Arts - Innovation - Listen Up!

A long-time thought of mine has been that Indiana underutilizes the arts. This thought came to me while I was in pretrial detention. Once upon a time, it had been proposed for Anderson that it become a Florentine city. I do not recall now how the idea came to me, or why I chewed on it the way I did. I never had anything but contempt for the idea of artists creating an economy for a city. It came down to this explicit idea: Florence, Italy had its artists because it had money to pay the artists; money derived from its banking industry.

However, I did not stop there. Florence had sone much in the way of murals. That is public art. That drew people to Florence and continues to do so.

Down in Columbus, Indiana, its architecture draws visitors who drop money into the local economy.

Even more recently, The Ball State Daily published Public Art initiatives in Muncie are strengthening the economic development and community of Delaware County. 

Although this public art often takes a community to make it happen, these communities, in return, experience a positive impact.  

“Art has an ability to be an access point and connect a diverse audience and think about how we use public space,” Shimizu said. “It allows us to have sometimes difficult conversations about things that can be brought through a common event or activity.”  

Not only can public art have a positive impact on the culture and community of a town, but there can be economic benefits as well. 

According to Americans for the Arts, cities gain value through the installation of public art. This value could be cultural, social and economic. Overall, data strongly indicates that cities with an active dynamic culture will be more attractive to businesses. 

This culture comes from art.

Even more recently (like today), I found The Arts of Innovation:

Greater empirical understanding of the arts’ contributions to economic growth and innovation is part of the NEA’s current research agenda. Besides working with the Bureau of Economic Analysis to track the arts as a percentage of U.S. GDP, the NEA has invested in several Research Labs that examine the arts’ benefits for social, civic, or economic innovation. These awards support long-term research about subjects ranging from arts incubators, and arts-based jobs training for neurodiverse students, to artists who work in government, and creative professionals who work in science, business, and technology.

On a global level, meanwhile, analysts at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) strive to develop a standardized way to measure the effects of “cultural and creative sectors” on “innovation and productivity,” as they put it in a November 2023 background document. 

Cultural and creative sectors, or CCS, can “spur innovation, and in turn productivity, in other sectors through supply chain linkages, the movement of skills, and the sharing of ideas through collaboration, networking and spillovers,” the document states. “However, to date, innovation in CCS and their contribution to innovation and growth across the economy has not been sufficiently evidenced. Moreover, the rare studies that have attempted to measure these broader effects do not allow for country comparisons or benchmarking.”

No, the arts do not create the economic basis for a city. The arts do boost a city's economy. 

For Anderson, the idea at its most basic was to create public murals downtown, and also on all public buildings throughout the town. There would also be a sculpture park.

It will never happen. However, by putting it here, I can say my obligations to my hometown are discharged. They are here for anyone to steal them for their own purposes.

sch 1/25