07/13/2012

Arts in Charlotte Region Generate $200M

"Mecklenburg County’s cultural groups and their audiences are the driving force behind more than $200 million a year of economic activity, a study by a national arts group says.

As the money spent by Mecklenburg’s arts organizations and their attendees moves through the community, it supports more than 6,200 jobs and contributes more than $18 million a year in tax revenue to local and state governments, Americans for the Arts says. Mecklenburg is one of 182 cities, counties and states the group examines in Arts & Economic Prosperity IV, a study it does every five years. It’s based on information from 2010 and 2011.

'A lot of us appreciate how arts organizations make the community a better place to live,' says Randy Cohen, a vice president [at Americans for the Arts]. 'But a lot of people don’t think of them as businesses.' In the face of that, he says, the new study is 'a mythbuster.'

'Arts organizations employ people in the community,' Cohen says. 'They purchase goods and services locally...They’re good business citizens.'

For a glimpse of what happens, look at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte. Last year, the company spent $360,000 with vendors in Mecklenburg, said Linda Reynolds, managing director for development, marketing and sales. The largest single category consisted of lumber, paint, fabric and materials for sets and costumes. The total: $97,000 into Mecklenburg cash registers.

'It’s important for people to understand,' Reynolds said. 'We’re shopping at the same places they are in some cases.'"

The Charlotte Observer 07/09/2012