Not long ago, the arts were considered a luxury in Chattanooga, but according to a recently completed two-year study of the region’s arts and culture, they have become a necessity in building the economy and bolstering Chattanooga’s position as one of the nation’s best mid-sized cities. Imagine Chattanooga 20/20, a community-wide cultural planning process facilitated by Cambridge, Mass.-based Wolf Brown, found that exposure to arts and culture in virtually every aspect of life not only improves quality of life, but also improves education, attracts businesses and drives the economy.
Allied Arts, which has championed arts and culture in Chattanooga for more than 40 years, is aligning its goals with the community-driven cultural plan it is charged with implementing. While the organization will continue to generate a base of operating support for arts organizations through its annual campaign, it is becoming increasingly engaged in the four areas of focus addressed in the Imagine 20/20 plan: education, diversity, downtown and economic development.
“We no longer focus on what the community can do for the arts; rather, we focus on what the arts can do for the community. It’s a different way for society to view the arts,” said Dan Bowers, president of Allied Arts. “By building a healthier arts community, we create a sustainable creative economy – one in which arts organizations contribute directly and indirectly to the community’s success.”
According to “Arts and Economic Prosperity IV,” a 2012 study by Americans for the Arts, nonprofit arts and culture organizations are a $106 million industry in the Greater Chattanooga Area. The region’s creative economy supports 3,880 full-time jobs and generates $12 million in local and state government revenue.
Since the completion of the Imagine 20/20 plan earlier this year, Allied Arts has recruited community leaders to help achieve a 10-year vision for cultural and financial sustainability. Among the champions of the 20/20 vision are River City Company President Kim White, in-coming Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce President Ron Harr, Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau President Bob Doak and former Tennessee Aquarium Chairman of the Board Jim Hill. Allied Arts assembled leadership groups with these and a host of other experts in each of the four focus areas to integrate the arts into every aspect of life in Chattanooga.
Diversity
Allied Arts will fund a pilot program designed to make the arts more accessible to populations underserved due to geography, ethnicity, age and disability. The organization will award $40,000 in small grants of up to $3,000 each to neighborhoods, municipalities and non-profits for visual and performance arts.
The goals are to provide arts and cultural experiences to diverse audiences; to broaden the types of arts and cultural offerings the community supports; to use arts and culture to strengthen community unity; and to demonstrate the economic impact of arts and culture.
Economic development
Event-related arts and culture audience spending annually pumps $65.5 million into Chattanooga’s economy. Allied Arts plans to increase that amount when it launches a Web-based community arts calendar this summer. The site will market arts events to local residents, tourist and convention attendees. It will promote cultural tourism by functioning as a one-stop-shop for information about Chattanooga events.
Downtown
Exploration is underway to create a cultural hub where visual, performance and cultural artists gather to socialize and collaborate. By animating the space and bringing together artists from different genres, the group hopes to attract young people and make arts more accessible in the city’s urban core.
Education
Allied Arts leaders plan to solicit funding to fully implement “Imagine!,” an initiative aimed at integrating arts experiences and education into every elementary school in Hamilton County. Once the organization secures initial funding, it hopes to expand the program to include grades six through eight.
Source: Allied Arts