of the year, the annual Christmas Arts and Crafts Extravaganza held each November. Numbers provided by the arts council show more than 10,000 people attend the event every year, but it's unclear how many are local, how many are visitors and how much money they spend in Cape Girardeau. Another event, the River Valley Craft Fair, takes place at the same time and claims to draw about the same number of visitors as the arts council event.

"We know there is a positive economic impact from the craft show," Martin said.

Probably the closest Cape Girardeau has come to studying the economic impact of the arts is a projection of the economic impact of the River Campus compiled by Southeast Missouri State University's Center for Economic and Business Research in 2002. That study estimated attendance at River Campus events during a year will directly employ 25 people, indirectly employ nine people and generate a combined $687,000 in personal income. An estimated $30,000 will go into local sales tax and $50,700 into state sales tax.

The only data compiled by the arts council is basic, counting the amount of money it spent on its programs and events and how many visitors took advantage of those services. Those numbers are reported to the Missouri Arts Council yearly.

Reports for fiscal year 2007 aren't complete yet because the year doesn't end until June 30. For fiscal year 2006 the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri reported generating $86,864. More than $43,000 of that was garnered from admission to events, fees charged for workshops, corporate and private support and other means. Nearly 16,000 people attended arts council events.

Stefan Mehner, left, and Art Lindman performed Sept. 29 at the City of Roses Music Festival in downtown Cape Girardeau.

The money is spent on arts programming, but how it affects the local economy isn't tracked. That impact isn't studied on the state level, either. Beverly Strohmeyer, director of the Missouri Arts Council, said the agency hasn't had the funds to pay for that kind of study.

The Americans for the Arts study says that nationwide $30 billion in government revenue is generated every year from the $4 billion spent to support arts and culture.

Delilah Tayloe, executive director of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, said more information on the economic impact of arts and cultural spending in the area would be useful, but she said even without it a growing impact can be observed. And the economic impact, said Tayloe, go far beyond just the money spent on arts and cultural programming, since numerous studies have shown quality of life is a key attraction for people when they relocate.

"If a town doesn't have a high quality of life with a vibrant arts program, what are you going to do, sit in front of the TV?" Tayloe said.

Some cities have taken to directly lending their financial support to building up arts and culture. Paducah, Ky., is a frequently cited example in the region. Paducah provides money, and sometimes property, to artists as enticement to relocate to the Lowertown District, a once-blighted area those artists are helping renovate.

However, Paducah, like Cape Girardeau, doesn't have a study detailing the impact of arts and culture on the local economy. Such a study is being considered though, said the city's planning director Tom Barnett.

Cape Girardeau's city government doesn't give direct financial support to the arts. Mayor Jay Knudtson said the issue brings up a debate on the role of government: whether to provide basic services and infrastructure only or to promote things like arts, culture and recreational opportunities.

Knudtson calls himself a sports jock whose eyes have been opened in recent years to the importance of such things to communities.

"You've got to have your house in order first, and we really do today," he said. "That's why you see us really looking at things like parks and recreation issues and arts and culture issues -- all quality-of-life drivers."

Any emphasis on arts and culture largely has to be an initiative taken up by private citizens, he said, with the city government providing support.

With state assistance through the DREAM initiative the city will be contracting studies that ask visitors at Cape Girardeau events what brings them to the city and what might entice them to visit more, particularly in the downtown area where much of the city's artistic and cultural offerings are centered.

Tim Arbeiter, the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce vice president of community development, said those studies won't focus specifically on the arts and won't reveal how much visitors are spending on arts and cultural events but may shed some light on whether the arts attract people to the city.

Even without hard data, a sports jock can see arts and culture are having an impact, especially downtown. Knudtson said the downtown is experiencing a "renaissance" largely based on establishments like bars and restaurants, many of which use live music or other artistic offerings to attract customers.

"It wasn't but six or seven years ago people were wondering if our downtown was even going to make it," he said.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182