Investing in the Arts

More and more agencies are coming to realize that an investment in the arts--even a modest one--can pay off in spades, resulting in enhanced community identity, quality of life and economic vitality. It's possible, these agencies have found, to take a small budget and still make a lasting investment in the community.

Christine Fey, arts and culture manager, Reno (Nev.) Parks, Recreation and Community Services, discovered this for herself 10 years ago when her agency invested in Artown, a multi-week arts and cultural event. Her article, "Artown USA," which appears in the March issue of Parks & Recreation magazine, details the transformation of the event.

Artown began in 1996 as a way to showcase Reno's arts organizations and to invite citizens back downtown. In that first year, the three-week event attracted 30,000 people; by 1999, attendance had surpassed 100,000. Across the past decade, the (now) four-week event has succeeded in drawing folks back to Reno's downtown core, spurring on an explosion of new restaurants, retail and housing.

Today, visitors to Artown, held each July, can enjoy 320 events offered by some 80 different organizations. Here, Fey shares her thoughts with listeners on changing people's perceptions about what parks and the arts can do, and how an agency working with a small budget can make a major impact: