Arts & Culture

Conservation
Environment
Recreation, and
Culture

Introduction:

In order to meet the need for increased cultural and entertainment opportunities for residents and tourists, the subcommittee recommended the creation of a cultural entertainment industry in Lafayette that will combine the talents of local artists with the economic development opportunities available locally. Already, as a direct outgrowth of committee discussions regarding this strategy, the Louisiana Crossroads series was created involving local performances by nationally renown Acadiana artists. The committee also has sought to increase the awareness of the importance of arts and culture in all aspects of the life of the community, not just tourism.
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Arts and cultural programs administered by the Acadiana Arts Council must receive permanent, line-item funding in the annual Lafayette Consolidated Government and area municipalities' budgets based upon a parish-wide population formula to bring us to a national standard.

Commentary: An L.C.G. planning department survey of a dozen southern cities similar in size to Lafayette ranked our community at the bottom in total funding for arts and cultural programs. Nationally, the growth of funding support for the arts through city and county government has increased in the past 20 years, not only in real dollars but also in the capacity of these funds to be powerful leveraging devices for other funding sources. However, in its 2000/01 fiscal budget, L.G. cut its support of arts and cultural programs by 50%. Repeated studies have proven that every tax dollar invested in the arts returns to the economy a minimum of six times over. An investment in the arts is an investment in the local economy through tourism, education and new business recruitment. The unique cultural climate of the Acadiana region is one of our community's greatest natural resources and must be viewed as such by community policy makers.

Neighborhood-based, free-or-low-cost arts programs must be a priority within the new, per capita funding formula.

Commentary: Cultural resources can form a community "glue," particularly in neighborhoods where both common identity and the physical structure have deteriorated. Group mural projects, community gardens, festivals, and neighborhood involvement in designing capital improvements all create a greater sense of safety, ownership, and commitment to the community. By basing programs in neighborhoods, all citizens are provided access to and opportunity for participation in high quality arts activities.

A comprehensive, after-school program must include the arts as a key component and must be implemented for all Lafayette Parish public schools through collaborations among Lafayette Consolidated Government, area municipalities, Lafayette Parish School Board, Acadiana Arts Council, local businesses, and other community partners.

Commentary: The dropout rate for students with low arts involvement is 45% higher than the rate for highly arts-involved students. An after-school arts program should leverage community resources to create a comprehensive model motivating students to learn, decreasing dropout rates, promoting cultural understanding and improving thinking and problem-solving skills. Opportunity for participation in arts classes should not be dependent on a family's economic ability to pay for services.

LCG should adopt a strategic master plan for the cultural entertainment industry.

Commentary: There are few geographic regions – nationally or globally – that have the cultural mystique of Acadiana. Lafayette, the region's capital, is second only to New Orleans in state tourism. By investing in the creation of a cultural entertainment industry and entertainment-related businesses, with a particular focus on the indigenous Cajun and zydeco music forms, LCG will create an incalculable cultural and economic multiplier effect. Note: As a direct result of CERC subcommittee meetings, the Acadiana Arts Council and Lafayette Economic Development Authority have created the Louisiana Crossroads Initiative, a research and development effort concentrated on the creation of a niche music industry to include performance, broadcasting, recording, management, production and manufacturing. The flagship of the initiative, the Louisiana Crossroads music series, is a production partnership between the arts council and public radio station KRVS.

Recommendation No. 5

A Per cent-for-Public-Art Program must be established.

Commentary:Public art programs use a small fraction of total construction budgets from public construction projects for creation and installation of artwork accessible to the general public. Works may range from sculptures to murals to artisan-designed building elements such as stair railings or light fixtures. Public art programs add character to public buildings and improve the image of the urban area for residents and visitors alike.

To support the unique and thriving local cultural ecology, Lafayette must have a greater selection of arts facilities, including a 200-300 seat theater, possibly as part of a library expansion; a 500-800 seat theater; and a visual arts museum meeting museum industry standards and providing flexible space for rehearsals, workshops, meetings, and administrative functions of community arts organizations.

Commentary: As Lafayette continues to grow and prosper, expectations about the availability and variety of quality arts and cultural spaces will rise. In the 40-plus years since the construction of the Heymann Performing Arts Center, Lafayette has grown in population, economics, education, and the arts. However, the availability and variety of community-accessible venues has not grown to reflect the true potential of the Lafayette market.

Recommendation No. 7

There must be official designation of an arts district in which the cultural entertainment industry can center, thus creating economies of scale and increasing the number of venues within close proximity and within easy access of local patrons and tourists.

Commentary: As is true with retail clustering, the proximity of arts-related businesses and venues one to another stimulates overall market visibility and patronage. Cities such as Memphis, New Orleans, Branson, Nashville and Austin have all successfully developed cultural/arts clusters.

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Page Last Revised on 9/5/2002

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