BRATTLEBORO — Windham County served as one of 156 study areas in a study done in 2005 by Americans for the Arts, Arts and Economic Prosperty III. The study concluded that the area receives a significant economic boost from the arts.
“Artists understand the impact of their businesses on the community better than most,” Keeler told the artists. Strolling of the Heifers, Gallery Walk, and schools, classes, and workshops around the community bring tourists to the area who need to eat, sleep, and buy gas for their cars as they enjoy the arts in town.
“Nationally, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity annually - a 24-percent increase in just the past five years. That amount is greater than the Gross Domestic Product of most countries,” he asserted.
The study reported that non-profit arts organizations in greater Brattleboro generated $11 million in local economic impact in 2005.
“There is a correspondingly vital and economically significant sector of for-profit businesses and independent artists, crafts people, film makers, musicians, photographers, etc., whose contributions are not included in this report,” concludes the report.