Asheville arts council director: Artists are a cultural and economic asset, and community must come in comprehensive way to support them

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Kitty Love, the director of the Asheville Area Arts Council, has been preaching this line for years. Now she’s in a real position to make things happen. She’s making a big push for local players to attend this year’s Creative Sector Summit. At that March 29 event, she’ll announce where she’s taking the arts council, and how she plans to advance her vision.

Here’s part of her pitch to the movers and shakers:

Our region enjoys a rich quality of life, which provides amazing support for the value of our real estate, the allure our region holds for visitors, and there are a host of other examples where our economic strength is supported by “who we are” and “what we do”. The overwhelming factor in the unique and attractive nature of our local culture and vibe is our arts.

Despite the diverse and abundant creativity that helps define and make our identity special, we are not making the most of opportunities that exist to strengthen and galvanize the creative sector. This is important, because as growth in a region can raise property values and the cost of living, those who don’t compete well in the market can be eliminated. To some, perhaps this is a desirable outcome. To those who value diversity, it is not. Where artists fit in to this scenario is vital to the question, and in fact how the creative sector functions is vital to the question. The fact is, no one, across the country with a few exceptions, knows how many artists there are “out there” in any geographic region. Economic development drivers rely on numbers which, in the case of the arts industry, often under-represented in terms of describing employment and economic activity in a region. This can be due to a number of reasons such as the occurrence of self-employment and sole proprietorships, or activity as a second source of income. But as our ability to quantify increases, working together will help to ensure our shared knowledge supports this important sector.

The creative sector is a delicate resource which is threatened by growth, but ironically is a resource which creates growth. Therefore, what do we need to do as a comprehensive approach to ensure the strength of the sector and to provide rich resources for the untold benefit creativity can provide for community and economic development?

We need City, County, economic development and the Arts to interconnect and build initiatives on a regular basis, and that is what the Creative Sector Summit is meant to do, as can be read in the Downtown Asheville Master Plan where the idea originates.

It is meant to help create the opportunity for those entities creating policy and building infrastructure to be able to more easily incorporate arts and culture. There are at least two opportunities for funding for incorporating the arts into community and economic development, (and here). And there are others. Some of these opportunities are annual, and can be planned for, and require a true partnership of all the leading organizations in the area.

5 Comments

Art Nun March 20, 2012 - 1:27 pm

What does art function to serve in our lives? What is signified by the abundance of art and creative activity? More importantly, what is signified by the lack of creativity and arts? Why is art important? What is the value of abundant creative expression in communities, cities, regions, countries?

Anyone with any semblance of the grace of humanity and wonder of our species can answer them.

Art signifies intelligence. Creativity signifies an evolved prefrontal cortex. Both art (music, visual, performance, literature, etc.) and creativity (creative problem solving, for example; an increasingly invaluable business asset) are signs of intelligent life… of a community that both supports and produces invaluable cultural objects and ideas is a community that provides for a higher standard of living, and not a standard that is solely based upon capital gain (although the arts do that as well) but also upon quality of life. This is because art serves to educate and inspire, to open minds and to stimulate thought. Art serves to stimulate, advance, massage, encourage, question and even unify consciousness. And consciousness – that often overlooked human trait – is invaluable for attracting and retaining not just any tourist, but quality tourists.

I would have never stepped foot into the south and moved here if it weren’t for the signs of intelligent life and bursting, creative street life that I discovered when first visiting Asheville. This place has a draw all of its own. It has a blend of northern liberalism and southern warmth. I couldn’t imagine why else people would visit here so frequently and spend their hard-earned money in the local businesses if it didn’t offer them some sort of solace or unique flavor of life that they couldn’t experience anywhere else.

This town has flavor, and flavor comes from taste, and taste comes from art and creativity.

Not every town needs sports to attract the masses.

And music is art. Don’t forget that.

That is my response to the response above.

I heart Asheville and the creative cultural vibe it maintains. May it always be that way.

~SMG

Not a Cool Kid March 20, 2012 - 8:05 am

“The overwhelming factor in the unique and attractive nature of our local culture and vibe is our arts.”

This kind of hyperbole doesn’t help Ms. Love’s case. The tourists don’t flock to Asheville for its arts, unless you count the rock concerts at the Civic Center or maybe the music at the Orange Peel. Or count the the basketball tournament as one of the arts of the “overwhelming factor” in bringing people here. An exhibition opening at the Art Museum or a concert by the Asheville Symphony or a performance at NC Stage doesn’t flood downtown with people and have the hotels fully booked. Asheville Bravo Concerts has just shut it doors have 80 years. The people who view the arts as drivers of our economic engine need to get a more realistic perspective. Then they could be in a better position to make a difference.

Ashevillemurphy March 20, 2012 - 2:51 pm

and where do you get your facts to back your assertions …

There are numerous craft fairs (Southern Highlands, Biltmore Village, etc.) that draw thousands of people to AVL each and every year.

The area abounds with art galleries (some more successful than others) that have been operating for years: someone is paying the bills.

Numerous theatre companies sell-out shows on a regular basis and music venues are packed on a nightly basis.

Rolling Stone magazine named the Orange Peel as one of the TOP 5 “rock clubs” in the Country. The Christmas Jam and Moogfest bring folks from all over the Country (if not world).

American Craft magazine just named AVL in its’ top 25 small city arts destinations in 2011, and Frommer’s Travel lists AVL as a “must see destination” for the arts.

Here is a link you should take a serious look at!

http://www.exploreasheville.com/press-room/accolades-and-media-praise/

Asheville Network March 19, 2012 - 10:14 pm

The idea is to advance the arts in the economic sector of the community, but what is the convention really doing to help? (besides her speech)

Asheville March 19, 2012 - 10:09 pm

Thanks for another great post!

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