Rivertime Players strongly believes that peoples lives are significantly enriched by exposure to the arts. It is important that local legislators and elected officials are aware of the power of the arts and they continue to support the arts in Tennessee.
Why the Arts Matter
The arts teach critical skills – thinking for oneself, creating new ideas, working in teams, expressing oneself, being innovative and imagining future technologies.
According to Richard Florida, the Heinz professor of economic development at Carnegie Mellon University, nearly half of the U.S.'s economy is generated by "the creative class"* – but with public schools reducing arts education, opportunities for young people to develop needed creative skills are disappearing. That hurts all of us.†
Business Benefits from the Arts
Employees want to live and work in a vibrant community. Access to local theatre, music, museums, dance and public art helps to make the community more attractive to current and future employees and employers. More often than not, business leaders say creativity is of high importance when hiring. The arts are about critical thinking, solving and reframing problems and facts in ways that reveal insights and opportunities. Seventy two percent of companies that give to the arts recognize that it stimulates creative thinking, problem solving and team building.‡
Economic Impact of Arts
According to a 2010 study by Americans for the Arts, attendees of nonprofit arts events spend an average of $24.60 per person per event in local businesses. Along with the money we spend to stage productions, theatre attendees also spend money in the community before and after a show on things such as dining, gifts, lodging and fuel.
Youth Who Participate in the Arts:
- Are four times more likely to be recognized for academic acheivement
- Are four times more likely to participate in a math or science fair
- Are three times more likely to win an award for school attendance
- Perform community service more than four times as often as others
- Have lower truancy rates and higher graduation rates‡
What is Advocacy?
Advocacy is the act or process of supporting a cause. It is persuading others to support your cause. The most convincing advocate for the arts is the individual who can talk about a personal experience in the arts, and can explain how the arts can change the lives of people and vitalize the communities in which they live.†
For helpful information on being an advocate for the arts, please visit the following sites.
* - The Creative Class engage in work whose function is to "create meaningful new forms." The creative core includes poets and novelists, artists, entertainers, actors, designers, architects, engineers, scientists and university professors. The creative professionals work in knowledge-intensive industries which include software and web development, financial and legal services.
† - Tennesseans for the Arts ‡ - Americans for the Arts, pARTnership MovementSpecialty License Plates Support the Arts
Rivertime Players promotes the purchase of Tennessee Specialty Arts License Plates. Last year the Tennessee Arts Commission awarded $6.3 million in grants to over 600 organizations in the state; $4.5 million of that was generated by the specialty license plates. For more information about Tennessee Specialty Arts Plates, click on the image below.
Many of Rivertime Players productions are made possible by grants from the Tennessee Arts Commission.
