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Our Economy Is Strengthened By Supporting Rockland’s Many Local Arts Organizations
By Craig Smith
Following the pandemic, arts organizations and small businesses were struggling to recover (people were staying home and streets had numerous empty storefronts). Small businesses and arts organizations began a collaboration that continues today as the effects of the 2020 pandemic linger.
In 2022, Phoenix Festival: Live Arts in Nyack launched a performing arts festival supported by local businesses and in return the Festival attracts visitors who patronize those businesses, a quid pro quo arrangement.
Coordinating with Visit Nyack, local area nonprofits, and the Rockland County Office of Tourism and Economic Development, Phoenix Festival attracted regional, national, and international tourists to world-class, professional theatre, dance, music and more to the picturesque Hudson River Village of Nyack. Visitors from the NYC Metropolitan area increased 100% in the festival’s second year. Ticket buyers came from as far away as from England, Spain, Switzerland and Australia. It was off to a great start.
We have new post-pandemic challenges. The economy has changed, the habits of people have changed. New challenges require non-traditional approaches. Arts are an event – maybe Arts as an event is an approach to consider.
The Brockport Research Institute conducted a Festival feasibility study that found that a total of $183,000 will be realized by Rockland County businesses for each group of 500 Festival attendees.
Surveys reveal that over 90% of attendees plan to dine in Rockland, 80% will shop locally, and 24% intend to stay overnight at a local hotel. We found that Festival goers come to Nyack, stay overnight at one of our regional hotels, shop, dine, buy tickets, and can spend $1500 to $2000 each. The Festival is a true economic driver for the County.
Beyond tourist spending, the Festival itself has spent $200,000+ on the local work force, venue rentals, catering, car service, artist housing and more. Ancillary to this but making a substantial difference to Rockland Arts economy is the film industry’s significant investment in Rockland.
The key to success is strengthening the capacity of our Arts organizations. This investment is by attendance (yes, getting out of the house), contributions, and season subscriptions. These actions will shore up infrastructures in organizations that include Edward Hopper House, Elmwood Playhouse, Maureen’s Jazz Cellar, ArtsRock, Garnerville Arts Center, BridgeMusik, ROCA, Antrim Playhouse, The Brick Museum, ACOR, Music for Live Creative Arts Therapy, Children’s Shakespeare Theatre, Nyack International Film Festival, Creative Arts Workshop, Rivertown Films, Lisa D’Amico and Rockland Festival, Penguin Rep, Bluefield Artists, Sketch Log, Rockland Poets, Strawtown Studio, StorySpaceArts, Emotions Physical Theatre, Marydell, Perry Lawson Gallery, Rockland Shakespeare Company, and the numerous visual artists, writers, dancers, sound studios, and musicians. Cumulative Arts attendance in Rockland is up to hundreds of thousands and is well positioned for continued measured growth in a changing economy.
Helping to make this happen are Festival sponsors Hotel Nyack, Palisades Center, Rand Realty, Montefiore Nyack Hospital, Emerald Medicare, Paul and Mary Adler Fund for Good, Metal and Stone Jewelry, Bill Batson and Sketch Log, Dolce Vita, Broadway Bistro, Prohibition River, Gina Louisa Lingerie, Harrington Press, Joe and Linie Rand, Thomas Schneck and Susan Wilmink, Big Red Books, Himalayan Tibetan Restaurant, StorySpaceArts, Corner of Ukraine, Bangkok Station, Rockland Digital Media, Windsor Wine Merchants, Ameriprise Financial Munn & Associates, Cane Boniface, & Eisen, Jason Landau and Landau Pools, Brasserie D. Restaurant, Didier Dumas, Mike Naclerino Landscaping, Nyack’s Treasure Trove. This is an amazing diverse collaboration of arts organizations, funding sources, local businesses, and a committed citizenry.
The benefits of a robust arts culture reach into our schools, colleges, historical societies, and libraries. A vibrant Arts culture can influence real estate, construction, contractors, small businesses, parks, all that make our communities more appealing to live in, work in, and play in.
Beneficial actions moving forward include:
- Attending local performances, exhibits, concerts, classes, etc.;
- Patronizing businesses that support the arts and tell them how you appreciate their support of our community;
- Collaborations between Arts organizations on memberships, subscriptions and grant requests;
- Promoting our Arts organizations and our Rockland communities.
The qualitative benefits of the Arts are much more difficult to measure. But you know when it happens – a sense of satisfaction and well-being that comes from seeing a compelling exhibit at the Perry Lawson Gallery, marveling over a watercolor by Lynn Stein or an otherworldly oil by Mark Weiss, jazz at Maureen’s, experiencing dance in a thrilling one-of-a-kind performance by Emotions Physical Theatre, or ArtsRock sharing an unforgettable Considering Matthew Shepard. It’s personal. We are somehow improved. It’s rich, it’s unique, it’s Rockland. And… It is a future path for us.
Craig Smith is the Executive Director of Phoenix Festival: Live Arts in Nyack
