
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 23, 1994                   TAG: 9402230286
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SUSAN JENNINGS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THE ART OF REGIONAL ENTERPRISE

I WAS DELIGHTED to read the Feb. 2 editorial, ``Art for art's sake.'' I also support the effort of the legislative study committee to devise a formula to support museums and cultural organizations on a ``more rational basis.'' Certainly the current system, where these institutions are unsure from year to year if they will be included in the budget or at what level, needs reform. I applaud the efforts of Del. Vic Thomas and others to rationalize this process.

However, I would like to stress the importance of the work accomplished by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and point out that its budget was cut by more than 70 percent during the Wilder administration. Last year, arts organizations were encouraged when the General Assembly approved a small increase in the arts commission's budget. This year, Del. Marian Van Landingham of Alexandria and Sen. Clarence Holland of Virginia Beach have introduced amendments to increase the commission's funding by $1 million. Let's hope they succeed. The arts commission has already taken its fair share of budget cuts, with Virginia now ranking 47 among states in state support of the arts.

As your editorial noted, the community-based cultural organizations in Virginia are actually small businesses that support more than 7,000 jobs across the state. In 1992, the 143 organizations supported by the arts commission generated $148 million in total output. Nationally, the arts are a $9 billion-a-year industry.

To bring those figures closer to home, The Arts Council of the Blue Ridge has just completed the coordination of the first community cultural plan in this region, Blueprint 2000. Research conducted as part of Blueprint 2000 examined attendance figures and expenditures in the local economy by cultural organizations. The data were provided to the Virginia Employment Commission, which estimated a conservative total economic impact of the cultural industry in the Roanoke region at $27.8 million.

It is conservative because it does not take into account the many individual artists working in the area or the various for-profit galleries and businesses the region's thriving artistic activity supports. As stated in the blueprint, ``Clearly, the culture industry need make no apology for its contribution to the area's economy, and this data should help convince local governments and corporations that support of cultural institutions is sound economic-development policy.''

I also agree, as the editorial stated, that we should not forget ``art for art's sake.'' The Roanoke region is home to hundreds of talented artists, performers and craftspeople. We also boast live year-round theater, a symphony, an opera company, numerous museums and a zoo, not to mention the many smaller cultural groups. The cultural life of this region is a precious resource, not only for its economic impact but for the contribution it makes to quality of life. It is a resource that all local governments of the region need to strive hard to protect and nourish.

\ Susan Jennings is executive director for The Arts Council of the Blue Ridge.

by CNB