Regional economy impacted by the arts
CALIFORNIA — The economic value of arts and cultural programs in the nine counties in southwestern Pennsylvania is estimated at $1.2 billion, generating four jobs in related industries for every job in the arts.
While most of the economic value has been in Allegheny County, the wealth has been shared throughout the region.
According to the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, jobs created by arts and cultural organizations in Allegheny County generated $3.2 million in household income in Fayette County, $1.5 million in Greene County and $19 million in Washington County.
The report was the subject of a seminar Monday at California University of Pennsylvania designed to show area organizations how the arts could benefit the area economy. The financial figures came from a survey of arts and cultural organizations in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland counties conducted in 2010. The survey counted organizational expenditures and audience expenditures to determine total spending, then added the income generated by the jobs created by the arts and the tax revenue generated.
David Pankratz, research and policy director of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, said audience members spend more than $20 a person over the cost of the event ticket when they attend cultural events.
“When they come from out of town, it’s more than double what they spend beyond the ticket than the local people do,” Pankratz said.
According to the survey, there were 21,056 full-time equivalent jobs created through the arts in the nine-county region, for a total of $421.5 million in household income and generating $76.2 million in state and local taxes.
“Four out of five jobs generated by arts and culture are in other industries such as hospitality, accounting, financial advisers and builders,” Pankratz said.
Pankratz noted that the Pittsburgh region, specifically Allegheny County, stacks up well against other areas of the nation when it comes to the economic impact of the arts, with Allegheny County placing seventh in total spending and jobs created by the arts.
“It’s a pretty impressive story on how we stack up,” Pankratz said.
Mitch Swain, chief executive officer of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, said grant support from Pittsburgh-based foundations has helped create cultural districts in the city, with millions invested in the downtown area.
“Pittsburgh’s downtown was re-established because of the arts,” Swain said. “What the arts do is bring people together.”
Cathy McCollom of McCollom Business Strategies has been heading up the Rivertown program in communities along the Monongahela River from California to Point Marion, capitalizing on the resources of the river to attract tourists and bring about economic revitalization. McCollom said she is hoping some of the communities also can capitalize on the economic impact of the arts.
“You send out a message, ‘We welcome artists; we are artist-friendly,'” McCollom said. “We are going to concentrate on it, definitely in Brownsville, possibly in California and it’s already happening in Greensboro.”
McCollom attended the seminar looking for additional information on creating cultural districts for economic development.
“I’ve never yet found the right model for it,” McCollom said. “I think it’s a key tool we have not yet used successfully in rural counties.”
Kristen Tunney, theater manager for the Geyer Performing Arts Center in Scottdale, found the information gathered in the study interesting.
“It’s something we’re trying to do for our facility,” Tunney said.
Cal U interim president Geraldine Jones said the university has a strong commitment to building careers in the arts and for serving as a center for the visual and performing arts.