Randy Cohen, the vice president of research at Americans for the Arts, is known on Instagram as ArtsInfoGuy, and after listening to his presentation at the Southampton Arts Center last week it's easy to see why.
Titled "Community Conversations: The Economic and Social Impact of Art and Culture on Long Island," the program, presented with the Long Island Arts Alliance, drew a sizable audience of representatives of local arts organizations, as well as artists, despite the stormy weather.
Introductory remarks by Christina Strassfield, director of the center, were followed by comments from Lauren Wagner, the executive director of L.I.A.A.; Southampton Village Mayor William Manger, and Angelica Miceli, director of partnership engagement and events for Discover Long Island.
Mr. Cohen then took the stage, although "commanded" the stage might be more accurate, given his energetic and rapid-fire presentation. An expert in the field of arts funding, research, and using the arts to address community development issues, Mr. Cohen publishes Arts & Economic Prosperity, the national impact study of nonprofit arts organizations and their audiences.
The most recent study, Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6), which was conducted in several hundred communities and regions across the country, was the first to include Long Island. The gist of Mr. Cohen's talk was that on Long Island, as across the country, the arts and arts organizations have a significant positive impact on the economy.
The first of his many examples was inspired by a trip he and his wife made during the pandemic to the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., where they live. "Think of all the industries that were already touched just by Randy finally getting out of the house," he said, ticking off the restaurant where they had lunch, the garage where they parked, the writers, designers, and printers of the museum's maps and guides, plus the institution's accountants, auditors, electricians . . . you get the picture.
Mr. Cohen also cited an anecdote from a city budget hearing for the arts in Mesa, Ariz. Among the 60 speakers who weighed in on the budget was the chief of police, who said, “If you’ve got to take a cut out of the arts budget, I’d rather you just take it out of my public safety budget, because when [the arts organizations] do their job well, it makes my job easier.”
Of the importance of art education, Mr. Cohen said, “It’s not just about making students artists someday, it’s about making them better, more engaged, more well-rounded citizens.” He cited Thomas Sudoff, a 2013 Nobel Laureate in medicine from Stanford University who, when asked who was his most influential teacher, said, "I owe it all to my bassoon teacher." He went on to explain how it was his music education that gave him the habits of mind that made him a great scientist.
Back to a few nuts and bolts: The AEP6 study determined that America's nonprofit arts and culture sector is a $151.7 billion industry that supports 2.6 million jobs and generates $29.1 billion in government revenue. On Long Island, that sector supported nearly 5,000 full-time equivalent jobs and generated $15 million in state and local taxes.
In addition to the Southampton presentation, the L.I.A.A. and Mr. Cohen took their program to Patchogue and Brookville. While the data and the supporting anecdotes were impressive, as well as voluminous, looking around the audience it was hard not to wonder if they were addressing the already converted.
Nevertheless, if the talks draw even a few elected officials, foundation managers, and others with the power to boost or slash support of the arts, they are worth the effort put into them.
