3 keys to sustainable arts-based community and economic development. Part 2: Collaboration

What makes a community an arts-friendly place and a likely arts destination?

A big arts venue helps, but not as much as you might think.  A recent study of three huge arts centers in California showed that two of them failed to have any meaningful impact on the arts outside their own doors.   The third -- the Yerba Buena center in San Francisco -- succeeded because of the collaborations between supporters of the center and local artists.

In our research exploring what works for creative sector development, we hear the same theme in every anecdote: Collaboration between the creative sector and other elements of a community.

Collaborations between arts institutions and small retailers and restaurateurs seems obvious (they all benefit from having more people in town rather than shopping in malls or online.)  But other communities, such as Millville and Belmar, have also built collaborations with schools and civic organizations.  In 2008, Art Calendar named Millville one of the top ten communities for working artists.  The article cites Millville's "affordable, mixed-use properties featuring period architecture, monthly art walks, a large public art center with gallery and studio spaces, and lots of cultural activities."  But there are several towns in New Jersey that have these elements. Marianne Lods, who directs Millville's downtown revitalization efforts told NJ ArtiFacts that before there was the public art center, "we involved families, youths and community in our development" through arts education programs. Those programs expanded through the town.

Seems like an easy solution.  If it was, we would see so much more of it.  In public affairs and business, it seems everyone talks about collaboration, alliances and partnerships.  The problem is that collaboration requires commitment and patience, and comes with costs and risks.  Here are some tips for cultural professionals for successful collaboration:

*"Don't go to someone with a mouthful of 'gimme' and a handful of nothing."  This is one of the best quotes we ever heard about sharing.  In places without a strong arts presence, the arts can't just be special -- they have to be valuable.  Try to imagine the world from your audience's eyes.  If they haven't shown interest in the arts before, why should they start now?

*Anticipate and understand resistance.  If the arts are obviously so good for a community, why isn't there already an active arts presence there?  Maybe it's because no one thought of it before -- but that's probably not the reason.  There might be beliefs about the arts and artists that are not talked about that affect the actions of leaders. You need to understand those beliefs in order to build working partnerships.

*Build a vision for collaboration together.  People tend to nurture what they create themselves.  So if you want others in a community to nurture the arts, they should be able to see something of themselves there.

*Be patient, be compassionate and celebrate your successes.  How many people get married after a first date?  (How many of those marriage do you think would last.)  A true collaboration is a transformational process in which all the parties involved are open to one another's perspectives and come to shared beliefs about issues and problems.

And yet there will also be tension and misunderstanding.  Somebody is going to say or do something dumb.  Others will create their own narratives of what happened and why, and that will make things worse. Effective collaborations are led by several people (not just one), who can manage tensions and repair fraying connections (or build new ones.)

When good things happen, let everyone know about it.  Everybody likes to be part of a winning team.   That's a good segue to the next part of this series, which focuses on regional marketing.

--Leonardo Vazquez, AICP/PP

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A positive economic sign for New Jersey's creative sector

Our colleagues at the Rutgers Economic Advisory Service (R/ECON) predict a slow growth for New Jersey's economy.  There are signs that indicate that the creative sector in the state could continue growing faster.

According to the New Jersey State Department of Labor, in 2009, the arts, entertainment and recreation industry was one of the fastest growing industries in the state.  The number of employees grew 8% between January and December, outpacing all but the natural resources and mining industry.  (That grew fast because that industry is so small.)  Seasonally adjusted numbers show that the number of people in the arts, entertainment and recreation industries added 4,000 jobs, from 52,400 to 56,400.

And the trend is continuing.  Between January and March 2010, the number of jobs in the arts, entertainment and recreation industry grew 3%. 

The report doesn't say how many of these jobs are in the arts as opposed to in casinos or sports stadiums.  But knowing that Atlantic City had a rough year in 2009, and that there has been growth in the creative sector in the past decade, it is likely that some, if not a lot, of the growth is due to the arts.

We'll know exactly how much in 2011, when we can get more detailed employee information from the U.S. Department of Commerce's County Business Patterns database.
 
So what does all this data mean for cultural professionals and the creative economy in New Jersey?

*Even in a down economy, people support the arts.  Maybe they don't spend as much, but they continue to support the arts.
*The experience economy is growing faster than the manufacturing, information, or other economies that New Jersey has depended on.  The arts are a critical component of the experience economy. 
*Though arts organizations have to watch the stock market to guess how much support they will get from foundations, the arts in New Jersey do not have to depend on the fortunes of Wall Street bankers or wealthy people in other industries that have been hard-hit in the recession.
*In a down economy, people tend to travel shorter distances.  It could be that some weekend visits to Asheville and Santa Fe are being replaced with day trips to Red Bank, Millville and Montclair.  New Jersey attracts visitors from throughout the Northeast Corridor area, and was seeing an upswing in visitors before the Great Recession.  For more on tourism in New Jersey, see the work of the New Jersey Center for Hospitality and Tourism Research at Stockton College.  


For more information on trends in New Jersey's creative sector over the past decade, please see the New Jersey Creative Vitality Index.


Special note: Because of the different ways the creative economy is measured, Arts Build Communities, Americans for the Arts, and state and federal sources generate different numbers.  However, all of the sources tell roughly the same story -- the arts are a significant part of New Jersey's overall economy, and the creative sector is growing.

--Leonardo Vazquez, AICP/PP

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