Economic dividends of the arts and culture

Opinion

March 2, 2010

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Anonymous The Daily Southerner Tue Mar 02, 2010, 11:17 AM EST

At the recent North Carolina’s Northeast State of the Region event in Williamston, several notable speakers presented various topics of discussion pertaining to this area’s economic situation.

While all the topics were interesting and informative, the one area that made the most impact on me was the presentation given by Linda A. Carlisle, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, which has as its mission to enrich lives and communities.

Carlisle’s segment, Regional Tourism, caused me to reflect on the importance of the arts and culture in economic development.

Referred to by Carlisle as the Creative Industry, Arts and Culture directly impacts the quality of life (QOL) of a community. Wikipedia describes QOL as the general well-being of individuals and societies. QOL should not be confused with the concept of standard of living, which is based primarily on income.

Instead, QOL includes education, recreation and leisure time. The term QOL is also used by politicians and economists to measure the livability of a given location.

This livability ties in with Carlisle’s comments suggesting that QOL, via the arts and culture, is a feeder to industries a community is trying to attract. The better the QOL a community has, the better its chances of attracting new industry and jobs. Therefore, QOL, though different from, does promote increased standards of living.

The arts and culture collectively consist of art, music, literature and related intellectual activities.

Carlisle is working to communicate the impact these cultural resources have in attracting and retaining jobs, enhancing the education of children and life-long learners, and growing stronger communities.

Northeastern North Carolina abounds in potential for increasing and showcasing its arts and culture.

Buzzwords such as Heritage Tourism, Rural Historic Sites, Historical Albemarle Tour, Community Festivals, Federal Heritage Designations, U.S. 17 Heritage Corridor Tourism, Civil War Battle Sites and Reenactments, all should be studied, considered, and most importantly, utilized and supported.

As individuals, we can be a part of increasing our community’s QOL by supporting, participating in and discovering new areas of the arts and culture exclusive to our region.

We will all reap the benefits of attracting new jobs and tourism, along with the intellectual fulfillments provide by the arts and culture.

Church E. Modlin Jr.

Tarboro

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