Erie Arts & Culture Hosts Arts and Culture Summit at Blasco Library

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Thursday, May 19

The Arts and Culture Summit will explore regional and state policies impacting the arts and culture sector, creative aging partnerships and how they are enhancing person-centered care, and how arts, culture, and entertainment districts are being leveraged to offer cities a competitive edge.

Sen. Sean Wiley will start the day hosting a fireside chat about the Citizens for the Arts Policy Agenda which addresses the role of the arts in fostering a more competitive Pennsylvania. Creating jobs, impacting the economy, improving the educational system: these are only a few of the things that a strong arts and culture sector can do for a community.

Breakout sessions will address creative aging partnerships, cultural districting, and urban revitalization with Jennie Smith-Peers, executive director of Elders Share the Arts; Rona Nesbit, executive vice president of Pittsburgh Cultural Trust; and Brian Kurtz, director of economic development at Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. There will also be an Idea Lab session with staff from Blasco Library.

In the arts and culture sector, we could find a way for Erie to lead in Pennsylvania. The arts are a great means for creating jobs. Did you know that 3.5 percent of all jobs in Pennsylvania are arts-related? That creativity is reported to be among the top five applied skills sought by corporate leaders, and that 72 percent of those surveyed cited creativity of high importance when making the decision to hire?

The arts also have a huge impact on the state economy. Pennsylvania's nonprofit arts and culture sector generates more than $360 million each year in tax revenue for state and local governments.

Additionally, the arts serve as connectors within communities. A University of Pennsylvania study found that arts, culture, and heritage programs revitalize distressed neighborhoods, connect rural communities, and build a sense of belonging across racial and class lines.

As for education, College Board studies indicate that students who have four-plus years of training in the arts score, on average, over 100 points higher on the verbal and math portions of the SAT than students with half a year or less training. Also, students with a rich arts education have better attendance records, higher GPAs, and lower dropout rates. And I don't think any of us would deny that the arts and culture give us an edge in the tourism industry.

Join leaders at the Arts and Culture Summit in the work of making Erie a better place to live, work, and play. 

8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. // 160 E. Front St. // 452.3427 or development@erieartsandculture.org