Seattle arts mean business

Few would dispute a community's life is enriched by the arts it produces and the culture it supports. Less well understood is the economic enrichment that blossoms as well.

The link between what is good for the artistic soul and the pocketbook was meticulously documented by Americans for the Arts. The national review and selected local surveys found in "Arts & Economic Prosperity III" translate into very good business. All the numbers are huge. Even if one is emotionally bound up in art for art's sake and the purity of artistic expression, the figures are pretty amazing.

Seattle's arts and cultural enterprises and endeavors tally an economic impact of $330 million. Arts organizations in 2006 spent $211 million on goods and services and employment.

Arts audiences spent another $119 million on admissions and everything else, from parking to meals that make up a cultural outing. More than a third of the audience for Seattle arts comes from outside King County.

The information was gleaned from more than five dozen organizations and attendees at more than 400 events. Dazzling numbers had Seattle in the ranks of Atlanta, Minneapolis and Portland, and aspiring to the next tier of Miami, San Francisco and Chicago.

From buskers to busing tables, from community playhouses to Broadway-bound productions, the arts create the equivalent of 8,000 full-time jobs.

Another number that delights is the 11,000 patrons who volunteer and donate their time to the arts.

This economic profile is more than a pleasant glance in the mirror. The numbers can and should be used by advocates to leverage more public and private support for the arts, while confidently arguing it is also an investment in the local economy.