The Art of Economic Growth

There is a new painting in town – on a wall.

This mural – Norristown’s first – is designed to be a sign of a gateway to the municipality. But we hope it will be a gateway to economic growth in town through the arts as well.

Creativity and Capital Go Together

According to a study by the National Governors’ Association, the non-profit arts industry is a $36.8 billion business that supports 1.3 million jobs. That economic impact for civic good is magnified when you consider the benefits to governments: an estimated $790 million in revenue at the local level, $1.2 billion at the state level, and $3.4 billion at the federal level. Beyond the dollars and cents, the study also points out three important areas the arts impact.

The arts:

• Leverage human capital and cultural resources;
• Restore and revitalize communities
• Create vibrant public spaces
• Contribute to a region’s ability to innovate and attract those who are innovators

This impact has been demonstrated locally as well. The Avenue of the Arts in Philadelphia estimated that in 2006 arts in Philadelphia supported almost 6,000 jobs. And an estimated 1.9 million people supported the area, spending about $46 per person for meals, gifts, parking and more in a recent study.

 

Norristown Has Arts Impact Too! 

In Norristown, we have started to see the kind of impact the studies have demonstrated in Philadelphia and across the nation. In 2011, Theatre Horizon, which has shared space with another theater in the Montgomery County Cultural Center, launched plans to build a new theater in downtown Norristown. Located in the former Bell Telelphone Building at 401 Dekalb Street, the project generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in public and private investment, and the new 120-theater, will be our second venue downtown for the arts, launching in October. Theatre Horizon estimates they bring 1,000 to 1,200 visitors into Norristown for performances, and those people also spend money on other things, such as gifts, meals and parking. I have written before about what a night on the town in Norristown can look like because of the arts.

 

Art Reproduces Positive Results

 

Investment in the Arts enables more creativity and innovation, which in turn sparks more investment. Right after Theatre Horizon launched its bid to expand, the Cultural Center, also home to the Centre Theater, won funding to put a new set of lighted signs on its front façade.

And State Senator Daylin Leach won a state grant to produce the mural.

The County has also received funding from the William Penn Foundation to launch Creative Montco, which will help Norristown too.

The mural, which brought the town together for community planning and even painting, will only spark more creativity and more investment.

You can participate too.

Attend a show.

Support the Arts Festival.

Join the Arts Council!

Paint the town green, by spending leisure time and dollars in our Arts community!

Night Out in Norristown for the Anniversary

Well, here is a quick post to say, I had a thought about how to celebrate my fifth wedding anniversary.

First, you must know, frankly, my wife and I are kinda cosmo, and we, or more aptly she, likes to do things like Philadanco performances at Kimmel, or an award winning play at Stagecoach Theater in Chestnut Hill.

I've learned and learned to love this about my wife, and I too, at times, can be a patron of the arts myself.

We both love cuisine, and whether is a delightful and delicious brunch at Georgia Brown's in the K Street corridor of DC, or taking in the finest jazz with dinner and a set at Manhattan's Birdland, we roll like that.

So imagine me thinking about what to do for the big "5" anniversary, and yet stay around the corner.

Well, I must say, I feel rather impressed with our effort, and I share it with you just to encourage you to continue to find wonderful things to do in our own borough.

First, I must admit, I'm an online fiend as a consumer, and have routinely bought bouquets for my wife online. However, this time, after passing Blooming Affairs Florist, at 803 Sterigere Street, day after day taking my kids to child care, I said, let me go local this time. And I'm glad I did. The owner arranged a wonderful array of pink lilies (we had calla lillies in our wedding) along with pink roses and an assortment of sprays or whatever you artsy folks call the design. It is a great bouquet, and for a very reasonable price. I would highly recommend Blooming Affairs to you for any event or special occasion and I will be going back. They don't do online, so they are not for sending to grandma in Kansas on Mother's Day, but for all your local needs, if you want to impress the wife, or the mother-in-law around the corner, please, by all means drop in.

So, with the night set off right, with a wonderful floral display of affection, next up was dinner. I had lived in Norristown for years, but had never visited August Moon restaurant. My wife and I have an appreciation for Pan Asian cuisine, and had developed an affinity for certain Chinese and Thai restaurants outside of town. But then Mrs. Kim, the owner undertook extensive renovations to her fine-dining locale, and I had the privilege to eat there with a delegation of business and political leaders a few months ago. I was hooked!

What fabulous Korean and Pan Asian cuisine they have at August Moon, with to-die-for sushi, a full bar, and a wonderful decor, including a piano room for catering, mixers and other special events. I don't want to carve up the names of the Korean dishes we had, but they were splendid, and my wife really enjoyed her meal. And it didn't hurt that we bumped into some other diners we need, who were headed where we were going next.

After dinner, my wife and I strolled up Main Street to the Montgomery County Cultural Center on Dekalb Street, where Theater Horizon is currently housed. If any of you have met Erin Reilly, one of the artistic directors and co-founders, you know how incredibly vivacious and talented she is. Erin, a native of Upper Merion, is also an incredible promoter of the Norristown Arts Hill and of Norristown generally. She is literally bringing diners to restaurants and patrons of the arts into downtown, from out-of-town, at night. We saw them in August Moon, and they joined us for a wonderfully different, dark comedy, Kimberly Akimbo, playing now at Theater Horizon.

Here is a description of the season opening production at Theater Horizon now: Surviving high school is hard enough, especially when you have a rare condition causing your body to age faster than it should. Despite extraordinary circumstances, Kimberly is trying to live a normal teenage life, but her irresponsible father, hypochondriac mother and scam-artist aunt are making that next to impossible. Now, on the eve of Kimberly's 16th birthday, time is running out. This hilarious play by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay Abaire puts a new spin on family dysfunction and redefines the term "young at heart."

So after a wonderful night out, my wife and I strolled back down Main Street to our car, got in and rode home. We still need an after-dinner and after-theater spot to get coffee, tea and dessert, but I'm sure some innovative entrepreneur will figure out a way to fill that need. Without a doubt, five years of marriage has shared with me a life of ups and downs. And without question, Norristown has its challenges, poignant moments in the production seemed punctuated with the sounds of police sirens and fire engines responding to criminal activity or household accidents.

But all in all, we had as pleasant and wonderful a night out as anyone would hope to have, when we have to get back to two small children, and a babysitter who wants to go home and relax on a Friday night. And I, even after typing this, will hit those same streets for Season of Peace, walking to reduce violence in our town. That's something that surely impedes our progress as an evening arts and eating-out community, but with the effort and commitment of religious leaders, elected officials, and restauranteurs and artists, can be, and will be overcome for a more family-friendly and prosperous community for all.

Happy anniversary honey, you're part of what makes Norristown so wonderful. I'm glad we could share it with each other and celebrate our life together in Norristown -- where we -- and YOU -- belong!