Towns support region's arts

WARREN — The Northwestern Connecticut Council of Governments (COG) voted last week to give $3,000 to the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council for a comprehensive survey to determine the economic impact of culture and arts activity in the region.

Mary Oppenheimer, a board member and artist from Lakeville, said the survey would be more comprehensive than previous efforts in assessing the full extent of the economic impact of cultural activities. 

“All of you are here to help your towns,� she said to the nine first selectmen assembled. “This will be useful information and an important tool.�

The COG is an organization of the first selectmen of the six towns of the Region One School district as well as Warren, Washington and Roxbury. The arts council serves 23 towns and is based in Torrington.

Amy Wynn, executive director of the arts council, said that previous surveys only measured the impact of non-profit organizations. “They miss the commercial cultural businesses — galleries, dance schools, art leagues and clubs, art supply stores, music stores, commercial theaters, cinemas — and they miss the individual artists and smaller commercial cultural businesses.�

The survey will cost about $31,000; Wynn said the bulk of the money will come from private foundations, which she declined to name at this time.

Because of the time frame — the council wants to have the results ready for the spring of this year — the first selectmen were not especially enthusiastic about the prospect of selling a request for even a couple of hundred dollars to their towns.

But COG Executive Director Dan McGuinness suggested using the organization’s reserve fund, to the general relief of all.

Wynn pointed to Pittsfield, Mass., as an example of what investment in the arts can do for a community. That city, using part of the settlement it obtained from General Electric from PCB contamination in the Housatonic River, now has 24 new businesses in its formerly moribund downtown area.

“There are more young professionals attracted to Pittsfield� because of the increased arts activity, she said.

State Rep. Roberta Willis (D-63) said it is important for the town governments to be on board with the arts council’s survey. “It will encourage private contributions,� she said.

And state Sen. Andrew Roraback (R-30) added, “As first selectmen you will be educated as to the value of this kind of investment.�

Wynn, using the example of the Sharon Playhouse (home to TriArts), explained how arts organizations contribute to a town’s tax base.  “People going to the theater spend money — on gas, on food. They might not spend it in Sharon but they spend it in the area.

“And the theater spends money on gas and hardware, and employs people.

“Ask yourselves, if you took culture out of the mix, how would that impact your economy? If you look at our region’s history, there have been some local industries but the main things are location, the environment and creative people.The weekenders might not be going abroad this year — we need to compete with The Berkshires.�

Salisbury First Selectman Curtis Rand didn’t take much convincing. “Seems to me this is one of the few things we’ve got going for us right now,� he said.

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