Economic effect of the arts in Minnesota is big

ennyman Feb 26, 2015 10 Comments

DSC05985 2A couple weeks ago Creative Minnesota went on a road show to promote the findings of a major study. The data showed the arts have been having a major economic effect in Minnesota. The Arrowhead is the second-most vibrant region, though it is only the fourth largest in population. Here’s more information on what was presented.


Art, Events

10 Comments

Paul Lundgren

about 10 years ago 

Of course, it's important to approach arts numbers put out by arts organizations with a certain skepticism, like one would with mining numbers put out by mining organizations. That being stated, here are the figures from The Impact and Health of the Nonprofit Arts and Culture Sector pertinent to the Arrowhead region. 

Region 3 - ARAC

TimK

about 10 years ago 

Skeptical indeed. How many times have artists and arts organizations tried to skirt environmental laws or bullied unions into accepting the "pollution = jobs" mythology.  How many arts organizations are bribing legislators, thanks to Citizens United, to write new rules or change permitting processes. Damn those artists and their hedge fund minions! Damn those multinational arts organizations and their Chinese government investments.

ennyman

about 10 years ago 

Not sure I understand the angst. I don't know any artists skirting environmental laws. Most are trying to raise environmental awareness. I do not personally know any artists bribing anyone and what are "hedge fund minions"?

The presentation yesterday was just data about impact. There were disclaimers, which are included in the information being made public. 

Essentially, anything that brings tourists and people from outside our area TO our area is bringing revenue. If we only rely on Duluthians to bring revenue, each time we eat at restaurant chains and shop at other chains we are siphoning off capital from our region to the pocketbooks and vaults of those who are elsewhere. So, if MN Ballet and local theater and Arts events bring people from out of town, then it is good for Duluth. They stay in our hotels and eat at our restaurants. In this way, the arts and culture here has made positive strides.

TimK

about 10 years ago 

Work on your sarcasm radar. I was making "fun" of Lundgren's skepticism comment. Investments in the arts have one of the best bang for the buck economic impacts.

ennyman

about 10 years ago 

Thanks for the note. I was actually going to reply sarcastically to your comment and ... ummm showed I need more skill at this sort of thing. Tanks.

Ramos

about 10 years ago 

Paul said the numbers should be treated with "a certain skepticism." He's right. Any numbers that anyone puts out proving how awesome they are should be treated with skepticism. That's just common sense.

ennyman

about 10 years ago 

Essentially what interested me was not the numbers themselves but the logic behind them. Visit Duluth has hard data that says how much a visitor to Duluth is worth to our region. Even if those numbers are not perfect intuition says that more people coming to our region is worth more than if fewer people were coming here. The arts just add one more reason on top of other reasons for people to come here. When I came here in 1986 there were only warehouses in Canal Park, and the city was still suffering under the weight of the post-Carter recession (also called the Reagan recession because he was prez.). The city has more theaters, more restaurants, and more arts than you could find back then. At least things have moved in the right direction.

Paul Lundgren

about 10 years ago 

Let me put it this way: I love my mother dearly and she is a wonderful person, but she also told me a fairy puts money under my pillow when I lose a tooth. So I tend to approach life with a shred of skepticism in all cases.

I chose the mining industry as a comparison to the arts in this case specifically because it is the extreme opposite. Athletics would be a more parallel example. Sports are great fun and good for our health, but when a group wants a stadium built it doesn't hesitate to roll out the exaggerated claims and propaganda.

I have barely looked at the arts numbers presented by Creative Minnesota, so I'm not saying I've found anything wrong with them. All I was trying to convey before I posted that chart is that I wasn't posting it to prove a point. Frankly, at first glance it doesn't strike me at all that the numbers might be exaggerated. I do, however, struggle with getting any real meaning out of them. They just look like numbers. I mean, if you told me last week you were going to add up the economic spin off of every painting, theater production, concert, etc. in the region I certainly would have guessed it would be in the millions. When I'm told that it's $39.7 million, my reaction is, O.K., yeah, sure, that's certainly closer to a correct number than I can provide. But if you told me it were $80 million or $10 million I'd say the same thing.

Herzog

about 10 years ago 

Let's cut the crap here and give credit where due.  The banjo is what single handedly revived the Minnesota arts scene.  99 cents of every art dollar brought here is via those dulcet sounds of deliverance.  If it wasn't for all that corn-fed hog-wrestlin' music permeating the airwaves and paving the way for gospel-hip hop to cleanse your lost soul, where would any of us be right now?  Eating cold beans out of a can in a derelict Canal warehouse listening to Hungry like the Wolf is where. 
 
So I praise the Lord Jesus every time I hear another old-timey band plunkin' away at some dustbowl ballad, because I secretly know they inspired the mayor to give anyone he could think of the keys to Duluth.  Just give me some of that old time religion and I'll comb the nits out of your twelve inch beard all day long.   Mothers, pull your kids from school and force the banjo on them before their minds are sullied with thoughts of being outside or playing with their friends. You don't want no distractions lest their minds turn to the dark side of 21st century.

J.J. Lee

about 10 years ago 

If there were ever a time ... wikipedia.org/wiki/irony_punctuation.

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