What’s Your Art Grand Rapids?
“If you have two loaves of bread, give one to the poor. Sell the other and buy hyacinths to feed your soul.” This and similar sayings attributed to Chinese, Hindi and Persian poets get at the heart of a local conundrum. Michigan’s economy and jobs situation have hurt ticket sales and memberships at local arts organizations. Meanwhile, more people need help with food, heat and housing. So where do you put your philanthropic and discretionary dollars—in basic needs or arts?
Grand Rapids Community Foundation sees this as a both-and rather than an either-or issue. The arts aren’t a luxury, appropriate only when times are good. They’re an essential part of the economy, a magnet that draws people in to sustain community happiness and prosperity.
This is Leadership: Creating a New Arts Resource
Last summer the Community Foundation gathered leaders of area arts organizations to discuss how this economy is hurting the arts and how we might help support the arts. “Essentially the arts organizations told us they needed continued support from patrons—going to performances and exhibitions, buying memberships and encouraging people to not stay away from the arts because of the economy,” said Diana Sieger, Community Foundation president.
Together the arts leadership group came up with an “all arts” marketing effort, and the Community Foundation brought the $150,000 grant to the Trustees. Two local firms, Lambert Edwards & Associates and Plenty Creative, provided public relations and marketing help. Guided by the Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids they developed an arts awareness and engagement marketing plan. Its focal point is a website, www.whatsyourartgr.com, which features many Grand Rapids area arts and culture offerings in one place. The Arts Council has more than 60 member arts and cultural organizations, and all members are eligible to have information on the new website.
“Whatsyourartgr.com is going to be a tremendous resource for the community and out-of-town visitors. It provides a central calendar of events, home pages for all the organizations and links for ticket purchasing. It also allows people to get last-minute deals or discounts from any number of organizations. This consumer- and user-friendly site will ideally drive traffic to participating organizations, increasing their ticket sales and memberships,” said Caroline Older, Arts Council director. The Arts Council maintains the site.
How arts boost the economy
Local employers understand that robust arts and cultural offerings entice potential workers to relocate. The Right Place and Grand Rapids/Kent County Convention & Visitors Bureau cite the arts and culture as reasons to live in or visit Grand Rapids.
The report Arts & Economic Prosperity III: the Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations and their Audiencesdetails how the nonprofit arts and culture industry strengthens the economy. This comprehensive study by Americans for the Arts shows there are almost as many jobs in nonprofits arts as in elementary school teaching. Arts groups also hire services from builders, accountants, printers and other industries—and help drive tourism.
“Nationally, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity every year—$63.1 billion in spending by organizations and an additional $103.1 billion in event-related spending by their audiences,” the report states. This $166.2 billion generates:
- 5.7 million full-time equivalent jobs
- $104.2 billion in household income
- $7.9 billion in local government tax revenues
- $9.1 billion in state government tax revenues
- $12.6 billion in federal income tax revenues