Art Is the Best Economic Stimulus Plan Ever

LA’s Downtown Arts District

The Los Angeles Downtown Arts District was once a hub for the citrus industry, which, like Wynwood, had become largely abandoned by the late twentieth century. Unlike the top-down approach that Miami government and financiers took in Wynwood, however, the beginnings of this art district were driven by individual artists, who expropriated abandoned warehouses and manufacturing buildings to create a bustling community of art studios. Today, the area is on the National Register of Historic Places and hosts an internationally known arts walk featuring open studios, public art, and pop up galleries. As the district’s artistic renown has grown, it has become home to an architecture institute, a bustling film industry, and an increased population, with the demand for housing in this hip district still growing to this day. 

Pilsen, Chicago

Murals Of Pilsen

Here in Chicago, the Pilsen neighborhood reminds us of the power of municipal art, with its famous array of murals along 18th St. acting as the economic driver for a vibrant row of businesses, including popular Mexican restaurants and the must-visit National Museum of Mexican Art. The neighborhood is also home to Pilsen Open Studios, an annual event that draws thousands of visitors to the old Mexican neighborhood in yet another display of how murals and public art can draw foot traffic and, thereby, capital into neighborhoods single-handedly. 

Art Can Boost Our Economy!

All that one must do to see the economic power of the arts, truly, is set foot in one of the many emerging art hubs across the country, but there is also hard data showing the effectiveness of public art as an economic stimulator. In a 2005 study, the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council of Minnesota found in a survey of local arts nonprofits that art events had drawn nearly 900,000 unique consumers into the city of Duluth, with those consumers spending $24 million that year, not including the price of admission to events or sales tax revenue. This same study also found that, as compared with motorists, pedestrians and cyclists spend nearly twice as much in local economies, further reinforcing the importance of drawing consumers into the streets by means of art, events, and architecture.

It is increasingly important to view the arts as an economic stimulus today, as millennials become the largest spending force in the United States. While there is an ongoing trope of millennial consumers ‘killing’ various industries, from paper napkins to diamonds, studies have shown that this group has, in fact, increased spending on art compared with preceding generations. In a 2018 survey by Park West Gallery, 4 out of 5 millennials said that art was important to them, while only 2 out of 5 baby boomers said the same. That same year, a study by Reuters had the art market increasing by 7%, with over half of art buyers surveyed falling within the millennial age bracket. 

Interested in the economically generative power of murals? Stir up interest, attract new visitors to your business, and support local arts programs with a custom workplace mural.

Schedule a call with the IPMM mural team today!