Report links vibrant arts and culture sector to valley's economic future

Without a significantly more vibrant arts and culture sector, the Valley cannot be competitive with other key regions in the country that are positioning arts and culture to fuel their economic prosperity. This is the primary conclusion of a report released today by the Maricopa Regional Arts and Culture Task Force.

In Vibrant Culture — Thriving Economy, a 30-member task force—comprised of executives from the corporate, arts, public, educational and philanthropic sectors—made a compelling case illustrating the benefits other regions accrue from strong investments in arts and culture, and how the Valley must take dramatic steps forward to succeed in the competitive environment of the new economy.

The business case for enhancing cultural vibrancy is strong. In Maricopa County, the nonprofit arts pumped nearly $344 million into the region's economy in 2000. Nationally, it generated $134 billion in total economic activity. Over recent years, research has shown that a vibrant arts and culture sector helps develop a greater sense of community, feeds the "creative class" of new knowledge workers, and creates a brand identity for regional areas that supports tourism and business recruitment.

However, national data—collected and analyzed by the task force over the past year—shows that the Valley is behind in nearly every comparison against Denver, San Diego, Seattle, Atlanta, and other benchmark cities. In fact, the Valley has by far the lowest per capita revenues of nine competitor regions benchmarked in the task force study. The report states that revenues would have to more than double to even reach the median per capita level of these regions.

"Despite being rich in quality, dedication and persistence, the Valley's arts and culture organizations are poor in financial resources," said Drew Brown, president of DMB Associates, Inc. and task force chairman. "Unless major initiatives are undertaken soon, the gap between us and rest of the country's vibrant urban centers will be truly unbridgeable."

"Arts and culture isn't frill," he said. "It's vital fuel for the new economy, and we must do everything possible to help it thrive or we will continue to fall further behind our competitors. The time for action is now."

To address these issues, the report outlines six major strategies:

• Create a regional arts and culture partnership to generate leadership and build support for the sector
• Integrate arts and culture more fully into current economic development activities
• Enhance participation in arts and culture activities through partnerships and regional marketing
• Build regional distinction by creating more signature events, arts districts and nationally recognized annual events
• Integrate arts and culture into education by supporting partnerships and opportunities for teacher training in arts education
• Achieve sustained funding by developing a detailed strategy that encompasses generating funds from multiple sources, including dedicated revenue streams

Immediate steps are underway to establish a Regional Arts and Culture Partnership, and an extensive outreach program has begun to communicate the task force recommendations to stakeholders, business and civic leaders, and the general public.

Within the next two to three years, the partnership will focus on identifying options for sustained funding, support an arts and culture information portal and initiate projects to advance the six core strategies. Within five years, the partnership hopes to establish a venture fund for arts and culture organizations and secure dedicated revenue streams.

The task force analyzed extensive national research provided by the Battelle Memorial Institute, the world's largest private, nonprofit organization recognized for technology development, and local research from the Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University. It also incorporated public input from a series of stakeholder interviews, focus groups and community dialogues.

The Flinn Foundation, The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, the J.W. Kieckhefer Foundation, and the Margaret T. Morris Foundation combined resources to fund the work of the task force and the regional analysis. This effort is part of a multi-year effort by the four collaborating foundations to strengthen the arts and culture infrastructure in the region.

For more information:

Vibrant Culture - Thriving Economy

Schedule of Community Events

Maricopa Regional Arts and Culture Task Force

Foundations unite to create regional arts and culture task force, 06/19/2003