The Arts: A Wise Investment

By Matthew Heil
Public Relations Manager

One of the issues The Phoenix Symphony addresses frequently as an arts institution is its impact on the community. Some effects of this influence are hard to quantify. How do you gauge the happiness generated by an excellent musical performance? Is a performance seen by a few people but hailed as superb by critics as valuable as a concert more well-attended but less adventuresome?

Americans for the Arts, a cultural advocacy organization, has found another way to value the arts: dollars and cents. In terms of what arts groups do for the economy, they're quite the powerhouse. As referenced in this Arizona Republic article, arts groups contributed $361 million to the Valley economy, and had 6.1 million attendees, more than "the 2007 FBR Open and Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Suns and Arizona Cardinals games combined."

To see for yourself, get more information at www.AmericansForTheArts.org/EconomicImpact.