For a strong local economy, don't forget the arts

[marmar]

from YES! Magazine:



Painting the Town Prosperous
Urban artists revive our neighborhoods and show us how to share our gifts.

by James Trimarco
posted Nov 16, 2011


Artists have always been creative about finding ways to get by, and new research shows that their survival strategies actually make a community more stable and self-sufficient.

For example, a report by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has found that poor Philadelphia neighborhoods with a large number of working artists have lower rates of child truancy and delinquency, as well as higher social cohesion. These neighborhoods are also more likely to revitalize economically and culturally, and their residents are more willing to pitch in during community activities. Other researchers have come to similar conclusions about neighborhoods in Chicago and Silicon Valley.

Of course, the arts have always made an economic contribution by creating jobs and circulating money. According to a report by Americans for the Arts, the nonprofit arts sector generated $166.2 billion in economic activity in 2005 and supported 5.7 million full-time jobs, both in the arts and the industries that support them. But the value of the arts goes beyond the formal economy. Artists—always in need of collaborators, resources, and audiences—are often master negotiators, and the friendships, alliances, and other types of social relationships they create help strengthen their communities.
That’s one reason why artists manage to survive even in tough times, and why a vibrant arts scene is one key to rebuilding a thriving local economy.

In Philadelphia, you don’t need to step inside a museum or gallery to understand the impact artists have had. Almost anywhere you look, from the city’s poorest neighborhoods to its interational airport, you’ll find one of the 3,000 vivid murals created by the Mural Arts Progam (MAP). Described by Mayor Michael Nutter as “the best mural arts program anywhere in the world,” MAP’s murals present images from the dreams and everyday lives of Philadelphians on a grand scale. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/new-livelihoods/painting-the-town-prosperous

[Angry Dragon]

1. Without the Arts a civilization dies