Mayoral Forum on the Arts Gives Candidates Opportunity to Discuss Their Vision for Arts and Creative Industries
ATLANTA - On November 2, Atlanta residents will cast their votes for the city’s next mayor. Atlanta is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation, and the next mayor will oversee Atlanta during a pivotal time. An important part of Atlanta's growth is in its creative industries, with actors, artists, filmmakers, musicians and other creative professionals coming to the city to make new work, drive new sources of revenue and elevate the creative process as a component of the success of our region. Today, the nonprofit arts sector generates more than a half billion dollars in revenue for the city of Atlanta annually, and with a consistent, strategic message, this can flourish and grow. The mayor of Atlanta oversees legislation related to the arts, steers community development through arts and can support the arts in places such as public schools and public parks. An arts platform provides a clear vision for how a candidate will use the arts to improve Atlanta, and voting Atlantans want to understand each candidate’s view and vision.
The arts community of Atlanta is hosting a Mayoral Forum on the Arts on Monday, September 27 at 7pm at Atlanta Symphony Hall at Woodruff Arts Center. The candidates will discuss their vision for the Arts within the City of Atlanta and their plan to leverage the Office of Cultural Affairs to support the continued growth and vitality of our arts and culture community and address quality of life issues. The event will be moderated by Rose Scott, an award-winning journalist and host of the midday news program “Closer Look” heard on Atlanta's NPR, station 90.1 FM – WABE.
This free and public event provides voters the chance to hear candidates' views on the arts as well as ask questions. Candidates will discuss:
Framing public policy related to the arts, such as mural arts zoning laws
Funding the arts including taxes
Using the arts for community development, including arts in public schools, supporting new arts districts, neighborhood revitalization and access to the arts for all Atlantans
As the arts provide both economic development and cultural enrichment for the community, mayoral platforms on the arts are vital to their vision for what Atlanta will be in the coming years.
The Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 report created specifically for the City of Atlanta and metro region, released by Americans for the Arts, provides evidence that the nonprofit arts and culture sector is a significant industry locally. Nonprofit arts companies generate $604.6 million in total economic activity, support nearly 20,000 full-time jobs, generate $491 million in household income to local residents and deliver $56 million in local and state government revenue. This study shows that the arts enhance our quality of life, as well as invest in the City of Atlanta’s economic well-being. The arts drive tourism significantly in Atlanta, and when audiences come to the city for cultural events they also contribute to the economy through secondary spending, such as hotel stays and restaurant meals. This report shows the importance of the arts for a city, and how a mayoral platform should address the arts as an economic driver.
The Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs represents the city's commitment to supporting the arts, and the next mayor will steer this vital department during a time when creative industries are flourishing in Atlanta. In 2020, the office awarded more than $1 million in contracts for arts services to several of the city's top arts nonprofits and to individual artists.