How Arts Promote Our Economy
When most people think of the arts, they imagine the end product, the beautiful painting, a wonderful piece of music, or an award-winning performance in the theater. But arts groups bring broader value to our communities. The economic impact of the arts is often overlooked and badly judged. The arts create jobs that help develop the economy. Any given performance takes a tour bus full of artists, technical experts, managers, musicians, or writers to create an appealing piece of art. These people earn a living wage for their professional knowledge and skills.
Another group of folks is needed to help market the . “If you build it they will come” is a misleading belief. Painters, digital media experts, photographers, booking agents and promoters are hired to sell tickets and promote the . According to the Dallas Area Cultural Advocacy Coalition, arts agencies employ more than 10,000 people as full-or part-time employees or independent contractors.
A successful arts neighborhoods creates a ripple effect（连锁反应）throughout a community. In 2005, when the Bishop Arts Theatre was donated to our town, the location was considered a poor area of town. After investing more than $1 million in reconstructing the building, we began producing a full season of theater performances, jazz concerts, and year-round arts education programs in 2008. Nearly 40 percent of jazz lovers live outside of the Dallas city limits and drive or fly in to enjoy an evening in the Bishop Arts District.
No doubt the theater has contributed to the area’s development and economic growth. Today, there are galleries, studios, restaurants and newly built work spaces where neighbors share experiences, where there is renewed life and energy. In this way, arts and culture also serve as a public good.
Teco Theatrical Productions Inc. made use of Bloomberg’s investment of $35,000 to get nearly $400,000 in public and private sector support during the two-year period. Further, Dallas arts and arts-based businesses produce $298 for every dollar the city spends on arts programming and facilities. In Philadelphia, a metro area smaller than Dallas, the arts have an economic impact of almost $3 million and support 44,000 jobs, 80 percent of which actually lie outside the arts industry, including accountants, marketers, construction workers, hotel managers, printers, and other kinds of art workers.
The arts are efficient economic drivers and when they are supported, the entire small-business community benefits.
It is wrong to assume arts groups cannot make a profit. But in order to stay in business, arts groups must produce returns. If you are a student studying the arts, chances are you have been ill-advised to have a plan B. But those who truly understand the economic impact and can work to change the patterns can create a wide range of career possibilities.
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Arts as an economic driver Our communities (71) ______ from arts in terms of economy.
(72) ______ of arts’ promoting our economy Arts activity demands a(n) (73) ______ effort. It involves creation, performance, and (74) ______.
★Artists make a living through their creative work.
★Others get paid by marketing the .
Arts have a gradually spreading (75) ______. They could help promote other industries whether they lie inside or outside arts.
★Besides tickets, some jazz lovers will pay their (76)_______ to and from the s.
★Arts contribute to cultural development when people gather together to share their experience and renew their energy.
Investment in arts could produce potential (77)_______ economic results.
★TeCo used a $35,000 art investment to attract an overall support of $400,000.
★In Dallas, one dollar invested in arts could harvest and extraordinary return of nearly $300.
★In Philadelphia the arts have created about 35,000 job opportunities for workers (78)_______ arts industry.
Art students a good living
With these (79)_______ in mind, art students need not worry about their career and have a(n) (80)_______ plan.
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