The arts mean business in the city of Durango. That was the message delivered earlier this month by Americans for the Arts in a report, “Arts & Economic Prosperity,” partly commissioned by the city of Durango; the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College; Durango Arts Center; Durango Choral Society; and Science, Theatre, Education, Arts and Music Park board, that underscored what many suspected.
Not-for-profit arts and cultural organizations are big business. Twenty-six local organizations participating in the study were directly responsible for $18 million in local expenditures in 2015. Split between direct organizational ($8.62 million) and audience ($9.47 million) spending, the report documents 602 jobs paying $12.3 million in income to residents and $1.45 million to local and state government. Had it included the for-profit arts community – local galleries and performance halls, for example – the calculated impact would be even greater.
The report is timely and will be helpful in efforts to secure Creative District certification with Colorado Creative Industries, a division of the state office of economic development. To date, 21 total districts enjoy this designation that in Southwest Colorado includes Mancos, Ridgway and Telluride, and the city of Durango’s 2017 comprehensive plan recommends pursuing.
The benefits of such a designation are considerable and one we hope will eventually come to fruition. They include grant funding, tourism marketing and technical assistance, networking, training and analytical tools to track economic data.
Two prior applications – one by the Durango Business Improvement District and another by the city – were pulled for various reasons, readiness among them. Though the arts community at the time was disappointed, that may not have been such a bad thing. If anything, the inclusion of an “Arts, Culture & Creative Economy” element in the comprehensive plan took a lot of work and organization, and put in place many of the pieces a successful creative district requires.
Perhaps most importantly, Durango’s vision statement was revised to reflect the importance of our arts and cultural community and now reads: “Durango is an authentic, diverse and creative community living in harmony with its natural environment, pursuing economic, environmental and social sustainability.”
City Councilor Melissa Youssef remarked, “including an arts and culture element in the comprehensive plan is important. It elevates what many may take for granted – the contribution of the creative sector, the individuals and institutions supporting it, to our community – and sets it up for an institutional focus going forward. That is progress.”
It is also time. Durango has done a remarkable job of making important strategic investments in parks, recreation and open space that support residents’ quality of life and our tourism industry. With almost every week and weekend with multiple cultural events taking place, as the report detailed, the not-for-profit arts and cultural sector makes a significant contribution and is an important investment too.
As the comprehensive plan recommends and city council discussed last week, establishing a Creative Economy Commission – perhaps a reconfiguring of the Public Arts Commission – could be a first step to implementing the range of arts and culture goals in the comprehensive plan. All this activity comes with needs – from a dedicated funding source to studio and performance space and affordable artist housing – and we are pleased our community now has the policy guidance to get to it turning vision into action.
