Leaders push arts for economy- Group hopes to lure high-end workers to Arizona

High-powered business and community leaders are launching an effort this fall to develop ways to improve the Valley’s arts and culture as a tool in economic development.

John Stearns
The Arizona Republic

The 30-member task force will tap research and public opinion in coming up with a plan by March 2004 to strengthen Valley arts and culture to attract more knowledge-based workers and companies that consider arts critical to quality of life.

The effort is aimed at not only attracting new money and people to the state, but at benefiting local residents, supporters say.

Drew Brown, president of Phoenix developer DMB Associates Inc., will chair the task force, which also includes government, arts, educational and philanthropic leaders. Four private foundations formed it: Flinn, J.W. Kieckhefer, Margaret T. Morris and Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

"There’s a clear recognition by those foundations . . . that a successful arts and cultural community is at the essence of our economic competitiveness as a region," Brown said.

The foundations are sharing the $291,000 cost of hiring the Battelle Memorial Institute’s Technology Partnership Practice to help the task force gather data and create a plan. Battelle is a large non-profit organization that provides support for technology-based economic development.

The task force hopes to capitalize on the energy created by the planned Phoenix Bioscience Center, which will house the Translational Genomics Research Institute and International Genomics Consortium. Many of the workers that will be recruited to the center consider arts critical to their relocation, as do other workers, said John Murphy, executive director of the Flinn Foundation.

Knowledge-based workers want to know, "How will I spend my time when I’m not in the labs?" said Judy Jolley Mohraz, president and chief executive officer of the Piper trust.

Many Valley arts and cultural organizations have struggled financially over the years and faced more strain during the economic downturn. A recent example of the funding battle was the state Legislature’s voting to eliminate the $7 million arts endowment fund, which provides grants to artists and education programs. Gov. Janet Napolitano restored the funding this week.

To help the task force do its work, Battelle will research other cities’ arts and cultural features and examine the strengths and weaknesses of Valley arts and cultural organizations. Public forums also are planned to gather ideas for the task force.

Among the task force members are William Post, president and CEO of Arizona Public Service; Jerry Colangelo, chairman of the Phoenix Suns; Sue Clark-Johnson, chairman, CEO and publisher of The Arizona Republic; Gerrit vanHuisstede, president and CEO of Wells Fargo Bank in Arizona; Jose Cardenas, chairman of Lewis & Roca; Sharon Harper, president and CEO of the Plaza Companies; and Richard Silverman, general manager of the Salt River Project.

The task force will meet once a month beginning in September. The public can follow the process and track meetings through updates on the Flinn and Piper Web sites, http://www.flinn.org and http://www.pipertrust.org.

The task force was inspired by a symposium last March in Phoenix at which representatives from Atlanta, Cleveland and Denver talked about the importance of arts and culture in each city’s economy, how the arts are funded and other lessons.

Counties in metro Denver, for example, levy a sales tax of 1 cent on every $10 to help fund the arts. The tax is credited with helping nourish a thriving arts community.

To be fully competitive in economic development, "we can’t leave this sector behind," said Myra Millinger, Flinn’s associate director.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/