Art should not be created for profit, perhaps, but there is no reason not to profit from art.
With more artists per capita than any area in the state outside of New York City, the mid-Hudson Valley”™s business climate is partially dependent on art to spark the economy.
So public officials in Ulster County are seeking to help artists do better at business. They are teaming up with more experienced counterparts in Dutchess County as part of a bid to foster joint success in the business of art. The process means seeking applications for grant opportunities that are available now, but more importantly, creating a business infrastructure to grow a sustainable arts community.
“It”™s actually an economic advantage to have art in communities, because they really do create a lot of spin-off business,” said Ulster County Legislator Susan Zimet. And she said surveys show that a strong community arts presence is a factor in attracting new companies to move their factories and their families to an area. “So it”™s a real economic engine,” she said.
As chairwoman of the Ulster County Legislature”™s arts and education committee, Zimet is seeking to inject business savvy into underfunded and poorly organized creative endeavors in her county. April 4 at a meeting in the county legislative chambers between some 30 artists and representatives of nonprofit business organizations met to discuss building an art-business relationship through grants and community assistance programs.
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“For years, we talked about how art means business, but we didn”™t take it seriously,” said Zimet on April 4. “It”™s about time we understand that we should take the arts seriously and acknowledge how much art means business.”
Zimet said new endeavors will initially be spearheaded by the Dutchess County Arts Council, which will advise its cross-river colleagues on strategies that will not so much fund an individual project, but instead set up networks and methods that helps artists become more sustainable and even profitable.
Zimet said the long term strategy is by design. She said the mid-Hudson Valley has a rich artistic tradition in painting, architecture, music and film. But she said that arts have existed in a sort of vacuum alongside the traditional economy, to the detriment of both artists, who often live by choice outside business”™ parameters, and the business community, who could profit from the tourists and excitement good art brings.
To turn the tide toward profiting from art, the April 4 event presented an array of options and organizations. Among those addressing the crowd was Dutchess County Arts Council President Benjamin Krevolin, who urged the artists to take the long view toward potential funding sources. He cautioned that not all the ideas presented for the current round of grant applications his group administers would be funded, but he said a raft of strong proposals would bring more investment to arts in this area. “Write your proposals so that people are impressed out of their minds and say, Wow, yeah we need to get funding to these people,” Krevolin said.
The current round of grant applications is due May 9. More information is available by calling 454-3222 or at www.artsmidhudson.org.
