"Arts" is used as an inclusive term to cover the broad range of performance and visual art forms. Americans for the Arts has established the Institute for Community Development and the Arts (the Institute) to research and understand how this field can be used to address social, educational, and community development issues

How has the arts been utilized in community development?

The arts has been used in a variety of ways, as research has shown that it has the capacity to serve as an effective engine of economic development. The Institute indicates that nonprofit arts organizations offer 50 million performances a year, generate 1. 3 million jobs, and contribute $37 billion a year to the national economy. (These figures exclude Broadway and Television).

Many community development organizations across the country recognize that the arts and cultural activities can be used to assist in the social development of a community. As residents expand their circle of friends, it helps them understand different cultures. Research by the Institute, Americans for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the American Planning Association has shown that using the arts enables individuals and groups to express themselves, and in the process, become more involved in contributing to the development of their neighborhoods. Community residents who have been introduced to a technique referred to as "collective artistic expression" have empowered themselves by exploring and expressing relevant social issues to their particular neighborhoods. Research conducted by Allen Martin for Bright Ideas and by Allan Kay for the Community Development Journal has shown that community arts has enhanced and improved the effectiveness of community development.

The impact of arts in community development can be measured in terms of economic dollars, tourism traffic, social services, and design plans. The arts can have a role in improving the local image and promoting a creative view of community development that is based on tolerance and dignity.

The arts has transformed abandoned buildings and vacant lots, often viewed as symbols of decay, into productive uses. Ephrata, a small rural town in Pennsylvania, used the arts to deal with the changes in their community caused by a shifting economic base. One of its projects converted a former shoe factory into an ArtsWork factory, filled with artist studios and an area to display and sell local artwork. Some localities are now filling vacant office buildings and creating arts incubators where performance and display space is available. These incubators provide access to audiences and allow a wide range of artists to share in fundraising opportunities.

Arts centers can also play a role in revitalizing areas by providing steady activity that encourages people to visit downtown. Attendance at arts events generates related commerce for hotels, restaurants, garages, and other services. The arts creates jobs and generates government revenue. In Frankford, Pennsylvania, creating a community cultural center with private art studios and cultural facilities brought revenues to the community when the town revitalized a declining strip mall.

Some communities, such as New Orleans, Louisiana; Seattle, Washington; and the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; have taken a bolder approach by creating arts districts. Arts districts attract business investment, reverse urban decay, revitalize struggling neighborhoods, and attract tourists. Cultural resources are considered an important reason why businesses relocate to new communities, and a presence of strong arts amenities can help recruit employees.

Parkersburg, West Virginia's once thriving downtown had turned into blocks of banks, government buildings, and empty store fronts until ARTSbridge collaborated with eight other cultural organizations to establish a cultural district to help revitalize downtown. In Prince George's, Maryland, a new project is being planned by the organization Artspace as part of an $80-million arts district. Plans include space for a theater, art gallery, African-American history museum, and 150 residential units for artists.

Artists require special residential accommodations that include shock absorbing floors for dancing, high ceilings to accommodate large canvases, and large windows to admit natural light. Often these needs are met by older commercial structures. In several communities, abandoned printing press factories, bakeries, and automobile dealerships have been redesigned to house artists.

The arts can also make an area more creative and vibrant for young people, getting them involved in civic activities instead of illegal ones. City Heights, a community development organization in San Diego, California, provides youth empowerment through a public arts program, where the youth transform negative, deteriorated public alleys into positive neighborhood serving spaces. Communities like San Diego and Frankford are experiencing a growing number of urban wall murals and widespread transformations of empty lots into sacred gardens.

These youth programs provide a safe haven from the dangers of abuse, gang activity, violence and other community problems, and also encourage family involvement. In Gainesville, Florida, the Community Outreach Partnership Center involves youth in an African dance troupe that performs in the community and at neighborhood festivals. Art and photography have also been used to provide opportunities for youth to document and react to neighborhood conditions. In the View our Voices program in Gainesville, teens take pictures of their neighborhoods and then discuss the positive and negative qualities.

How has the Arts been used to bring dollars into the community?

In major American cities, tourism fueled by heritage and culture has become a leading source of jobs and revenues. Some localities have embarked on community arts programs that provide opportunities for artists and residents to create projects that celebrate community identity, inspire civic pride, and invigorate public spaces. Public art is well suited to visually express the ideas, histories, emotions, dreams, and realities that form neighborhoods.

Community public art has allowed artists, residents, and businesses to engage in projects that celebrate the local talent and bring tourists to the city. Chicago featured cows in 1999; Norfolk, Virginia, followed with waving mermaids; Columbia, South Carolina displayed steel palmetto trees; and Richmond, Virginia displayed Rockfish. When the totals were tallied, Chicago's 320 cows had raised $3. 5 million at charity auctions; 100 of Norfolk's 120 waving mermaids sold for $225,000; Columbia's steel palmetto trees netted $190,000; and Richmond grossed $310,000 for the establishment of an endowment for the 1708 Gallery and 70 other non profits on the sales of the Rockfish. This type of event creates a tourist attraction and allows a city to publicize its artistic power in developmentally and financially beneficial ways.

Arts festivals are another way communities can demonstrate true diversity while economically benefiting. Some localities have monthly street fairs so residents and visitors can mingle and learn from each other. In Spartanburg, South Carolina, the community united to honor a 23-mile stream called Lawson's Fork during a festival that took place at several sites along the shoreline. The goal of the celebration was to bring the artistic, musical, and historical aspects of the area to a wide variety of citizens and to unite the community. In 1999, the first ARTS! Downtown Family Festival, sponsored by Parkersburg, West Virginia's arts service agency, ARTSbridge, drew residents and visitors to the downtown area.

Some may view the arts as a snobbish hobby and interest exclusive to the wealthy, but the arts can benefit entire communities. All forms of art -- creative, performing, and architectural -- contribute to the uniqueness of each community. Culture arts transcend boundaries of race, age, gender, language, and social status, and are successfully being used as economic tools to develop and build healthy communities.