CAP and Americans for the Arts Study Arts & the Economy - Essay Example

CAP and Americans for the Arts Study Arts & the Economy The article “CAP and Americans for the Arts Study Arts & the Economy” is about the collaboration between the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County (CAP) and the Americans for the Arts, which is America’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts. Both organizations bonded together to undertake a research study, the Arts & Economic Prosperity IV, that will evaluate the impact spending by nonprofit organizations and their audiences on their local economies.

CAP will assist in gathering the various nonprofit arts and culture organizations in Tompkins County and help collate the surveys and data from among 800 participants. The objective of the study is to be able to show that the arts remain to be a strong industry despite the economic crisis. The results of the study will hopefully generate information on the total dollars spent by the county's nonprofit arts and culture organizations; the total dollars spent by audiences as a direct result of their attendance at arts and culture events in Tompkins County; the number of full-time equivalent jobs supported by arts spending, the amount of resident, household income-including salaries and wages-generated by arts spending and lastly, the amount of local and state government tax revenues generated by arts spending (Community Arts Partnership, par.2). I selected this article because I want to know the impact of the arts industry in the American economy.

I hope that through the research study that will be conducted, a clearer picture of the art industry’s contribution to the society as a whole can be determined. Hopefully, the study can be replicated for other counties so that a nationwide data will be available. This article may affect artists as well as arts organizations because they will be part of the survey and they can contribute to the data needed in order to have a more realistic finding. Another probable impact of this article is that through the research study that will be undertaken, the results might encourage other organizations to support the industry.

Funding can be generated to further the advancement of the arts and encourage more artists to develop their talents. The external influences involved in this article are the other organizations that are part of the research study. These include the Americans for the Arts and the Ruth Lily Fund of the American for the Arts. There are also other local and statewide partners who are giving assistance to the project. An important lesson learned from this selection is that the arts and culture contributes to the economies of communities.

This selection made me appreciate the importance of art councils in communities such as the CAP. The article stated that CAP has contributed $2 million to artists and art organizations in the Tompkins County for the past two decades (Community Arts Partnership, par.7). I realized that the arts industry also generates employment and helps in the generation of government revenues through taxes paid from arts spending. Through this selection, I became aware that the art industry, although small compared to major industries in the United States, is still a contributor to the economy.

Work Cited Community Arts Partnership. “CAP and Americans for the Arts Study Arts & the Economy.” artspartner.org. 24 February 2011. Web. 18 May 2011. http://www.artspartner.org/news/story/cap-and-americans-for-the-arts-study- arts-the-economy.html