STUDY: RIPPLE EFFECT OF ARTS ADDED $326 MILLION TO ECONOMY

The arts directly contribute $76.9 million annually to the state economy and produce a "ripple effect" more than four times that amount, according to a University of Missouri study.

The study, conducted for the Missouri Arts Council, surveyed 88 of the state's larger arts organizations in 1996. The $76.9 million amounted to their salaries and contracted services.

But the ripple effect, the phenomenon of how money filters through different layers of the economy, was calculated at $326 million.

This multiplied arts-related impact outstripped that of the state's printing and publishing industry, apparel and textile makers, and insurance carriers.

The study proves that the arts provide much more than intellectual stimulations and entertainment to the state, according to the arts council.

"The arts have a major economic impact," said Christiana Heithaus, a spokeswoman for the arts council.

The $9,000 study was commissioned so the arts council could demonstrate to both legislators and corporations just how great that impact is.

"Sometimes people and legislators look at the arts and see something that is frivolous or emotional -- just for fun," Heithaus said. "Yes, the arts touch the hearts and minds of people ... but they truly provide an economic impact for the state that people and legislators are not aware of."

The 88 arts organizations surveyed represent 15.2 percent of the state's 576 nonprofit cultural and arts organizations. Among them were the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the Springfield Art Museum, the St. Louis Art Museum and the State Ballet of Missouri. No organizations in Southeast Missouri were among the state's 88 largest.

In 1996 the organizations employed 7,371 Missourians and were donated 446,357 volunteer hours equivalent to $5.7 million in labor.

The arts generated 11.3 million admissions in 1996, more than double the number of admissions to professional sports events in the state the same year.

The arts organizations had earned income, endowment income, contributions and other revenues of $141.8 million in 1996. Federal, state and local governmental contributions amounted to $11.6 million of that total, or less than 8 percent.

These figures did not gauge the economic impact of the state's independent artists and craftsmen.

Heithaus said the study is being used to convince the state to give tax credits to arts organizations that want to spend money on bricks and mortar.

The proposal to renovate Kiel Opera House in St. Louis is an example of arts funding that could have a significant economic impact, she said.

The study demonstrates to business and corporate donors that their contributions are yielding tangible benefits, Heithaus said.

"There needs to be a way to show that the money is producing money of its own, it's not just going into a hole somewhere," she said. "In today's competitive marketplace you have to prove the arts are a viable economic force in society."