Report from the Center for Arts and Public Policy "The Rebirth of Arts and Culture" and the Resulting Impact on the Economy

Executive Summary:

Thesis: A dramatic shift in Western societal
thought is changing the nature of the arts
and culture industry, making it less “exotic”
and more central to daily experience.

This “paradigm shift” is affecting societal
thought and the cultural fabric of our lives.
Another part of this phenomenon, brought
about by the Information Age and major
demographic changes, is the emergence
of a Creative Economy. In this report, the
Center for Arts and Public Policy argues
that, as a result of this “paradigm shift,”
the arts and culture industry is undergoing
something akin to a rebirth.

We address three fundamental questions:

1) What are the characteristics of this
paradigm shift?

2) How does the shift affect arts and
culture?

3) How will this “new” arts and culture
industry function in tomorrow’s
society?

1) Characteristics of the Paradigm Shift.
We have identified five characteristics of
this new paradigm that have impacted
society in general and the arts in particular.
Society is shifting:

A) from subjective to
objective;

B) from observational to
participatory;

C) from hierarchical to
egalitarian;

D) from monolithic to
pluralistic; and

E) from analytic to holistic.

Signs in society demonstrate that this shift
in thought has already begun. Businesses
are using problem-solving teams and
becoming less hierarchical; people are
accepting feminists’ values; traditional
medicine is more accepting of the holistic
mind-body-spirit relationship offered by
alternative medicine; and New Age beliefs
and practices are no longer considered
foreign.

2) Effect on arts and culture. This
change in societal thought and values is
having a profound parallel influence on
arts and culture, the main subject of this
paper. Therefore, arts and culture are also
increasingly:

A) Unmediated. We now have the
unprecedented opportunity to
choose from unlimited arts and
culture alternatives without relying
on the opinion of the critic, expert,
or provider. Most interesting, “high”
and “low” or popular culture are
coexisting in ways unimaginable
just ten or fifteen years ago.

B) Participatory. We are becoming less
content to sit idly by, passively
observing, but increasingly prefer to
interact and directly participate in
arts and culture activities.

C) Democratic. As “barriers” between
“high” and “low” culture collapse, so
too does the distinction between
non-profit and for-profit, and there
is an increasing realization that it is
the creative process – not the
organizing motive (profit/non-profit)
– that unites these arts activities.

D) Multi-perspective. Encouraged by the
awareness and acceptance of
multiculturalism, more people with
different ethnicities, genders,
religious affiliations, and sexual
orientations explore and express
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
themselves through arts and culture.

E) Cross-disciplinary. Conventionally,
people studied and worked within
a discipline whose rules taught
them the “truth” regarding the world.
Today, arts and culture can be found
enhancing, improving and even
creating many new disciplines.
Because of this, we are seeing
unlikely combinations such as
medical education driven by the
arts.

3) Tomorrow’s society. Another facet of
the new paradigm is that arts and culture
are being driven by three powerful
demographic forces (Business, “Age
Power,” and Cultural Creatives) that are
positively impacting both the quantitative
(economic) and qualitative aspects of our
lives.

So what are the forces being exerted on
arts and culture as a result of this paradigm
shift? Where should we watch for change?
Business. This is a strong force
encouraging the rebirth of arts and culture.
The unified arts and culture industry,
including both the non-profit and for-profit
sectors, is already a powerful segment of
the economy. In Michigan alone, arts and
culture related commerce generated
revenues of $46 billion in 2001, and
employees trained in arts and culture can
be found working in nearly every other
industry (manufacturing, advertising, legal,
etc.). By looking at arts and culture the
same way we look at the rest of society,
we can be prepared for the next wave.
Two powerful demographic groups also
drive the new paradigm: Baby Boomers
and Cultural Creatives.

Baby Boomers. U.S. Census Bureau
figures show that nearly 25% of the
American population will be age 65 or
older in the next fifteen years. They are
educated, sophisticated, and hungry for
opportunities to engage in fulfilling
volunteer or leisure activities – all of which
are offered by the arts and culture industry.
Cultural Creatives. This group is also
educated and sophisticated, and currently
numbers 50+ million in the U.S. alone.

They can be found in every age group and
gender (though women slightly outnumber
men), and are aggressive consumers of
arts and culture. Of course, they also
overlap the Boomers noted above.
Their aggressive stance towards arts and
culture stems, at least in part, from a
holistic view of life that includes products,
services and experiences that integrate
aesthetics with responsibility and quality.
They are so committed to these values
that they often choose careers, spend,
vote, and work to raise the profile of arts
and culture in American life; for these
Cultural Creatives, the “good life” depends
as much on a rich aesthetic as it does on
having plenty of stuff

Conclusion.

It has become clear that
plans for economic development go handin-
hand with plans for improvement in
quality of life. Corporations, governments,
and public service organizations are all
recognizing that arts and culture improve
quality of life through educational, cultural,
and entertainment opportunities while also
improving job training, enhancing social
services, repopulating our cites, etc.

Full Report: http://www.capp-wsu.org/

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Arts help pump up economy

By Mary Barber

"You don’t just cook up a cultural town," Magidson said. "It takes hard work, just like everything else."

Full Story: http://www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1159891538208330.xml&coll=3

(Many thanks to Ed Morrison http://edpro.blogspot.com/ for passing this along. Russ)