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contents news in brief


music in the air calendar arts calendar exhibitions


Westchester County Business Journal • ARTSWNEWS thisandthatbyjl.com Page A3


economic impact of the arts in Westchester Page A4 features


Page A6 Page A10 Page A14 Page A15


ArtsWNews, your guide to the arts and culture in Westchester County, NY is published by ARTSWESTCHESTER, a private, not-for-profit organization established in 1965. The largest of its kind in New York State, it serves more than 150 cultural organizations, 43 school districts, hundreds of artists, and audiences numbering over one million. Our goal is to ensure the availability, accessibility, and diversity of the arts in Westchester.


Janet Langsam, Chief Executive Officer Salina Le Bris, Director of Communications Mary Alice Franklin, ArtsWNews Editor Vanessa Reitz & Clare Maker, Designers Lisa DiCarlucci, Calendar Editor Alison Kattleman, News in Brief Editor


For more information about ArtsWestchester, please call 914.428.4220 or visit www.artswestchester.org.


Our work is made possible with support from Westchester County Government.


Robert P. Astorino, County Executive Kenneth W. Jenkins, Chair, Westchester County Board of Legislators Westchester County Board of Legislators


Catherine Borgia Gordon A. Burrows David B. Gelfarb Peter Harckham Michael Kaplowitz James Maisano


Sheila Marcotte Judith A. Myers Virginia Perez William J. Ryan MaryJane Shimsky Michael J. Smith


Bernice Spreckman John G. Testa Alfreda A. Williams Lyndon Williams


Thanks to our generous sponsors: A&A Maintenance, Anchin Block & Anchin, Benerofe Properties, Con Edison, Entergy, Ethan Allen Interiors, First Niagara, IBM, Jacob Burns Foundation, John Meyer Consulting PC, Joseph & Sophia Abeles Foundation, Journal News, JP Morgan Chase, Key Bank, The Liman Foundation, Macy's, The Margaret Cargill Foundation, MAXX Properties, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, New York Power Authority, Nordstrom, Peckham Industries, Inc., Pepe Auto Group, PepsiCo, Pernod Ricard, Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., Reckson, A Division of SL Green Realty, Ronald McDonald House Charities, RPW Group, Swiss Re, TD Charitable Foundation, Wells Fargo Bank, Westchester Community Foundation, Westchester Magazine, White Plains Hospital.


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GOOD FOR THE SOUL... GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY


Yes. It’s another column about “the economy." And why not? We talk about it, read about it, obsess about it. It makes us feel good or bad, up or down. It is our barometer--if it’s good for the economy, then it is good.


That is why more than 30 years ago, the first (I believe) economic impact study was undertaken to prove that the arts were important to the New York City economy. It was during the city's fiscal crisis in 1978. Cuts were being made in every city agency including the Department of Cultural Affairs of which I was the Deputy Commissioner. An economic impact study was the brilliant idea of Martin Segal who was at the time Chairman of the Mayor's Commission on Cultural Affairs. The concern, of course, was that the arts budget would suffer disproportionately.


Segal knew how important arts and culture were to the city’s. He wanted power brokers and for the public at large to understand it in dollars and cents. Spend- ing of audiences from throughout the world brought millions to the city's coffers. Since that time, cities, counties and states have made the effort to tell the story of the arts in economic terms.


Here in Westchester when we talk about the arts and the economy, we have a great story to tell. Working with Americans for the Arts, ArtsWestchester has produced reports every five years since 1995. These successive reports dem- onstrate that the economic impact has continued to build to $156 million, with some 4,800 jobs. It is a daunting task reaching out to 150 affiliates, begging data from overworked colleagues, doing live interviews with arts-goers and culling the information.


We do it to let the public know that arts organizations are responsible business- es, employers and consumers. Nationally, nonprofit arts organizations generate $135 billion in economic activity annually, supporting 4.1 million jobs and gener- ating $22.3 billion in government revenue.


People seem to yawn when we say the arts are good for kids of all ages, good for communities, good for education, good for health. But, tell folks that the arts are good for the economy and they perk up. So, starting a year ahead of time, we interviewed 906 people at arts events and just as we thought, the arts are good for local merchants. The typical attendee in Westchester spends $22.17 per event, on items such as meals, parking and babysitters. Of the people we in- terviewed, almost a third were tourists. Turns out that tourists spend more than residents, but that’s a good thing. It brings more dollars into our region. And go figure: Arts travelers are ideal tourists—they stay longer and spend more.


So all in all, the arts are good for Westchester and, by the way, they are also good for the soul.


AUGUST 2012


ARTSWESTCHESTER: YOUR COMPLETE ARTS GUIDE


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