THE ARTS MEAN BUSINESS!

Sign up here for our Tues. July 25 Panel Discussion on the economic impact of arts and culture on Fairfield County and Connecticut. Hear how leaders in many sectors acknowledge how the arts are an increasingly evident economic stimulus factor in our local economies. Ready to answer you questions will be Tamara Dimitri (CT Office of the Arts), Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, State Senator Toni Boucher, municipal Economic Development Officers Mark Barnhart (Town of Fairfield), Rina Bakalar (Town of Trumbull), Thomas Madden (City of Stamford) and Elizabeth Stocker (Town of Norwalk), leaders of arts institutions Laurence Caso (The Klein) and Kathy Maher (The Barnum Museum) and Developers Kim Morque (Spinnaker Real Estate Partners) and Doug Adams (GGP, developers of The SoNo Collection, Norwalk's new mall).

Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 (AEP5) is the fifth (and most comprehensive) national study organized by Americans for the Arts on the nonprofit arts and culture industry's impact on the economy. It documents the economic contributions of the arts in 341 diverse communities in all states.

Fairfield County is one of these communities and The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County (in partnership with the Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut) helped make this study possible.

Project economists from the Georgia Institute of Technology customized an input-output analysis model for each community to provide specific and localized data on four measures of economic impact: full-time equivalent jobs, household income, and local and state government revenue.

This study puts to rest a misconception that communities support arts and culture at the expense of local economic development. In fact, communities are investing in an industry that supports jobs, generates government revenue, and is the cornerstone of tourism. Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 shows conclusively that, locally as well as nationally, the arts mean business.

In Fairfield County, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $235.2 million of economic activity during 2015—$148.6 million in spending by arts and cultural organizations and an additional $86.6 million in event-related expenditures by their audiences. This activity supported 6,789 jobs and generated $20.6 million in revenue to local and state governments.

As a complement to the national study and our regional Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Organizations and Their Audiences in Fairfield County, CT the Cultural Alliance is organizing this panel discussion to discuss the implications of these studies within Fairfield County and share the local data.

Many Thanks to Stepping Stones Museum for Children for generously hosting this important event!

Program is as follows:

10:30am - Registration and coffee
10:45am - Welcome and Introductions
10:50am - Overview of the Study: National and State Perspectives.Tamara Dmitri, CT Office of the Arts
11:00am - The Study: Lessons and Indicators. David Green, Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County
11:10am - Political Perspectives: Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D) and State Senator Toni Boucher (R)
11:25am - Municipalities and the Arts: Rina Bakalar, Director, Economic and Community Development, Town of Trumbull; Mark Barnhart, Director, Community and Economic Development, Town of Fairfield; Thomas Madden, Director of Economic Development, Stamford; and Elizabeth Stocker, Director of Economic Development, Norwalk.
11:45am - The Economic Impact of Cultural institutions: Laurence Caso, Executive Director, The Klein; and Kathy Maher, Executive Director, The Barnum Museum
12:00pm - The Impact of the Arts on Developers: Doug Adams, Vice President, GGP; and Kim Morque, President, Spinnaker Real Estate Partners
12:10pm - Questions from the audience
12:30pm - Conclusion

Please register above.