ONTARIO – Art performances in Malheur County in 2022 added more than $7 million to the local economy and supported 100 jobs, according to a recent study on the economic and social impact of the arts in the region.
Published by Americans for the Arts, a national nonprofit, the study, dubbed Arts and Economic Prosperity 6, surveyed over 650 people attending nonprofit art performances, such as concerts at Four Rivers Cultural Center or Treasure Valley Community College.
Randy Cohen, vice president of research at Americans for the Arts, said researchers did not include Hollywood motion pictures and other commercial productions in the study.
Cohen said the national nonprofit partnered with Ontario and state officials in conducting the study and interviewed people who attended art and culture events at more than 25 nonprofits in the region. Among others, the nonprofits included the Four Rivers Cultural Center, the Japanese American Citizens League, the Basque Club and the Ontario Area Chamber of Commerce.
According to the report, the more than 650 people surveyed spent more than $38 each at an individual event, including the price of admission. Cohen said when people attend a cultural event, they make an outing of it, they eat at a restaurant, get drinks, eat dessert and those who attend events from outside of the county will pay for lodging. He said nearly 40% of those surveyed said they were visiting from another town. Four out of five out-of-towners surveyed said their primary purpose of coming to Malheur County was the cultural event they were attending. These events include festivals, fairs, concerts, performances, plays and other events. Cohen said almost 400 of those surveyed were local and over 250 were nonlocal.
Cohen said the data shows that arts and culture is an industry and an economic driver for the region.
“When we invest in the arts and support the arts and contribute to the arts, it’s not a frill, it’s not an extra,” he said. “It’s an industry.”
Cohen said the study is conducted in big cities and rural regions across the U.S. This is the first year Malheur County has participated in the study, which Americans for the Arts does every five years. From start to finish, the study takes nearly two years to complete, according to the report. Cohen writes that nonprofits count on support from the government and the private sector to exist. Cohen said during a time of shrinking budgets and mandates to prioritize jobs and economic growth, funding nonprofit arts and culture programs can be a difficult decision for a legislator to make. He said this study shows that allocating public money to the arts supports local industries. Cohen pointed out that the 100 jobs in the region are “localized.”
“This is not an industry that’s going to be offshore,” he said.
He said the community needs the performers on the stage, curators at museums and art educators at the schools.
Cohen will present his findings on Monday, Sept. 16 at Four Rivers Cultural Center from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
For more information, contact Matt Stringer at 917-705-4264.
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