The nonprofit arts and cultural sector in Durango contributes about $18 million to the city’s economy annually, a recent
“The arts really do mean business. They bring in a lot of money, they create jobs,” said Bud Franks, a Vallecito resident and a consultant who has developed performing arts and cultural facilities across the U.S.
The city’s arts economy brings in more than three times more money than communities of similar size, and it supports about 600 jobs, the report found.
Twenty-six nonprofits in Durango directly injected $8.6 million into the economy in 2015, and audiences spent $9.5 million in event-related spending in 2016. Audience spending excluded the cost of admission to events, but factored in meals, souvenirs, transportation and lodging.
The previous economic impact study of nonprofit arts groups in Durango found that 15 organizations contributed $9.1 million in total economic activity.
Across the U.S., the nonprofit arts sector in 341 communities contribute $166.3 billion to the economy.
In addition to boosting the economy, the arts help attract and maintain a diverse and educated workforce, Franks said.
“I think it’s important for communities to be well-balanced,” he said.
While the arts community is healthy in Durango, Franks said there is room for growth with more arts facilities.
Franks is the president of the Science, Theatre, Education, Arts and Music (STEAM) Park board, a group that helped fund the economic impact study and plans to build a new facility with theater space, educational space, offices and multipurpose space in town.
The group was one of several organizations that helped pay for the study because it shows the value of the arts economy, said Sheri Rochford Figgs, STEAM Park project coordinator.
She expects the economic impact number would be higher if the study factored in the for-profit aspects of the arts economy.
“The creative economy is very valuable to a community like ours because it attracts all different kinds of artists,” she said.
To help develop the arts community in Durango, the city’s recent comprehensive plan update recommended pursuing Creative District Certification through the state. Pursuing certification could help with marketing, data, funding and other support for the creative economy.
“The data release comes at a great time to add that to that consideration,” said Cristie Scott, executive director of the Durango Arts Center.
Pursuing the certification could help attract more tourists and businesses that might want to invest in the community, Rochford Figgs said.
The addition of the STEAM Park could also help bolster arts in town, Franks said.
“With a proper theater of the right size and the other spaces that we’re talking about, we think there is a lot of room for growth,” he said.
The STEAM Park considered a site near the Powerhouse Science Center near the river, but now the group is evaluating other sites near downtown, Franks said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
