Art as job creator
Arts organizations are not merely song, dance and paint.
They”™re serious business enterprises.
So serious, in fact, that they account for 13,572 jobs in Westchester County.
That”™s the message Janet Langsam, CEO of ArtsWestchester, wants signed, sealed and delivered to Westchester County government officials.
“These are people who are employed here, who live here, who are a part of the community and the economic life of the community,” Langsam said. “The resident who attends (an arts event) in Westchester spends on average $20 a person. And that”™s 20 bucks that”™s staying in the county. That”™s someone who”™s not going into New York City.”
On the flip side, Langsam said one of five people who visit a museum or performing arts center in the county comes from a neighboring town in Putnam or Fairfield counties.
“When somebody comes from outside the county, they”™re spending on average $40 a person here in Westchester,” Langsam said of the tourism-related activities that arts centers spawn. “The tourism is one thing, but what I think is new and very revealing is that this creative sector is a significant economic force.”
The proposed Westchester County government 2012 budget would impact arts organizations through a cut of $750,000, what Langsam called “our stimulus money.”
Findings from a Creative Industries report developed by Americans for the Arts with Dun & Bradstreet data were shared by ArtsWestchester at the second public hearing of the county”™s 2012 budget.
One major finding reports there are 3,332 arts-related businesses that operate in Westchester County.
“We ranked 13th in counties (nationwide) in businesses and per capita of employees, which is really significant,” Langsam said.
Westchester, according to the report, ranked higher than Cook County or Chicago and King County or Seattle.
“These are really creative cities,” Langsam said. “I think that”™s what Westchester wants to be. A competitive place that attracts jobs and businesses and the arts is on the money.”