The economy of art

In the News

A Boston Globe Editorial May 12, 2004

FROM TANGLEWOOD to the Boston Children's Theatre, culture in Massachusetts is a collection of pearls. Missing is an infrastructure of sturdy buildings, adequate funding, and supportive laws and policies.

A new Boston Foundation report outlines the need. In 2002, spending by the state's nonprofit cultural organizations added more than $1 billion to the economy. But this economic engine gets little respect.

The report points to $1.1 billion worth of plans by 123 cultural organizations to repair, expand, or build new facilities over the next five years. The organizations run from the New England Aquarium to the Community Music School of Springfield. The report also calls for expanding cultural tourism and legislative advocacy as well as more technical assistance for smaller organizations.

A key resource is money. It's old but significant news that in Massachusetts, state and local governments don't invest enough in culture. Boston is dwarfed by cities such as San Francisco, where a hotel tax helps fund the arts. And the state's cultural funding arm, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, lost 62 percent of its state funding in 2003.

Endowed with an ample heart, the cultural community also needs a bigger brain -- strategies, advocacy, and partnerships that solve problems and increase access for residents, tourists, and schoolchildren.

One model is the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, a public-private partnership among the city of Philadelphia, the state of Pennsylvania, and the Pew Charitable Trusts. In Massachusetts, visits by tourists have dropped since 9/11, but visits are up in Philadelphia. Marketing corporation staffers credit aggressive marketing, including a hotel package, free parking, and partnerships that help cultural organizations buy national ads they otherwise couldn't afford.

It's easy to be dazzled into complacency by blockbuster events. But cultural vitality also needs sound planning and action.