New Bedford, Massachusetts has long been on the arts scene radar. They have been hosting their AHA! Nights since 1999. Recently, Umass Dartmouth has completed a policy analysis on the effect this particular program has had, economically, on New Bedford.
Excerpt:
AHA! (Art, History & Architecture) is New Bedford’s free Downtown Cultural Night and collaborative cultural organization. The AHA! mission is to be a cooperative venture dedicated
to invigorating the downtown New Bedford cultural scene.
The project accomplishes this through:
· presenting second Thursday FREE cultural nights
· inviting local and regional artists, cultural groups
and educators to present their work and ideas
· spearheading cooperative marketing
· being a forum for the AHA! Partners to convene
around shared topics
· contributing to the City’s Creative Economy initiatives.
The analysis is striking. The study showed that directly, and indirectly, New Bedford’s Aha! Night pumps more than half a million dollars into the economy annually.
Those of us who have been following the arts, and seeing how it has improved cities, and brought people to cities for the past decade will not be surprised. However, it is great to have concrete proof that The Arts, and the Creative Economy works.
This shows, hands down, that the arts are making a big difference to the economies of cities that are embracing them! Kudos to all the hard-working people that have made this happen over the past 10 years.
Incidentally, after Pawtucket Rising showed on Rhode Island PBS, I was approached by Aha! to show my film. The film will be showing May 14th around 7PM at Aha! Night in New Bedford. You can find out more as details are solidified here: Aha! New Bedford.
Full Umass Dartmouth Aha! Economic Impact Analysis and Program Evaluation
http://www.umassd.edu/cfpa/docs/aha2008.pdf
http://www.nbedc.org/news/news285.htm
