Emerging Issues Debate

The Value of the Arts

by Mary B. Regan, Executive Director, North Carolina Arts Council, Department of Cultural Resources

This issue, the IEI editors ask:

Why aren’t the arts valued as much as the sciences and math in general, and for economic development purposes in particular?

This question surprised me.  Ten, fifteen years ago, maybe it would not have.  But, we’re now living in a transformative period for our state and the nation, a period in which the “prevailing wisdom” embraces creativity and innovation at every turn as the panacea for all the shortcomings we confront. 

Perhaps it is only our institutions – social, educational, and political – that haven’t yet caught up.  Institutions – and the bureaucracies that enfold them – are slow to change.  Rules took a long time to develop, fine tune, and gain broad public acceptance, and they are taking a long time to shift.
  
Sputnik 1 shot into orbit October 4, 1957 and America’s schools and industries and political leaders plunged their resources into science and math so that the United States would not get beaten out by the Soviet Union.  Though no one talks about Sputnik any more, the shock of the Sputnik crisis so pervaded the American psyche that our institutions still quietly reflect its effect.

The conversation itself, though, has changed.  The term “downtown revitalization” has become synonymous with the arts and historic preservation.  Charlotte reinvented itself with the arts as a centerpiece.  Other cities and small towns have turned bank buildings and post offices and county jails into arts centers.  One person said she is no longer afraid to go downtown when an arts event is underway.  She knows it will be safe because many people will be there.

The N. C. Department of Commerce business recruitment section on its Web site describes why this is a great place to live.  It includes “the state’s cultural offerings, rich history and variety of arts” along with diverse geography, moderate climate, outdoor recreation and intense collegiate and professional sports rivalries. Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco says that in order for him to do his job well, he needs the Department of Cultural Resources to do its job well.

The Commerce Department has recently completed research into the impact of the creative/cultural economy on North Carolina’s bottom line. These findings will be announced next month.  The new data builds on a 2007 study conducted by the State Arts Council on the arts industry in North Carolina.  That study estimated creative sector employment at more than four percent of the state total, with nearly 159,000 people earning more than $3.9 billion in wages.  We also found that:

the presence of creative professionals in a given county is the single most important factor associated with the amount that visitors will spend,

the presence of creative workers is strongly associated with rising household incomes, and

counties with higher proportions of workers in arts-related occupations are more likely to retain current residents and attract new ones.

Creative enterprises encompass a wide range of industries, including the arts, entertainment and new media, and design.  They are made up of both non-profit and for-profit workers who thrive through their symbiotic relationship.  Often, the non-profit side serves as R&D for commercial industries as artists’ day jobs are fed by the talent and creativity that propel their artistic pursuits.  And it is original creative content in products that creates a major competitive edge for manufacturers, especially as globalization makes competition increasingly difficult. 

Recently, the Wall Street Journal asked six experts “which 10 cities will emerge as the hottest, hippest destinations for highly mobile, educated workers in their 20s when the U.S. economy gets moving again.”  The panelists were demographers, economists, geographers and authors on urban issues.  They named Raleigh #7 in a tie with Denver, Colorado.  Among its attributes, the Journal cites Raleigh’s jobs in tech and research, good outdoor recreation and a lively music scene.  

North Carolina is changing dramatically – and will change even more dramatically in the next decade.  By 2015 our population will surpass 10 million, making North Carolina the sixth fastest-growing state in the nation.  In the near future, our citizens are less likely to be North Carolina natives than people who have chosen this state as their home.

Last December the Arts Council adopted a strategic plan to make North Carolina the State of Creativity.  We intend our state to be a base for artists and creative people of all kinds, one that encourages “a culture of creativity expressed through innovative approaches to economic development, education, and government.  The arts will become both a destination and a way of life deeply rooted in the same North Carolina values that have already positioned our state as a leader in the arts and a leader in finding ways that the arts can add value to every community.”

Mary B. Regan has been executive director of the North Carolina Arts Council since 1976.  She has championed a statewide infrastructure for the arts that is a national model. The Arts Council has numerous programs to support excellence in the arts, individual artists, arts organizations, arts tourism and many other ways for citizens and visitors to participate in the arts.  Find out more at www.ncarts.org.

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