The arts and culture industry generates more than $48 million a year in Boise. That’s according to a new study by Americans for the Arts. Today’s numbers paint a nice portrait of the city’s growing art scene.
Randy Cohen is with Americans for the Arts, the DC-based organization that put out the study.
Cohen says that arts organizations like the Trey McIntyre Project and the Boise Philharmonic help create a community people want to live in. But they also create revenue.
“The fact is, they’re businesses. And they employ people locally; they purchase goods and services in the community," says Cohen. "Arts organizations are good business citizens.”
Besides the price of admission, Cohen says that people spend money around the city because of the arts.
“Think of the last time you went to the theater. You may have had dinner first and went out after the show, and you had all this event-related spending…Paid for parking.”
He says that the typical Boise arts patron in 2010 spent just over $21.18 on event-related expenses.
Spending was higher for out-of-town visitors, about $36 per person after the cost of admission.
Cohen says that having a vibrant arts and culture scene attracts young educated workers, which in turn attracts businesses which want to hire them.
Copyright 2012 Boise State Public Radio