Beyond Quality of Life

Arts and Culture Have a Direct Impact on the Economy

By Victoria Hamilton

Arts and Culture are good for our local and national economy – they stimulate economic revitalization and tourism. They can also be used to bring life back to redevelopment areas, which can boost real estate values.

The arts are good for employees; they develop skilled and motivated workers and help attract and retain workers for our local businesses.

Arts and culture create and maintain a civil society. They help support generally accepted social goals, such as understanding and valuing diversity, reducing delinquency and crime, and teaching collaborative learning skills.

The arts can also be used through sponsorship and strategic philanthropy to directly support sales, brand-building and strategic business goals. 

At the national level, according to the most recent figures from Americans for the Arts, nonprofit arts organizations have direct spending of about $53 billion nationally. Direct spending by arts attendees is more than $80 billion, bringing the total economic impact to more than $134 billion in direct spending. And total employment generated is more than 48 million full-time equivalent jobs in America.

Locally, arts and culture contributes to Mayor Jerry Sanders strategic objectives to enable economic prosperity. The arts and culture organizations that the city of San Diego funds helped employ more than 4,600 people and supported local businesses through the purchase of supplies and services.

So there is a reason that the arts and business community should be intimately intertwined. Business requires a healthy local economy, a committed and innovative workforce, creativity and innovation -- all stimulated by artists and cultural institutions.

Arts and culture also require a healthy local economy, committed and engaged audiences and supportive business partners. Only working together can we build the kind of community, the kind of world, we want to live, work, visit and play in.

Through the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Arts, Business and Culture Committee, Chamber members can be more actively engaged with the arts and culture community in San Diego. 

Recent accomplishments and initiatives of the ABC Committee include presentations at Get Connected Breakfasts, Chamber CEO Roundtable and at Chamber board meetings, as well as articles published in the monthly E-Zine and quarterly Business Action magazine. 

Last year, the committee led an Arts and Culture Focus Group; in 2007, the Committee will create a CEO Focus Group to understand what businesspeople want from the arts community. 

And finally, the Committee will continue to give out a Small Business Award during the Chamber’s annual Small Business Awards Luncheon to the small business that is actively engaged – via support, volunteerism and promotion – in the arts and culture community.

Please contact Rachel Laing at rlaing@sdchamber.org for more information about the ABC Committee.

Victoria Hamilton is executive director of the city of San Diego’s Commission for Arts and Culture.