Cultrual Alliance of Western CT completes portion of Arts & Prosperity survey for Americans for the Arts

Regional Study is Sponsored by Benay Enterprises, City Center Danbury & Fairfield County Bank

June marks the year's half-way point and the beginning of summer arts and culture. International beer festivals proliferate, imaginative and enticing sculpture gardens come alive, galleries swing open their doors to the sun, and Monet seems to be everywhere.

June also marks the half-way point of an important survey, to gather information for a fifth American for the Arts national economic impact study,  which in Fairfield County is being implemented by the Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut and the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County. The Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut's study in northern Fairfield County has been made possible by Benay Enterprises, CityCenter Danbury, and Fairfield County Bank. The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County's efforts in lower Fairfield County are supported by Spinnaker Real Estate Partners. The Connecticut Office of the Arts has significantly facilitated arts and cultural organizations statewide to join in the study by sharing costs, time, and personnel.

“Fairfield County Bank is a proud supporter of the Arts," says Dan Berta, President of Fairfield County Bank. "We know that vibrant Arts & Culture programs make our communities more prosperous.  We hope all businesses find a way to support local programs and organizations to help make every community better.” 

The Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut has reached out to The Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield Theater Barn, Brookfield Theater for the Arts, Western Connecticut State University’s School of Visual and Performing Arts, CityCenter Danbury, @287 Gallery in Danbury, and the CT Choral Society to collect such data as what one spent on admission tickets, snacks or meals before or after events, souvenirs or art, local transportation, child-care, and overnight accommodations. Moving forward through 2016, the Cultural Alliance will continue to collect surveys targeting events at C.H.I.R.P festivals, the Prospector Theater, Ives Concert Park, summer concerts in downtown Danbury, and selected events in surrounding communities, including Bethel, Newtown, and Brookfield. The information gathered will be aggregated from studies done in 150 select communities and regions across the country. The project’s final report, Arts & Economic Prosperity V, will be available in June of 2017.  

Americans for the Arts is the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America; its mission is to serve, advance, and lead the network of organizations and individuals who cultivate, promote, sustain, and support the full spectrum of arts in America. Its previous study, Arts & Economic Prosperity IV, also included the participation of both Alliances. The results, which were revealed in June of 2012,  demonstrated that the Arts are big business. Nationally, the arts and culture industry is an economic engine, generating $135 billion dollars of economic activity, supporting 4.1 million full time jobs, generating $22.2 billion in revenue to local, state and federal governments every year —a yield well beyond their collective $4 billion in arts allocations.

For more information, contact the Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut by calling (203) 798 0760.