Missoula News

City Club Missoula

Arts Pump $34 Million into Missoula Yearly

By Jessica Mayrer, 12-21-07

Not only does the non-profit arts sector in Missoula generate nearly 1,174 jobs and $34 million in economic activity yearly, it enables people to reflect, grow and interpret the world around them, two local art enthusiasts told City Club Missoula on Friday.

“That’s a good argument for public as well as private investment in the arts,” said Tom Bensen, director of the Missoula Cultural Council, who shared the findings of a national study examining how art affects economic prosperity.

Communities that invest in culture reap tangible and intangible benefits such as jobs, economic growth and an improved quality of life, he said. And because tourism is the second biggest industry in Montana, paying special attention to keeping local culture alive is just smart business, he said.

Nationally, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity each year, according to the study, conducted by the nonprofit Americans for the Arts. That revenue helped create nearly 5.7 million full-time jobs in 2005.

The report looked at 156 regions in 50 states. Information was collected from 6,080 cultural organizations, including about 21 from Missoula.

Missoula’s local art scene is brings in dollars on par with larger neighbors like Boulder, Colo., Boise, Idaho and Tacoma, Wash., Bensen said.

Culture is big business, but that doesn’t rival the power it has to shape the way we think, feel and communicate with each other, he said.

Barbara Koostra, director of the Montana Museum of Arts & Culture at the University of Montana displayed pieces from the museum’s collection to the lunchtime crowd. Works by ceramicist Rudy Autio and Nineteenth Century painter Edgar S. Paxson, framed Koostra’s question, “Does this not convey story, history, culture?”

“That’s very different from talking about dollar signs,” she said.

While economics are important, culture transcends price tags, she said. It gives voice to feelings that could not be expressed any other way. Creativity breaks down social barriers and inspires others to tell their own unique stories.

A diverse cultural scene, like Missoula’s, enables people to submerge themselves in distant ways of life. This challenges individuals to engage the imagination and grow, offering a striking contrast to the predictable pleasure and easy comfort found in much of today’s modern entertainment, Koostra said.

“Albert Einstein reminds us that imagination is more important than knowledge,” she said.

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