Randy Cohen

10 Reasons to Support the Arts in 2013

Posted by Randy Cohen, Apr 08, 2013 58 comments


Randy Cohen

Randy Cohen Randy Cohen

There is an old quote attributed to John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich:

“If any man will draw up his case, and put his name at the foot of the first page, I will give him an immediate reply. Where he compels me to turn over the sheet, he must wait my leisure.”

This was the charge given to me by a business leader who needed to make a compelling case for government and corporate arts funding:

“Keep it to one page, please,” was his request. “I can get anyone to read one page.”

With the 2014 arts advocacy season upon us, the following is my updated “Top 10 Reasons to Support the Arts.”

  • Which of these would you rank as #1?
  • Do you have a #11 to add?
  • Tell us in the comments below!

You can download this handy 1-pager here.

1. Arts promote true prosperity.   The arts are fundamental to our humanity. They ennoble and inspire us—fostering creativity, goodness, and beauty. The arts help us express our values, build bridges between cultures, and bring us together regardless of ethnicity, religion, or age. When times are tough, art is salve for the ache.

2. Arts improve academic performance.  Students with an education rich in the arts have higher GPAs and standardized test scores, and lower drop-out rates—benefits reaped by students regardless of socio-economic status. Students with 4 years of arts or music in high school average 100 points better on their SAT scores than students with just one-half year of arts or music.

3. Arts strengthen the economy.  The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that the arts and culture sector represents 3.25 percent of the nation’s GDP—a larger share of the economy than tourism and agriculture. The nonprofit arts industry alone generates $135 billion in economic activity annually (spending by organizations and their audiences) that supports 4.1 million jobs and generates $22.3 billion in government revenue.

4. Arts are good for local merchantsAttendees at nonprofit arts events spend $24.60 per person, per event, beyond the cost of admission on items such as meals, parking, and babysitters. Attendees who live outside the county in which the arts event takes place spend twice as much as their local counterparts ($39.96 vs. $17.42)—valuable revenue for local businesses and the community.

5. Arts drive tourismArts travelers are ideal tourists, staying longer and spending more to seek out authentic cultural experiences. The U.S. Department of Commerce reports that the percentage of international travelers including museum visits on their trip has grown steadily since 2003 (18 to 24 percent). The share attending concerts and theater performances has grown from 14 to 17 percent since 2003.

6. Arts are an export industry.  U.S. exports of arts goods (e.g., movies, paintings, jewelry) grew to $72 billion in 2011, while imports were just $25 billion—a $47 billion arts trade surplus.

7. Arts spark creativity and innovation.  The Conference Board reports that creativity is among the top 5 applied skills sought by business leaders—with 72 percent saying creativity is of high importance when hiring. The biggest creativity indicator? A college arts degree. Their Ready to Innovate report concludes, “The arts—music, creative writing, drawing, dance—provide skills sought by employers of the 3rd millennium.” Nobel laureates in the sciences are 17 times more likely to be actively engaged in the arts than average scientists.

8. Arts have social impact.  University of Pennsylvania researchers have demonstrated that a high concentration of the arts in a city leads to higher civic engagement, more social cohesion, higher child welfare, and lower poverty rates. A vibrant arts community ensures that young people are not left to be raised solely in a pop culture and tabloid marketplace.

9. Arts improve healthcare.  Nearly one-half of the nation’s healthcare institutions provide arts programming for patients, families, and even staff. 78 percent deliver these programs because of their healing benefits to patients—shorter hospital stays, better pain management, and less medication.

10. Arts mean business.  The Creative Industries are arts businesses that range from nonprofit museums, symphonies, and theaters to for-profit film, architecture, and design companies. A 2014 analysis of Dun & Bradstreet data counts 750,453 businesses in the U.S. involved in the creation or distribution of the arts that employ 3.1 million people—representing 4.2 percent of all businesses and 2.2 percent of all employees, respectively. (Download a free Creative Industry report for your local community.)

58 responses for 10 Reasons to Support the Arts in 2013

Comments

April 10, 2013 at 12:14 pm

The arts are the answer to vibrant, healthy and prosperous community where we treasure our heritage, celebrate our diversity and nurture our ingenuity.

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Janice Lintz says
April 15, 2013 at 10:04 am

All the reasons above are also why we must ensure our nation's museums are accessible to people with hearing loss. Providing access for people with hearing loss is part of providing excellent customer service to all patrons. This is especially, critical with an aging population and 1 in 5 teens having some form of hearing loss. People with hearing loss do not travel in packs and bring friends and family members who all spend.

Effective access for people with hearing loss means providing both auditory e.g. hearing loops and visual e.g. captioning access in addition to qualified interpretation so the entire spectrum of people who are deaf and hard of hearing's needs are met.

The National Park Service Guidelines for Effective Access provide excellent building guidelines for exhibitions. http://www.nps.gov/hfc/accessibility/accessibilityGuideVersion2.1.pdf

Janice S. Lintz, chair, Hearing Access Program

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April 23, 2013 at 2:56 pm

A community rich in arts offerings---especially those with multiple participation opportunities---draws the type of residents who embrace their hometown, engage in their community, and support a multitude of causes.

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April 17, 2013 at 12:28 pm

It promotes innovation and invention. Giving us the opportunity to grow and evolve as human beings.

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April 13, 2013 at 4:19 pm

In an ever more polarized society, where we are endlessly emphasizing who is smarter, who is poorer, who is richer, and are you red or blue, it is in artistic activities (ovious example, the national anthem) that we find the feeling of commonality essential for a democratic society to function. Further, a major role of art and artists is to define what we are, and again, when done well, that leads to greater mutual understanding, and less fear, of our fellow citizens. A sense of connection is key to our sanity, and one major role of artists, far beyond any element of craft, is to recognize and define the complexity of our existence, thus assuaging our fear of isolation and loneliness. Art is also a language for expressing these many facets of our psychological existence. - jl

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Todd Olberding says
April 09, 2013 at 5:13 pm

11.  Art is the most, maybe only way, the only civilized way, to fight against mediocrity.

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Tom ganagana says
December 11, 2013 at 10:38 am

Art is fun, pain killer & economic booster. As an artist, i cant do without it. Everyday i imagin what 2 paint on ma canvas or pad & i make sure by God's grace, is done. But in ma state (delta state in nigeria) d government dont know d value so, many of ma paintings are just there. Art is beauty....

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March 20, 2014 at 9:03 am

Raised by an artist mother and a scientist father our kids had the benefit of a home life that was all about creativity and thinking outside the box. We have art happening all over the place here. I intentionally raised my kids in an environment that was as rich as I could make it in: color, texture, smell, sound, intellectual and cultural content.

Our eldest son is a freshman at The University of Richmond, he has been asked to apply to do neuroscience research this summer. Why? Because his professors recognize that his thought process is very creative, especially for a kid that is good at science. He has a mind that is not tethered by rules. He learnt early through the process of making art to take the breaks off his mind and free flow and explore and today that ability is a skill that has presented him with exciting opportunities.

As an artistteacher I see many students that will never reach their full potential because they have never learnt the creative process or exercised that creative muscle throughout their lives. Its a damn shame that the attitude and funding for early childhood and art education in the USA is so archaic, I'm looking forward to this changing, articles like this can only help. Thank you.

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