The Arts are a Pathway to Excellence

By John McDonnell on Sat, 21-12-2013 18:57

The role of the arts in economic development has been well recognised for more than 20 years. Noted economists like William Baumol and CD Throsby have pointed to its contribution to economic growth. More recently Canadian economist Richard Florida has captured significant attention through his notion of the Creative Class. Florida’s argument is that the modern economy has been distinguished by the rise of two great classes. The first is the creative class, workers in science and technology, arts, culture and entertainment, healthcare, law and management, which are all occupations based on mental or creative labour.

The second and larger class is the service class, whose members prepare and serve food, and provide accommodation and other personal services. In a situation where the industrial sector is in decline the creative class and the service class are both growing. Moreover Florida has shown that the components of both these sectors are intertwined. Strength in the arts attracts people in other creative fields and they in turn attract a greater range of services.

At a recent function in Canberra put on by the South East Arts NSW Board, its chair Lindy Hume, who is also the Artistic Director of Queensland Opera and the recent Director of the Sydney Festival put forward an interesting variation of the Florida thesis. Hume’s argument was that regional arts practitioners had no need to consider themselves as second class in either a national or an international context. Provided that they aspired to excellence they would be competitive in any context. Hume’s point has a number of implications: if the arts in a region become nationally and internationally competitive it is likely that other sectors will become nationally competitive as the number of visitors to the region increases. At the same the innovation that is inherent in the creative arts process is likely to stimulate innovation in other areas. At the same time creative people will be attracted to live in the region.

The South East Region of New South Wales is a living example of this process. International festivals like the Four Winds festival that is held each Easter in the fishing town of Bermagui (population 1500) is attracting visitors from Australia and overseas. The local community has demonstrated its enterprise by building a sound stage and a pavilion designed by a world renowned architect to accommodate the festival. The impact has spread throughout the region, as galleries have been established, accommodation has been expanded and up graded and restaurants and food and wine producers strive to achieve the excellence expected by international visitors.

The region, which extends from the coast to the mountains now has a variety of world class arts events ranging through music festivals of all sorts, dance, theatre, visual and indigenous arts. This is combined with what are fast approaching world class tourism facilities. As technology makes the region more interconnected it is likely that these businesses will be emulated by other creative industries from the science and technology and other sectors.