Commentary: The Arts Mean Business in Door County

By Brian Kelsey and Dave Maier, Peninsula Arts & Humanities Alliance

The Peninsula Arts & Humanities Alliance (PAHA) joins the Wisconsin Arts Board and Americans for the Arts in announcing the results of a comprehensive economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry conducted in Door County during the past two years.

The study reveals that local nonprofit arts organizations generate $24.7 million in economic activity annually, resulting in nearly $2.5 million in local and state tax revenues, 632 in full-time equivalent jobs and $12.2 million in resident income.

These results were compiled as part of a national report titled Arts & Economic Prosperity 5.

“PAHA is proud to have partnered with the Wisconsin Arts Board and Americans for the Arts on this study,” said Brian Kelsey, managing director of Peninsula Players, PAHA president and board member of the Wisconsin Arts Board. “We value the arts for their intrinsic worth, and this study reminds us that we can also value their economic contributions. We thank Door County’s nonprofit arts organizations and their audiences for participating in the study and for their significant contributions to Door County’s and Wisconsin’s creative economy.”

The Door County study was commissioned by PAHA in partnership with the Wisconsin Arts Board as part of the Arts Board’s legislative mandate to study the arts in Wisconsin. PAHA also helped to facilitate the gathering of the detailed economic data from 16 eligible nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in Door County as well as 1,762 audience surveys. The study measures only the impact provided by organizations and audiences, and excludes spending by individual artists and the for-profit arts and entertainment sector.

“Door County is a virtual arts mecca in every respect,” said Dave Maier, managing director of Northern Sky Theater and PAHA study coordinator. “If the not-for-profit sector has such tremendous impact, imagine the combined economic impact of the arts for Door County across all sectors. This suggests opportunities for how we might market our individual communities and strengthen the Door County brand.”

In this study, economic impact is defined as the employment (full-time equivalent jobs), resident household income (salary, wages, proprietary income), and government revenue (taxes, license fees, and all the ways governments collect revenue) generated by the dollars spent in the community by nonprofit arts organizations and their audiences.

The $24.7 million total includes $9.7 million in spending by arts organizations and $15 million in event-related spending by arts audiences – excluding the costs of admission.

The $15 million in event-related spending by arts audiences reflects an average of $77 per person in spending for hotels, restaurants, parking, souvenirs, refreshments, or other similar costs—with non-local attendees spending significantly more than local attendees ($90.53 compared to $28.96).

Nationally, according to the Americans for the Arts report, the nonprofit arts industry generates 4.6 million jobs and $166.3 billion in economic activity every year, resulting in $27.5 billion in federal, state, and local government revenues. The $166.3 billion total includes $63.8 billion in spending by arts organizations and $102.5 billion in event-related spending by arts audiences.

“This study demonstrates that the arts provide both cultural and economic benefits,” said Robert L. Lynch, Americans for the Arts President and CEO. “No longer do community leaders need to feel that a choice must be made between arts funding and economic development. Arts and Economic Prosperity 5 proves that they can choose both. Nationally as well as locally, the arts mean business.”

The national study was supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Barr Foundation and The Ruth Lilly Fund of Americans for the Arts. Americans for the Arts’ local and statewide project partners – such as the Peninsula Arts & Humanities Alliance and the Wisconsin Arts Board – contributed both time and financial support to the study.

The Peninsula Arts & Humanities Alliance, Inc., is a coalition of nonprofit organizations whose purpose is to enhance, promote and advocate the arts, humanities, and natural sciences in Door County. Member organizations include:  Birch Creek Music Performance Center, The Clearing, Door Community Auditorium, Door Shakespeare, The Hardy Gallery, Midsummer’s Music, Miller Art Museum, Northern Sky Theater, Peninsula Music Festival, Peninsula Players Theatre, Peninsula School of Art, Third Avenue Playhouse, Trueblood Performing Arts Center and Write On, Door County.

The Wisconsin Arts Board is the state agency that nurtures creativity, cultivates expression, promotes the arts, supports the arts in education, stimulates community and economic development and serves as a resource for people of every culture and heritage. 

Americans for the Arts is the nation’s nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. Established in 1960, Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.