All about community cultural economic development
Why should we care?
Strategies
Resources
What is cultural economic development?
Cultural economic development is a relatively new branch of economic development.
Many communities are involved in some aspect of arts and cultural economic
development, but there is very little in the way of organized resources
for those interested in learning more. One of the primary reasons for
including an entry for culturally-based economic development in the handbook
was to have a space where artists, community members and economic development
practitioners can become more informed about the link between economic
development, community development and the cultural arts.
Many people view culturally based economic development as a convergence of community development and economic development. In other words, anything that uses arts or culture to affect change in a given location and also creates new employment opportunities and broadens the tax base.
As described by Neeta Delaney of Michigan in Cultural
Economic Development: A practical Guide for Communities, culturally
based economic development is the effect of converging two areas of interest
together in an economic development effort which includes the following:
• Arts and cultural talents or events as the driving initiatives
• Emphasizes economic development and cultural partners in planning
and implementation
• Has a clear intent of cultural and economic effects for the community.
Others define this kind of activity a little more broadly. The Urban Institute,
for example, has defined culturally based economic development as "activities
intended to promote increased market participation among traditional artists
and arts organizations, as well as other arts and cultural organizations,
such as historical sites, museums, theaters, and art galleries."
There is no conventional or standard definition for cultural economic
development, but most often it is considered to be economic development
activity that emphasizes arts and cultural partners in the planning and
implementation of the effort.
Why should we care about cultural
economic development?
We should care about culturally based economic development
because there is growing evidence to suggest that strengthening cultural
communities creates economic assets that can be harnessed for community
growth.
Neeta Delaney, for example, tells us that cultural programs play a part
in many aspects of economic development because they:
• Generate economic vitality in under-performing regions through
tourism, art, and cultural attractions
• Serve as a centerpiece for downtown redevelopment and urban renewal
• Create vibrant public spaces resulting in an improved quality
of life and a positive regional and community image
• Make communities more attractive to knowledge based employees
through contributing to a region's "innovative habitat."
The more important point is that the one thing we have seen with the emergence
of the importance of the creative economy is that fostering relationship
between the arts and economic development is not only possible but necessary.
Changes in the U.S. economy have put arts and culture at the forefront
of the characteristics that distinguish place. Cities, communities and
economic development agencies need to take account of these advantages
as they revise regional economic strategies and design and implement development
programs.
In rural Wisconsin and elsewhere in the country, the arts and creativity
have most definitely become a focus in community development. And, Milwaukee
and Appleton, to name two places, have used the arts as centerpieces in
efforts to combat crime and suburban flight by restoring vitality to downtown
areas.
Strategies for cultural economic
development
To build strong economies through the arts and culture:
1) Focus on creating jobs and diversifying the local economy. The
days of manufacturing and agricultural as the engines of our economies
are over. The arts are a real industry, with measurable numbers of businesses
and jobs, and economic impact. The Arts
and Economic Impact III study from Americans for the
Arts, commissioned by the Wisconsin Arts Board, shows the economic value
of the arts regionally and statewide-it's a $418 million industry for
the state.
2) Stimulate trade through cultural tourism.
3) Attract investment by creating live/work zones for artists and creative entrepreneurs, like Paducah, Kentucky, which created a whole "Artist Relocation Program" to attract artists from big cities to come and live their community. The city offers low-cost mortgages and other incentives so people could buy houses, promote their work, and be in a community of like minded people.
4) Improve property and enhance value, through downtown revitalization
projects, affordable housing, etc.
To build social, educational and civic connections through the arts
and culture:
5) Promote interactions in public spaces. Places like the Lucius
Woods Performing Arts Center in Solon Springs - St. Croix ArtBarn in Osceola
– the Grand Theatre in Wausau – the art galleries and art
spaces in Mineral Point – RiverWalk in Milwaukee – and on
and on - all of these spaces bring people together for common enjoyment.
6) Increase civic participation through cultural celebrations. The Wormfarm in Reedsburg, whose mission statement is "strengthening rural communities through sustainable agriculture and the arts," is an organic farm and its owners have a keen interest in the arts. There's an artist-in-residence program, and they inspire people to participate in workshops that make 12' tall puppets for the Reedikulus Puppet Festival and Parade each year. The people in Reedsburg have coined a great term: "cultureshed -- an area nourished by what is cultivated locally...fed by pools of human and natural history...the efforts of writers, artists, performers, scholars and chefs who contribute to a vital and diverse culture."
7) The future is all about our children. Engage the youth of
the community, and assert the importance of and support arts educational
programs that engage students and help them with teamwork, critical thinking
and creative outlets for expression.
8) Promote stewardship of place, as an outgrowth of pride of place.
When people feel pride and ownership in their communities, they will work
hard for them.
9) Involve the arts in the civic agenda. The "non-arts" world -- business leaders, government officials, politicians – is beginning to understand that the arts are not something separate and only for a chosen few, but are entwined in the life of the community. The future will bring new and comprehensive strategies to turn that understanding into reality.
Resources
• The
Creative Community Builders Handbook: How to Transform Communities Using
Local Assets, Arts and Culture
by Tom Borrop with Partners for Livable Communities, 2007
• The
Arts in the Small Community
by Robert Gard, updated 2006 by Maryo Gard Ewell and Michael Warlum
updated 5-20-08