An investment in the arts reaps rewards for the surrounding community.
How does collecting a fee on commercial development, and using it to install public art, help a community’s bottom line? According to civic leaders and some developers, it attracts businesses that value cultural amenities and employees who want to live and work in a community that values art and culture.
Santa Rosa and Petaluma are on board with the idea, attempting to promote public and private investments in the arts. Sonoma County’s largest cities have each adopted ordinances requiring commercial developers to set aside 1 percent of their budgets for public art.
Another example is Chicago’s Millennium Park, which was derided as a waste of taxpayer dollars when it was built between 1998 and 2004. In those six years, development costs ballooned to a combined $475 million in public and private investment. The park was a redevelopment project, built at the site of an abandoned rail center in a neighborhood that was suffering severe economic and social decline.
But the investments paid off. In 2006, Forbes magazine named the 60602 zip code around the park as the hottest spot in the country in terms of price appreciation. Michael Friedenberg, president of the Arts Council of Sonoma County, says the Millennium Park development has brought $5 billion in additional new development to Chicago, a 10-to-1 return on investment.
“Cultural infrastructure is an investment that pays back,” says Friedenberg, citing Chicago, Denver, Portland and other urban centers that are seeing increased sales tax collections and higher property values after investing in cultural amenities like museums and arts districts. “The basic message is that art is good for business.”
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) agrees. It sent experts from its Mayor’s Institute on City Design to Santa Rosa in July, and recommended increased investment in downtown cultural facilities, including the plan to unify Courthouse Square.
NEA design director Maurice Cox, as quoted in the Press Democrat, went as far as to describe a new City Hall as a “distraction” that should be set aside while the city focuses on arts-related revitalization efforts.
Friedenberg believes “Leadership is lacking in Sonoma County on this issue. Cultural facilities are part of the common public realm that we all share and enjoy, but we feel someone else besides the public should fund it. We have so many chicken-and-egg problems. We can’t pay for cultural amenities without development, and we can’t have high-value development without cultural amenities. We need to work on both fronts at once and seek long-term solutions.”
Art smart
Alison Marks, an artist, educator and administrator, helped create the public art ordinance in Petaluma. Marks and her fellow volunteers from the Petaluma Arts Council researched public art ordinances and “tried to use the best ideas from other places to create a program that would reflect the unique needs of Petaluma.”
It wasn’t a slam-dunk. “At first, there was a fair amount of nervousness from the business community,” says Marks. “They were concerned it would make development more expensive. We put together a presentation to educate the community about the cultural and economic benefits of public art and spent a lot of time talking about why it would bring people into town.”
That connection between art and tourism is what got the attention of government and business leaders, and the Petaluma ordinance eventually won the support of the city council, the Chamber of Commerce and a major downtown developer.
Friedenberg calls the art-culture-tourism connection “putting heads in beds” and points out that tourists stay less time than those who also find cultural opportunities to visit. Arts and culture activities can often increase stays by an extra day or two, making a big impact on the hospitality industry, resulting in increased sales tax and hotel tax revenues.
The same nexus made a difference in Santa Rosa as well. Vicky Kumpfer, arts coordinator for the city of Santa Rosa, says, “We wanted to make the case that art equals economic development.” Kumpfer adds, “Art is an amenity that raises the standard of living.”
The Santa Rosa and Petaluma ordinances passed just as the economy began slowing, so payments into public art funds have been limited—but progress has been made. In Petaluma, it was a partnership between the city, the Petaluma Public Art Committee and a family foundation that resulted in the first installation of art under the new program.
In the spring of this year, Debra Lehane, curator of the Voigt Family Sculpture Foundation, approached the Petaluma Public Art Committee with an offer to assist in the placement of a large work by Peter Forakis, a renowned sculptor who has lived in Petaluma since 1983. The foundation safeguarded the sculpture and wanted to see it somewhere in Forakis’ “home” town.
“The mission of the Voigt Family Sculpture Foundation is to facilitate the placement of art in publicly accessible places,” says Lehane. “We knew Petaluma had the interest, but not the funds, so we offered to partner with them in the same way we partnered with Healdsburg and Santa Rosa on various projects.”
The Voigt Family Sculpture Foundation was created in 2005 by Al and Judy Voigt, who retired after founding and selling successful aerospace engineering companies. The Voigts blend a no-nonsense business sensibility with a passion for outdoor sculpture and an interest in helping artists.
The Voigts have placed 14 works of art in Sonoma County in the past two years, including Dubull Eagull, the newly installed Forakis sculpture in Petaluma, along with a major work by Chuck Ginnever in Santa Rosa’s Juilliard Park and a dozen pieces along the Foss Creek Pathway in downtown Healdsburg. An installation at the new Santa Rosa Junior College Library is pending, as well as a second work of art in Petaluma’s Theater District.
“In business, Al and I learned that we should stick to what we’re good at,” says Judy Voigt. “We pay for the sculpture, or we negotiate loan agreements with artists, so we’re not spending public funds and getting slowed down by committees. We let the cities handle permitting, infrastructure and such. It’s a partnership.”
That partnership has won the praise of art and civic leaders in the towns where the Voigts have placed sculpture, most recently in Petaluma, where difficult economic times almost derailed the Dubull Eagull installation. To ensure its placement, the Voigts offered to pay for a concrete base for the sculpture and hired a crane for the installation.
The Petaluma planning staffer who helped shepherd Dubull Eagull through the permitting process found out he was being laid off the same week the art was installed, “which underscores the value of public-private partnerships in lean economic times,” says Judy Voigt.
The sculpture, installed just outside the Petaluma Visitors Center, is expected to draw visitors to the community, according to Marsha Trent of the Petaluma Visitors Program. “I’m excited about Petaluma’s growing appeal as an art lover’s destination,” she says.
Cultural tourism
Making the case that art, food and wine are three legs of a sturdy economic base is also underway in the Napa Valley. Michelle Williams, executive director of Arts Council Napa Valley, says, “Through studies conducted by Americans for the Arts, we find that cultural tourists stay longer and spend more. They extend their trips by a night or more.”
Williams is working with tourism leaders to develop a web-based referral system. “If someone books a night at a hotel, they might get a confirmation email with information about a cultural event happening near the time they’re going to be here.”
Napa leaders are hoping visitors will then decide to extend their stay to catch a play, a symphony performance, an art gallery opening or other cultural event. As another example of how art and the economy intersect, Williams cited the annual Napa Valley Open Studios event in September. More than 30 artists were paired with local wineries through the Arts Council’s Artist-Winery/Resort Partnership Program.
A piece of artwork and information about the Open Studios event were placed at partner wineries, along with informational displays about the wineries at the partner art studios. “It increased foot traffic and sales for both parties,” says Williams. “The wineries were so supportive; they helped create the synergy.”
Napa County has also recently approved a Cultural Plan, spearheaded by the Arts Council, and Williams says it has a strong economic benefit component. There are no public art ordinances in Napa Valley yet, but Williams says she’s working with the city of Napa on an idea for one: “It’s in the very early stages.”
For art’s impacts on a local economy, one needs look no further than Main Street in downtown St. Helena. Karen Caldwell is a co-owner of the Caldwell Snyder Gallery, located in an old stone building that once housed the St. Helena Star newspaper.
Caldwell and her partners spent “a lot” refurbishing the 1900 building, with its dramatic stone façade made from rock quarried just a few miles away. “When you buy a building like this, you take on that historical responsibility for the whole town,” says Caldwell, who adds that longtime St. Helena residents would stop in during the remodel, thank them for their efforts, and relate stories about the building and the town.
The gallery, which carries world-renowned artists, has created another reason to tarry in St. Helena after wine tasting and lunch. “We get a lot of guests from places like Asia, South America and Europe,” says Caldwell. With the euro still strong against the dollar, shopping in St. Helena is attractive to international visitors…and leaves behind a sales tax benefit.
Art in the community
In Marin County, there are more than 100 arts organizations (that’s a similar number to Sonoma County and a bit more than Napa) many of which are in Marin’s small, rural communities. Point Reyes Station, the largest community in West Marin, has a handful of galleries, its own arts groups and a de facto community center in Toby’s Feed Barn. Chris Giacomini, the owner of Toby’s, says his store has had a gallery “for close to 30 years, and it’s grown along the way.”
Toby’s still sells livestock feed, but it’s also home to a coffee bar; a weekly farmers’ market (where Prince Charles shopped in 2005); a yoga studio; a lush community garden; a wee community park; and an eclectic general store that offers CDs, greeting cards and gourmet jam alongside fresh vegetables, organic baked goods and dog chews.
The spacious gallery in the back of Toby’s is a spot for local artists to hang their work, gain recognition and income, and be part of the West Marin scene. Giacomini makes the gallery available to the community as a meeting space, and barn dances and community dinners are part of the Toby’s schedule.
East of Toby’s, back along the Highway 101 corridor, Jeanne Bogardus is executive director of the Marin Arts Council. She’s also making connections between art and commerce. “Economic impact studies suggest that for every $1 spent at an art event, people spend another $4 in the community, [doing things like] eating, parking and shopping,” Bogardus says. “Art has always been a business, but artists are getting more savvy.”
Bogardus sees a future where “the lines keep getting blurred. Not all art is nonprofit, and not all commerce is without art. The delineation isn’t as clear anymore.” She points to growing relationships between artists and businesspeople. “Sponsoring an artist or art event gives a business more visibility and exposure to an upscale audience with more disposable income.”
The Marin Arts Council produces an annual open studios event as well, and usually sets up headquarters in a shopping center. For the past 13 years, it’s been the Town Center in Corte Madera. “The center makes empty space available to us, and we set up a main gallery with work by each participating artist. It’s a great partnership. We get free space and the center gets thousands of walk-ins. Their management understands the economic benefits.”
In addition to establishing culture in downtowns, art can create economic ripples. Ben Stone, director of the Sonoma County Economic Development Board, says it affects who moves to the area. “Many of the high-tech people moving here are very interested in quality of life issues, and a big part of that is the arts,” Stone says.
Michael Friedenberg takes it a step further, pointing out that cities that invest in arts and culture produce big returns for retail, housing and job creation. “Santa Rosa has tried to make the downtown a shopping center,” says Friedenberg. “It hasn’t worked. Santa Rosa needs a hub, a reason for people to come together. Art events and institutions give us places to gather. Then, shopping will increase. Tourism is important, but it’s also about place-making for the people who live here.
“We’re driven politically to crisis management, but real change usually occurs over time with smart, long-term investments. Investments in the arts on all levels reduce many of the problems we face—from crime to school drop out rates to economic instability. Communities that have invested in culture have reduced problems, improved their economies and have more money to invest in a better quality of life for their citizens. Like many issues, the real question is: how can we afford not to make these investments in art and culture?”
For more information about any of the projects mentioned in this story, go to:
www.sonomaarts.com (Arts Council of Sonoma County)
www.artscouncilnapavalley.org (Arts Council Napa Valley)
www.marinarts.org (Marin Arts Council)
