FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Anne Katz, Arts Wisconsin
(formerly the Wisconsin Assembly for Local Arts)
608 255 8316 / akatz@wisconsinarts.org / www.wisconsinarts.org
GROW WISCONSIN CREATIVELY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2005 › STATE CAPITOL › MADISON
Wisconsin’s arts leaders will come together to show support for greater visibility and increased investment in the arts to benefit Wisconsin’s communities and the people of the state, on ARTS DAY 2005, Wednesday, March 2, 2005, at the State Capitol in downtown Madison.
Across Wisconsin, the arts, culture, creativity and innovation are becoming recognized as integral to economic development, downtown revitalization, educational advancement, and community engagement.
“Better than any other country in recent years, America has developed innovative
technologies and ideas that spawn new industries and modernize old ones. These
creative industries, employing scientists, artists, designers, engineers, financiers,
marketers, and sundry entrepreneurs, have generated more than 20 million U.S. jobs
since the 1990s and currently account for fully half of all U.S. wages and salaries.”
Richard Florida, America’s best and brightest are leaving…and taking the creative economy with them, The Conference Board Inc. 2004
Americans for the Arts (AFTA), the national arts service organization, recently released a study of the nation’s “creative industries”, based on an analysis of data provided by Dun and Bradstreet. Wisconsin boasts over 8,000 “creative industry” businesses, supporting over 43,000 full-time jobs. In addition, a 2002 study conducted by AFTA and the Wisconsin Arts Board found that Wisconsin’s non-profit arts industry generates $289.8 million in economic activity every year, including $38 million in local and state tax revenues. And research from the National Governors Association demonstrates that arts-based education helps build students’ skills, increase academic success, heighten standardized test scores, and lower the incidence of crime among general and at-risk populations.
Wisconsin’s creative economy must be nurtured to drive, expand and sustain our state’s economic, educational and civic well-being. Arts advocates from throughout the state will convene at the State Capitol on March 2 to show their strength in numbers, and demonstrate the importance of the state’s investment in the arts and creativity to Governor Doyle, Lt. Governor Lawton, and state legislators. These elected decision-makers will learn that public and private investment in the arts and arts education reaps tremendous benefits in human, economic, educational, and civic capital.
ARTS DAY 2005 will begin with the fifth Legislative Arts Breakfast, 8:30-10 am, at the State Capitol. The Breakfast is sponsored by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, and will feature a poetry reading by Denise Sweet, Wisconsin’s new Poet Laureate. ARTS DAY 2005 will also include:
constituent meetings with legislators
the latest information on the issues facing the arts in Wisconsin
new initiatives addressing the impact and importance of the creative economy
roundtables on current and future trends, policies, and issues for Wisconsin’s arts industry
Weston, WI’s DC Everest Chamber Choir and Songspinners, under the direction of Karen Haines, performing at 12 noon in the Capitol Rotunda, sponsored by Wisconsin Music Educators Association.
Artwork by Wisconsin artists on display in Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton’s office, Room 19 East.
For up to the minute information on ARTS DAY 2005, Arts Wisconsin and the arts across Wisconsin, contact Anne Katz, Executive Director, Arts Wisconsin, 608 255 8316 / akatz@wisconsinarts.org / www.wisconsinarts.org.
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