Lancaster is an arts town.
Artists increasingly live and work here. City and county residents increasingly visit galleries, see shows and performances and take art classes.
And the arts are helping drive the revitalization of Lancaster city, the results of a recent study show.
In fact, the economic impact of arts spending and the estimated 1,100 arts-related jobs contribute more than $72 million annually to Lancaster's economy, the study by Franklin & Marshall College's Center for Opinion Research and Local Economy Center found.
Mary Colleen Heil, president of Lancaster's Pennsylvania College of Art & Design and the incoming chairwoman of the LancasterArts organization, said she hopes the study results will open the eyes of people who may not be aware of the depth, breadth and impact of the arts here.
"I think this community doesn't always give itself credit for how creative it is," Heil said.
Heil worked in arts education in three large metropolitan areas before coming to Lancaster. She said the number and size of arts institutions here and the number and diversity of artists is much more akin to a city several times Lancaster's size.
Part of the study involved numbering those institutions, which it labeled "assets" as it would in an investment portfolio.
Among those assets are seven dance troupes, four literary organizations, more than 10 music venues and 10 theaters. Working in Lancaster are thousands of artists, performers, dancers, musicians, painters, sculptors, writers, poets, playwrights, chefs and filmmakers.
Despite the economic downturn, the study found continued interest and spending on art and arts activities in recent years.
Since 2007, the percentage of county residents attending the city's monthly First Friday activities increased 150 percent. Residents visiting art galleries increased 50 percent and people attending any arts or cultural activity increased by 50 percent, researchers found.
F&M researchers gathered information through a telephone survey of 1,019 county residents last summer and fall. Survey respondents were picked as a representative match of U.S. Census data for the county.
An online survey of 166 businesses also was conducted, and IRS filings of Lancaster-based nonprofit organizations were reviewed.
Among the survey findings:
• While only 8 percent of respondents took part in a musical, dance or theatrical performance within the previous 12 months, 10 percent went to a dance performance, 22 percent went to see a nonmusical play, 30 percent went to a musical play and 43 percent had gone to a popular music performance, such as rock, country or rap music.
Attendance at school performances was not counted.
• Many people individually participated in arts activities: 23 percent of respondents had played a musical instrument; 38 percent had made an art or craft project, such as pottery, woodworking, quilting or painting; 40 percent had visited a museum or gallery; and 73 percent had read novels, poetry, short stories or plays not required by work or school.
• Many people visited downtown Lancaster and spent money for arts activities. A third of county residents — 127,400 — visited downtown specifically because of the arts. The average number of arts-related visits was seven per year. And those people spent more than $36 million annually on restaurants, shopping and parking.
• Lancaster is gaining recognition regionally for its arts community. The Fulton Theatre is now drawing more than 100,000 people each year to shows. The Pennsylvania College of Art & Design receives 70,000 visits from students and people entering its gallery. And the number of downtown arts venues has increased by 50 percent since 2007.
To Heil and others involved in the arts community, the study supports what they already knew: the arts are an economic anchor for the city.
Arts supporters will be presenting the study findings to officials in coming weeks. They also will be referring to them in seeking future support for arts initiatives.
The study, commissioned by LancasterArts, was funded through a grant from the Lancaster County Community Foundation.