- You’ll find plenty of lobbying firms, state advocacy groups, and consultant firms in downtown Tallahassee-- but what you don’t find plenty of is foot traffic that’s not work-related.
- An economic and social impact study showed nonprofit arts and culture organizations had a $204 million economic impact on Tallahassee and Leon County.
- Watch the video to hear the argument for more tax dollars going to the arts being invested in downtown to achieve an 18-hour downtown.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Most of the businesses in the center of downtown Tallahassee are government or government-related.
You’ll find plenty of lobbying firms, state advocacy groups, and consultant firms-- but what you don’t find plenty of is foot traffic that’s not work-related.
"What are the types of things that would encourage them to do more downtown," Chris Dudley, Tallahassee Downtown Improvement Authority Board's Past Board Chair and Current Member.
I’ve been looking into I’ll how your dollars are being used to achieve an 18-hour downtown.
"If there were things as far as walkability, where people could walk around, like a big city and see a beautiful piece of art, as they are, you know, kind of moving around the city," Dudley said.
Further away from government buildings and closer toward Cascades Park, you can experience and see just that--walkability and investment in the arts.
"If we can add public art, more sculpture downtown, more concerts, maybe even venues, an art gallery, or maybe a small performing arts space downtown," Kathleen Spehar, the Council on Culture & Arts' Executive Director.
Spehar said investment in arts has a qualifiable impact on the economics of our area.
"We recently completed an economic and social impact study," Spehar said. "$204 million of economic impact, and that's just with nonprofit arts and culture organizations."
They also found non-profit arts and culture organizations in Tallahassee and Leon County resulted in almost 3,000 jobs.
You experience the arts every day, in ways, you may not think of—a study by COCA found out this:
Whether it was a concert, an art gallery, an opening, a ballet, a performance, a symphony, you name it, reading, literary reading a film, 86% came specifically because of that event," Spehar said.
Art investments near Cascades Park are seen in the amphitheater, this art installation sharing Tallahassee history, or these markers showing you were to walk to art downtown.
The challenge now is convincing decision-makers that larger investments in arts and cultures can make a difference.
"All the investments that have been made so far have been paying off in a nine-to-one return on investment ratio," Spehar said. "So just think about it with long-term investments of you know, 20 to 50 years of continued investment in organizations, the individuals, the programs and services, and the policies that will continue to uplift this industry, you're just going to see that 18 hour downtown really blossom."
If you want to have more of a say on where future taxpayer dollars are going when it comes to arts and culture, there's a surveyyou need to fill out to give your input about the arts and funding in our neighborhoods.
