Building Maine through the Arts and Culture
August 15, 2002
Alden C. Wilson, Director
Maine Arts Commission
Augusta
Maine’s cultural development
bears a remarkable similarity to the movement to preserve our natural
resources. A generation ago emerging and strengthened statewide private
organizations devoted to the preservation of the Maine environment came
together with state government leadership to create a public/private support
network for Maine’s environment that is today a model for other states to emulate.
So too has the cultural
field emerged with expanded cultural activity, organization of statewide
cultural services and advocacy groups and attention from state government.
Maine culture - broadly defined to include the state’s museums, folk arts traditions,
humanities, literary groups, libraries, historic preservation, performing arts
and individual artists and craftspeople - has moved to a new level of
sophistication, organization and now has political clout.
The most visible example of
this coming together is the New Century Community Program (NCCP), designed to
preserve Maine’s cultural resources and to strengthen their effectiveness at
the local level. Legislative leadership, the Maine Cultural Affairs Council (a
one-of-a-kind national collaboration of state government and private
organizations), combined with statewide grassroots advocacy have delivered $4.2
million in state matching grants and services to Maine communities. In
addition, NCCP has attracted attention as a national model of public/private
sector cultural policy. Notably, the Pew Charitable Trusts has selected NCCP as
one of ten exemplary public policy initiatives in the country in its recently
released, Policy Partners: Making the Case for State Investment in Culture.
While enormous strides have
been made in cultural resource development, the fact remains that these
resources are themselves in peril due to under capitalization, aging facilities
and often lack of visibility. As with environmental policy, Maine needs a
coherent cultural policy to preserve our cultural heritage and to encourage the
creation of the arts, both of which are essential to the Maine "sense of
place." What are those key features in Maine that give our state its
"sense of place?" Certainly our attractive villages and cities, fairs
and festivals, galleries, antique shops, arts institutions, and artists who
live everywhere in Maine, are every much a part of the Maine identity as are
the mountains and lakes, countryside and the coastal regions. The time is now to
follow the example of the environmental field, with which cultural experiences
are often inextricably combined, and forge a public/private cultural policy for
the state that will serve Maine well in the coming decades.
The Creative Economy
While the preservation and
development of Maine’s cultural resources require private and public attention,
when cultural resources are viewed as part of a nationwide economic movement
they provide a new compelling argument for a statewide cultural policy. Healthy
cultural resources are truly part of the solution for Maine rather than being
considered another sector to support.
Carnegie Mellon University
Economist Richard Florida in The Rise of the Creative Class defines the
emergence of a new way of looking at the arts and culture in relation to the
workforce as a whole. His study encompasses artists and musicians, engineers
and architects, software designers, scientists and anyone else who uses
creativity as a factor in business, education, health care and other professions.
Florida’s research focuses on how, why and where people chose to work and his
findings show "…that people were not slavishly following jobs to places.
Their location choices were based to a large degree on their lifestyle
interests and these, I found, went well beyond the standard quality-of-life
amenities that most experts thought were important." (Florida)
Richard Florida is no
stranger to Maine; he has advised Maine state government and recently commented
on Maine’s future prosperity requiring a highly innovative economy, an economy
that prizes artists, designers, actors, musicians and the cultural
institutions, events and support groups that make for vibrant cultural
communities. Moreover, the Creative Economy phenomenon is not only a feature of
our urban centers. As recently stated in an editorial in reference to Florida’s
work, "…Maine’s sparse population in much of the state means that it must
work to attract creative types-artists and authors, scientists and software
designers - in additional to growing some locally if it (Maine) is to survive
in the changing economy." (Bangor Daily News)
Maine government in working
with the private sector has made a firm commitment to attract and retain
business, to make Maine a destination for the traveler and the retiree, and to
bring Maine into the 21st century with priority given to contemporary
technology and pervasive use of the internet. Now if the state is to prosper in
the Creative Economy, Maine needs workers who want to be here for what Maine has
to offer. In the arts and culture Maine has it all. As "Discovery
Research", local cultural assessment and planning completed in sixty
percent (60%) of the state has proven, a vigorous cultural life exists in all
parts of Maine. Collectively these artists and cultural resources provide a
means to build Maine’s economy and are requisite in defining the state’s image
not only for the visitor but also for our residents. Consider, for example, how
the arts and culture give our young people, 23% of whom (25-34 age group) left
Maine in the last decade, a compelling reason to stay here. (U.S. Census)
Recommendation One: Promote
the Creative Economy
In a related development to
Richard Florida’s economic research, in 2000 the New England Council with
support from the New England Foundation for the Arts researched and published
the Creative Economy Initiative: The Role of the Arts and Culture in New
England’s Economy. This report, business led and developed, looked at a subset
of the Creative Economy, namely, the creative cluster of not-for-profit
cultural organizations, individual artists, and commercial activities. In the
past, only the not-for-profit cultural field had been studied. This new
research into the entire cultural sector affirms empirical observation on the
breadth of New England’s culture in comparison to other regions. In brief, New
England employs more workers in the creative sector than the national average
and employment exceeds that of software and communications services, as well as
healthcare technology, and supports almost as many jobs in the region as the
computer equipment industry. Significantly for Maine in 2000, the creative
sector employed 13,998 individuals.
Maine has not taken
advantage of the Creative Economy Initiative, as have the other states in the
region, especially Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Maine needs to embark upon
a vigorous promotion of the both the principles and findings embedded in the
Creative Economy Initiative, and the state needs to "roll out" the findings
in several rural and urban communities. Also, the National Governor’s
Association Center for Best Practices in June 2001 presented a paper on The
Role of the Arts in Economic Development. These studies, along with new
research on the Creative Economy in general, deserve wide public exposure,
discussion, debate and a statewide conference to examine their findings and
application for Maine’s social investment.
In addition, Maine needs to
promote the role of the arts in education as an integral part of the Creative
Economy. Arts Education teaches the skills that are required for the 21st
century workforce as a whole, not just for those who work in arts and culture.
Another National Governor’s Association publication, the Impact of Arts
Education on Workforce Preparation states, "…the arts can provide
effective learning opportunities to the general student population, yielding
increased academic performance, reduced absenteeism and better
skill-building." (NGA) The report cites even greater success with
creativity and arts based programs for disadvantaged youth. Clearly Maine’s
arts education programs must remain strong and the Learning Results to support
arts education must be considered on a par with other disciplines if Maine is
to train creative-thinking problem-solvers to participate in the 21st century
knowledge economy.
Through the Maine Cultural
Affairs Council, Maine government has brought together seven public and private
agencies (Maine Arts Commission, Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Maine
State Library, Maine State Museum, Maine State Archives, Maine Humanities
Council, and Maine Historical Society) that have worked in concert to create
the NCCP. This assistance needs to be continued as a base level of support to
prevent the erosion of our state’s cultural resources. In addition, greater
attention should be given to empowerment through public/private partnerships
and an exploration should be undertaken to create a cultural trust for Maine.
Finally, more research on the arts and culture is needed, perhaps through an
alliance with the Economic Growth Council of the Maine Development Foundation,
the Muskie School, and Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
Recommendation Two:
Revitalize Maine’s Downtowns and Villages
Support to develop Maine’s
villages and cities through arts and cultural investment will reap significant
benefits for the state’s economy. Maine has an unmatched stock of historic and
architecturally significant buildings, well-planned urban spaces and towns and
villages with Maine’s singular "sense of place." Adaptive use of
Maine’s architecturally significant buildings and getting people into what has
been the former center of community life is a means to save the identity of our
communities. In addition, the creative worker needed in the 21st century
workforce wants authentic cultural experiences and these workers will find
these experiences in revitalized community centers. In brief, community
development through the arts and culture brings business to downtowns, thwarts
sprawl, and improves local economies.
In our cities examples
abound in varying stages of progress:
Portland is revitalizing
Congress Street through cultural facilities; refurbished Merrill Auditorium is
at one end and the Portland Museum of Art at the other. The remarkable transformation
of the Porteous department store into the Maine College of Art anchors the
center and many other cultural organizations define the neighborhood.
Lewiston is now developing
LA Arts as a new cultural locus directly across from the new Courthouse located
in former Lewiston Supply Company (once a theater itself). St. Mary’s Church is
on its way to become an important center for Franco-American affairs, and LA
Excels has sprung up to provide a broad view of Lewiston’s future development,
much of it through the arts and culture.
In Bangor, the Library, the
Maine Discovery Museum, and Penobscot Theatre Company are all downtown and
civic leaders see these institutions and other cultural groups as magnets that
pull in business downtown to fill empty storefronts. In addition, as part of
Bangor’s development of the waterfront both the Maine Shakespeare Festival and
the internationally regarded National Folk Festival have settled in town. In
fact, Bangor was selected from a national pool of candidates vying for the
Festival.
In June, Americans for the
Arts announced that Rockland had been selected as one of 91 cities nationwide
to be studied for the relationship between the arts and the economy. The
Farnsworth Arts Museum, with a unique alliance among the community, the Wyeth
Family and MBNA America, now provides a national model for how an arts
institution can make a big difference in the vitality of a small city. Wisely
and symbolically, the Farnsworth opened two of its entrances on the main
street, literally bringing the museum to street level commerce.
Augusta now boasts the
expertly renovated State House and State Office Building, each with permanent
art by Maine artists. Together with the State Museum, the riverfront
development, Fort Western Museum and one of the state’s best jazz programs,
Augusta now reaches a potential befitting a state capital.
In smaller communities as
well, Maine provides many examples of how the arts and culture revitalize core
community centers:
The Stonington Opera House
has promoted community pride and, at the same time, presents cutting edge
programming, in the long vacant town landmark.
Caribou has created its own
performing arts center adjacent to the high school, and did so with extensive
community volunteer labor and finances.
The Growth Council of Oxford
Hills cites "downtown revitalization and community facilities" as one
of its key components and the arts and arts-related businesses are at the
center of Norway’s transformation.
Dover-Foxcroft is
revitalizing a downtown theater that will be a focal point for community life,
as the theater once was.
The entire St. John valley
has reached out to the rich Acadian heritage and developed community Acadian
interpretation guides, as well as attracting the first ever direct support from
the National Endowment for the Arts.
Eastport is developing its
own arts center and increasing bi-national communication through the arts in
the Passamaquoddy region.
To date, these stories have
become known one by one. While there has been some sharing among communities,
an important feature of a state cultural policy will be to develop case studies
with appropriate partners of how and why revitalization has occurred in both
the cities and smaller communities. Maine will then be able to use these
studies to help other Maine communities learn how to do this work and to
attract the public and private resources to make revitalization happen. In
addition, through the Cultural Affairs Council and agencies such as the Maine
Housing Authority, a cultural facilities fund should be explored to help arts
and culture groups find the best technical advice and investment strategies to
create culture spaces for the 21st century.
Recommendation Three:
Sustainable Development
Several components of the
arts and cultural field intersect with the Creative Economy and community
revitalization, each of which will benefit from a coherent state policy of
support.
Business attraction and
retention will benefit from healthy cultural communities not only for executive
recruitment, but also for creative workers, who will increasingly demand an
arts-filled cultural environment in the places in which they live and work. As
noted above, arts education plays a key role too since the arts educated worker
will be better at solving contemporary problems. Maine rightfully boasts a
skilled workforce with a superb work ethic, and a renowned crafts tradition,
qualities that also translate from one field to another in the developing work
world. State policy that includes the arts and culture in vigorous marketing
for business development can only be advantageous for growing the state’s
economy and social assets.
Cultural tourism, closely
allied with nature tourism, is a major way in which to increase this economic
sector. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Trade Administration
and Maine Office of Tourism, cultural tourism in Maine exceeds $1.3 billion
annually, involves 2,529,500 travelers and affects 14,075 jobs. Moreover, the
cultural traveler spends more, stays longer, and, by definition, spends travel
time at cultural activities. State policy would benefit from expanding cultural
tourism even more to all parts of the state. A state government led taskforce
on sustainable tourism would bring the role culture plays in the tourism
economy to decision-makers that can take action, much as a similar strategy
with the retirement industry has expanded that industry.
International Trade and
Affairs will also benefit from utilizing Maine’s cultural resources including
its arts in presenting a more accurate image of what Maine is all about, again,
Maine’s "sense of place." Moreover, culture usually precedes commerce
as it did with the opening of China in the 1970’s, or with what is happening in
Cuba today. Other states, such as Ohio and Massachusetts, have benefited from
cultural agreements with other countries. Also, some states, including
neighboring New Hampshire, have not only developed new opportunities for the
state’s products and artists abroad, but have brought international business
home. Maine is a ripe market for increased international trade with and through
arts and culture.
Closing Comments
Curiously enough, Maine’s
cultural resources are often most appreciated by those who do not live here.
What we possess as a state in arts and cultural resources alone is truly
remarkable, and the ability to better connect these resources with a developing
new creative economic model provides extraordinary opportunity for Maine. Much
of this development will happen in any case. People from away will continue to
find Maine’s attractions. Young people may grow increasingly proud of being
Mainers and want to stay here. However, the likelihood of positive growth and
development in Maine through its cultural sector is slim if the sector itself
is not adequately supported, and if vigorous marketing of the state’s cultural
resources does not take place. Maine then has a choice, much as it made with
environmental policy in the 1970’s, namely, to promote a policy of managed
cultural growth and financial vitality, or to let matters take their own
course. The wise path is the former, in order to help chart Maine’s destiny
based on resources that are right here before us.
References
Bangor Daily News,
Editorials, July 9, 2002.
Creative Economy Initiative:
The Role of the Arts and Culture in New England’s Economy, New England Council,
June 2000.
Dwyer, Christine M. and
Susan Frankel, Policy Partners: Making the Case for State Investment in
Culture. Pew Charitable Trusts.
Florida, Richard, The Rise
of the Creative Class. Basic Books, 2002, p. x.
Impact of Arts Education on
Workforce Preparation, NGA Center for Best Practices, May 1, 2002. p. 1.
The Role of the Arts in
Economic Development, NGA Center for Best Practices, June 25, 2001.
www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/decenial.html
