By Kevin Lee Associate Editor

To some, art is vocation and calling. To others, it’s diversion or mere distraction.

But to a few, it’s an economic engine that bears reconsideration as a greater factor in producing a healthy cosmopolitan environment.

A quick dip into a local sushi lounge found Artifice face-to-face with a local gallery owner bubbling with news of a recent public radio spot highlighting a contemporary study on just what type of financial impact the arts have on cities.

The study-available in its entirety at http://www.hhh.umn.edu/img/assets/6158/artistic_dividend.pdf-was released in 2003 by the Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs in Minnesota and focused on the Minneapolis/St. Paul metroplex but their published results reveal trends in other locales as well.

The results of the study weren’t too surprising in some regards. Among American cities, New York and Los Angeles still seem to draw the largest amount of artists and creative types, but maybe not quite to the extent that they once did. The study cites several “second-tier” cities as having improved their attractiveness to artists.

The study broke down art into disciplines and looked at how some of the upper echelon in said “second-tier” fared. While pools of talent may be slowing in the aforementioned coastal poles, it is picking up in some of their lesser brethren. Atlanta, Albuquerque, Dallas/Ft. Worth and the Twin Cities increased their artistic populations by 56% or greater in the decade surveyed.

And those artistic groups aren’t spread equally. Actors and directors gravitate toward the media centers of L.A. and the Big Apple along with San Francisco. According to the study, dancers are drawn toward New York, Atlanta and the Twin Cities, while writers tend to gravitate toward New York, the Golden Gate, Seattle, the Twin Cities and Albuquerque.

Reasons are evident but not necessarily simple. It seems an amalgam of opportunity, enrichment and sponsorship combine to tell artists which area best suits their needs.

And of the factors included, the Humphrey study claims some rise above others. The choice of an art school or college and the decision to remain in the area after graduation; the availability of funding from philanthropic organizations; the presence of supportive, network and learning venues; amenities and quality of life; relatively low living and working costs; these all combine to formulate a quotient of allure.

But why would a city be concerned with artists to begin with if they are asking for civic investment to draw them to town? Well, artists and their products don’t just improve the quality of life in a city but actually generate economic activity.

Every art form has ancillary skills and resources upon which it depends. Dancers and actors need theaters that employ technical craftsmen. Sets must be painted, fliers and playbills printed, audio systems utilized and maintained, costumes created, tickets made and sold.

Visual artists use artists’ supplies, film, photo finishing, frames, sculpting materials, tools including computers and software. Musicians need instruments and sound systems and people to repair and fine tune them.

Personnel requirements range from back-up musicians to more generic service providers such as accountants and photographers.

Writers use computers, print manuscripts, employ publishers who utilize printers and subsequently retailers. A domino effect of activity follows every creation.

And a vibrant arts scene adds appeal to a town’s image, a positive tally for businesses looking to relocate a regional headquarters or pick a new spot to start operations.

Other trends noted in the study include a slow dismantling of the stereotypes around avenues of commerce and artists. While there is certainly no shortage of the starving artists who pays the bills by slinging gin and hash, more artists are taking the entrepreneurial lead with their art, forming co-operative groups that mentor others in the ways to make a living with their hearts’ content.

The study found that the economic impact of an artistic community can be felt in both the supply side and the demand side, that it enables businesses in the region to design their products better, it enhances working conditions and employee morale. The institute maintains this occurs when artists sell their services or products to companies in the region and that it also happens when artists as consumers of goods and services prompt suppliers to improve their own offerings.

If these things hold merit in the aforementioned “second-tier” cities, they would apply in smaller scale to third and fourth-tier cities like Mobile. Amidst all the change occurring in Mobile at present, one has to wonder if the Port City can open its arms a bit wider for the “creative class” that seems to always be on the hunt for receptive environs. We already have the low cost of living sought by many. The philanthropic efforts could stand some bolstering and we seem to be a bit short on the support networks cited. But these can change with the application of a firm commitment.

It would seem the ideal time for such a change in tack, for a course that could pay richer dividends than adding another float at the end of a Mardi Gras parade.

Kevin Lee is Lagniappe associate editor. Contact him at klee@lagniappemobile.com.

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