Charlotte County Florida Weekly

How the Arts Paint a Pretty Economic Picture




 

 

AS LORAH STEINER POINTS OUT, most of what we know about past civilizations is through art. Archaeologists have unearthed primitive flutes made from bone and ivory demonstrating an interest in music 43,000 years ago. Some of the oldest known cave paintings date back to 39,000 B.C. and depict scenes from everyday life. Pottery fragments discovered in the Xianrendong Cave in China not only show mankind’s evolvement to storing and cooking food but a fascination in making functional objects pretty.

“Art is what we have left of all the great cultures,” said Ms. Steiner, executive director of the Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor and Convention Bureau. “Arts enrich a community which brings quality development. It’s not just about art but creative thinking. We need beauty in our lives.”

 

 

Rock, hip hop, rap and country concerts, musical entertainment at local bars and restaurants, sculptures in Charlotte County parks and public spaces, café poetry readings, music and cultural festivals, art galleries and working artists, a home-grown symphony and live theater all fall into the arts category — one that’s thriving countywide, feeding the economy and nurturing the community.

Art impacts everything from tourism to togetherness and community character.

“In a nutshell, I think art is very important because it deepens our understanding of the human condition,” said Charlotte County Commissioner Christopher Constance, the director and a frequent performer in Charlotte Players’ “Comedy for a Cause” skits. “More importantly, one of the main things the arts does for a community is help the economy. It creates economic development and growth, it helps create jobs, it helps to attract young professionals to the area and it definitely gives your community a unique flavor.”

Alexandra Harris, grade six, A Cat Named Forest Stump. COURTESY PHOTO

Alexandra Harris, grade six, A Cat Named Forest Stump. COURTESY PHOTO

The Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council reports that a community that embraces the arts attracts art-friendly business, including galleries, art suppliers and loft space rentals, and leads to extended stays for repeat visitors.

Show me the money

The Florida Division of Cultural Affairs discovered cultural tourists spend 137 percent more than residents, and that arts and cultural resources rank among the top of activities tourists want to do when in Florida. Once tourists discover a community’s creative side, they’re highly likely to return, creating an economic spinoff by staying at local hotels, dining at local restaurants, filling up at local gas stations and maybe venturing to a farmer’s market and one of the county’s many art festivals.

CONSTANCE

CONSTANCE

Arts and culture have a major economic impact, and authorities say it’s grown significantly in Florida since the last study in 2007. Charlotte County is missing from the most recent report, as its Arts & Humanities Council, or Charlotte Arts, was between executive directors at the time. A decade ago, nonprofit arts organizations had a $21 million impact and provided $750,000 in local government revenues and $1.3 million in state revenues. At the time, the council also received a $50,000 county grant that has since been slashed in half.

SHEESLEY

SHEESLEY

The connection between arts and tourism led to Charlotte Arts’ recent relocation to office space shared with the tourism bureau. Tourism and the arts were also the focus of the bureau’s annual 2017 tourism luncheon. Ms. Steiner said the proximity will lead to more collaboration and the ability to help the art council leverage partnerships with other nonprofit organizations, as well as the bureau’s expertise in sponsoring Facebook events and using other social media platforms.

COURTESY PHOTO

COURTESY PHOTO

Getting the message out is important. Even after two years on the job, Charlotte Arts’ Executive Director Tish Sheesley is still astonished by the quantity and quality of arts events offered throughout the county.

“I prepare the e-newsletter and I’m surprised by everything that’s going on,” she said.

From the youngest children to the eldest residents, Charlotte Arts, the Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda and other organizations bring art to every corner of the county. The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra offers performances at the Charlotte Performing Arts Center and in Englewood. Because the symphony isn’t union-affiliated and schedules Sunday concerts, it’s able to attract the best musicians in the state who are otherwise obligated to union rules and Saturday performances.

KERMISCH

KERMISCH

Conducting a kids’ outreach

“We pull the best and make it special here,” said Devorah Kermisch, CSO’s new executive director. “We have 70 musicians that perform regularly, giving patrons a rich cultural experience.”

That experience is important to patrons, especially those who’ve retired from big cities with big symphonies.

With school district cuts to music and arts programs, arts groups are making it their mission to expose children to art.

Charlotte Arts funded $8,116 in grants to schools in 2016-17, reaching 5,400 students, Ms. Sheesley said. The funding included $300 for students in advanced art classes at L.A. Ainger Middle School to visit the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, and $383 to newly minted Meadow Park Elementary art teacher Debra Klaholz to create the Chihuly Legacy Project in honor of famous glass sculptor Dale Chihuly. All of Meadow Park’s 850 students contributed to the striking 6.5-foot multi-color artwork, which was displayed at the Visual Arts Center during the annual youth art show.

 

 

“The center wanted to buy it,” said Ms. Sheesley, “but it has been dedicated to the second floor of the school where it gets all this wonderful natural light.”

She’s currently reviewing grant requests for this school year.

“They give me chill bumps,” she said. “Some of the things these teachers want to do are amazing. As the fine arts continue to be cut from the curriculum, this makes sure students are getting the arts.”

The symphony also reaches out to children, offering a music education program to third-graders with visits by Maestro Raffaele Livio Ponti, and opportunities to attend concerts at CPAC.

“For 8-year-olds, it creates such an impact to hear the music and see the man who visited them at school,” said Ms. Kermisch. “There’s an aha! moment when they see Maestro Ponti on stage and it starts to click with them. We’re creating an experience.”

In December, the symphony is offering a family priced holiday music matinee with a pre-concert reception with Santa Claus, refreshments and meet-and-greets with ballerinas from “The Nutcracker.”

Christine Broyles, Charlotte County’s 1999 Teacher of the Year, was the first and only art teacher to receive the recognition. She’s been teaching art at L.A. Ainger Middle School since 1984, and has witnessed the rollercoaster of students’ interest in art classes as school funding for the arts has steadily declined.

Art and soul

This year, she has a full eighth-grade class of 33 advanced art students. During the yearlong class, students are exposed to sculpture, ceramics, drawing, photography and painting. Creativity and free-thinking are encouraged, and deep philosophical discussions “have no right or wrong answer,” she said.

Example: If there’s a fire at The Louvre and an injured guard on the floor, do you save the guard or do you save the Mona Lisa?

“You see their heads spinning,” said Ms. Broyles. “I like to present puzzles in art because it leads to creative and critical thinking. Students only have to justify their reasoning.”

Science and math also play a large role in her classroom, promoting the STEAM over STEM concept that incorporates art into the science, technology engineering and math program.

“Art, science and math are triplets,” said Ms. Broyles, who also has a degree in science. “They go hand in hand. When we draw eyes, we talk about the parts of the eye. For Halloween we’re drawing skeletons and are talking about femurs and fibulas. We talk about color and light, wavelength and theory. If you think about it, you have to draw frogs before you dissect them. A surgeon with an art background is better able to see the nuances of color and shading in the human body.”

Several former students have realized art as part of their careers. One films videos for YouTube, others use it in biology or forensics, and another has just illustrated a book that’s now available on Amazon.

“There are a lot of jobs related to art,” Ms. Broyles said. “The direction technology is going, it’s no longer just a Mac in a box. You have colored skins to please the eye, and fonts and images. Design is everywhere from the makeup and clothes you put on in the morning, the car you drive, the furniture you sit on, the billboard you pass.

“Art is all around us. We can track historical civilization through art. A painting tells us how they interacted, who their neighbors were and how they thought.”

Ms. Steiner agrees.

“Art is not just painting or pottery,” she said. “It’s a cool gallery or boutique or a restaurant. Food is an art, too. It’s a cultural festival. If we value creativity and how it makes us feel, it impacts the community. Art creates soul.”

The new owners of the Wyvern hotel in Punta Gorda recognized the importance of art and community, partnering with the Visual Arts Center to showcase for-sale work by local artists in the lobby and its restaurants during a September 2016 remodeling project.

“We love Punta Gorda as a community,” said Ketan Vora, a partner in the property. “This partnership helps us support our community.”

Among its big projects, Charlotte Arts promotes Art in Public Spaces, rotating artwork six times annually at 15 locations; Café Philo, for those hankering for philosophical discussions; and “Dancing with the Charlotte Stars.” Work by local artists adorns the hallways of the convention center, government offices, the airport and at local businesses.

“I don’t know if the average citizen realizes just how much art is out there and how many events are going on,” said Ms. Sheesley.

The beauty of art adds curb appeal to a community and improves its health and well-being, said Commissioner Constance.

“It has an impact and imprint on society itself because people come together for art shows and art events,” he said. “It provides emotional support and communal activities that bring people together.”

To Ms. Broyles, “Art is conversation. It separates us from other cultures. We have to be free thinkers and idea makers. I always thought art was extremely important. It’s why I’ve been fighting this battle for years.” ¦

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