The Arts as an Engine: Study measures the considerable local economic impact of culture

In his book, “The Performing Arts in a New Era,” former Syracuse University Maxwell School Professor Arthur Brooks, now head of the American Enterprise Institute, writes: “The arts provide a variety of instrumental benefits for society ... at the individual, community and national level.” Don Lovoie and Emily Chamlee-Wright of the Cato Institute go a step further, linking the arts to community prosperity. “Economic development is, at its heart, a cultural process,” they write.

Now a study makes explicit that implied connection between the arts and the economy — in Central New York. “We always intuited we are part of the solution, that we enhance the economy as well as the quality of life,” says Stephen Butler of the Cultural Resources Council of Syracuse and Onondaga County. “Now there’s important, objective data.”

That data is contained in the survey, “Arts and Economic Prosperity,” (PDF) a yearlong undertaking by Professor Ronald Wright of Le Moyne College. The survey, which cost a mere $37,500, benefited from the efforts of more than 3,500 volunteers. With their help, Wright analyzed 45 of the region’s more than 140 cultural groups, including all the “majors” like Syracuse Stage and the Everson Museum of Art. It’s part of a national effort surveying 182 regions across the country. Among the study’s key findings:

• Art and cultural groups in Central New York generated $133.4 million in economic activity, supported 5,117 full-time equivalent jobs and provided $110.4 million in household income.
• Local and state governments received $20.1 million in revenue generated by the arts.
• Some 3.8 million people participated in arts programs and events.

Central New York was well ahead of the national average in jobs generated and audience spending. It trailed in one area, though: Wright calculated that per capita spending by local arts groups was $74.04, compared with $174.25 for other regions with similar populations and $194.29 for larger cities.

Generating public funds in support of the arts is always a struggle. “In an economic downturn, the first on the block to cut is arts funding,” says Jeffrey Woodward, managing director of Syracuse Stage. “The feeling is it’s a frill, not a building block for the community.” Pointing to the study, Woodward added: “Now we have a report refuting that.”

In past years, cultural organizations depended on yearly handouts from Onondaga County. “Government support is not massive, but it could be a killing piece if it was cut,” says Wright.
Under County Executive Joanie Mahoney, arts groups now have a “dedicated” source of funds: 22 percent of the county’s room occupancy tax. Last year that amounted to $1.2 million, which the CRC distributed. “It brings stability,” says the CRC’s Butler.

The study should help cultural advocates make the case for maintaining or even increasing public support for the arts, since the economic dividend could grow along with it. And just in time.
“There’s more fatigue than I’ve ever seen,” said Woodward of Syracuse Stage, who noted the continuing struggle to keep classical music alive in Central New York after last year’s collapse of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. “It’s increasingly difficult to balance the books at the end of the day. ... When groups are healthy is when they do their best work.”