press releases

For Immediate Release

The Cultural Tourism Initiative, now in its fourth year, is administered by the Arts & Business Council Inc. and funded by the New York State Council on the Arts. It seeks to build a more effective promotion of cultural tourism in New York State by providing funding to a selected number of the state’s arts groups. The selected groups must match the funding from other sources, and must form a partnership with a local tourism agency. This year’s grants ranged from $10,000 to $25,000 dollars. In addition, training workshops are held throughout the state, with additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Two of this year’s outstanding winners are: Columbia County Council on the Arts, encompassing a three-county area in the Hudson Valley and adjoining Berkshire County, MA, has capitalized on one the major asset of this region: sculpture. The Modern Art Tour: Art & the Landscapes of the Hudson Valley was awarded $25,000 as to promote the major sculpture collections of Art Omi, Storm King, MassMOCA and the newly opened Dia: Beacon. (A kick off event and press conference will be held at Art Omi on May 31, 2003.) This will be a wonderful way to connect the excitement surrounding the Dia: Beacon opening to the other thematically related cultural organizations in the region.

The New York State Historical Association was awarded $23,000 for a new collaborative effort across three counties entitled: High Heels to Running Shoes: Footwear in Central NY. The project center is the Fenimore Art Museum’s exhibit featuring items from the Bata Shoe Collection (Toronto, CA). The Ostego County Tourism Agency and partnering organizations will display or create programming involving footwear, from a special exhibit on sports footwear at the National Baseball and Soccer Halls of Fame to a moccasin workshop at the Iroquois Indian Museum. Also included are the Walking Example Group, the Farmer’s Museum, Hanford Mills Museum, Howe Caverns, Orpheus Theatre, Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival and several others. A special edition of Museums Magazine will be published for this program. This program offers an unusual and creative opportunity to thematically link sports, folk art and other regional cultural offerings.

With the tourism industry relying more and more on domestic travel, regional and statewide initiatives such as this one provide a way for arts groups to play a significant part in the prosperity of their area. New York State is rich in culture, history and natural resources. Visitors are seeking a diverse travel experience and with a large percentage of travelers including cultural heritage activities, innovative and off-the-beaten-path programs must be readily available. From modern sculpture, footwear fetishes, and historical homes, to NCAA action and an unprecedented four-borough New York City marketing consortium, this year’s grantees have come up with ideas to entice, stimulate and experience all that New York has to offer.

Arts groups are facing tough economic times, and businesses and foundations are reducing philanthropic support. To collaborate effectively is key to expanding and enhancing tourism potential. Cultural tourism has emerged as a critical element in the effort of arts groups to generate new revenue for their bottom line as well as bring in the tax revenue to their partners and region they serve. Pooling resources to attract new visitors and increases economic activity.

If these projects don’t tempt the public to travel this great state, then maybe the results of past projects will encourage tourists to continue spending their money in New York State. For the 2001 grantees alone, the investment of $214,000 in grants produced over $7 million in direct economic impact based on submitted final reports and results tracking. This is leveraging of over 3,000%!

The Arts & Business Council’s mission is to stimulate partnerships between arts and business that strengthen both sectors in the communities they serve. For 38 years, the Council has accomplished this mission with programs that promote volunteerism and leadership, build arts management capacity, gather and disseminate relevant information, and advocate for closer ties between business and the arts.

The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) is a state funding agency that provides support for activities of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in New York State and helps to bring artistic programs of high quality to the citizens of the state. NYSCA has been directed by the state Legislature to maintain the "paramount position of this State in the nation and the world as a cultural center" through the support of nonprofit arts organizations in New York State. NYSCA achieves its goals primarily through its grant-making activity.