Arts + Preservation = Jobs
Rhode Island Coalition for Arts & Preservation launches ‘Yes on 6’ campaign
The Rhode Island Coalition for Arts & Preservation, a group of arts and historical preservation organizations operating across the state, today launched a campaign urging Rhode Islanders to vote yes on Question 6 in the upcoming special election.
Passage of Question 6 – the Cultural Arts and State Preservation Grant Programs Bond Measure– will authorize the state to issue bonds of $7 million to support arts facilities and historic preservation efforts across Rhode Island.
The bond initiative includes capital funds for two of Rhode Island’s most storied performing arts organizations: Trinity Repertory Company ($2.5 million) and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School ($1.5 million). Together, these two organizations, directly and indirectly, employ nearly 900 full-time equivalent employees and create more than $1.7 million in state revenue.
Additionally, the bonds will provide $2 million in funding to the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts to create a statewide matching capital grant program, and $1 million to the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission to be distributed to cities, towns and nonprofit organizations to preserve, renovate and improve public and nonprofit historic sites, museums, and cultural arts centers across the state.
“From Woonsocket to Westerly, Rhode Island’s arts and preservation community is a proven economic engine that creates good jobs, bolsters our state’s tourism efforts and improves the quality of life for all Rhode Islanders,” said Tom Parrish, executive director of Trinity Repertory Company. “Approving Question 6 on the upcoming special election ballot will incentivize muchneeded investments in these vibrant industries, and help Rhode Island build on its leadership position in New England’s growing arts economy.”
In 2014, Rhode Islanders overwhelmingly approved a similar bond measure, a $35 million initiative known as the Creative and Cultural Economy Bonds. The bonds approved in 2014 ultimately resulted in the completion of more than 70 construction and renovation projects across Rhode Island. The initial $35 million bond investment drove nearly $90 million in construction activity and created more than 1,500 jobs and roughly $17 million in wages, around one-third of which were earned by minority- and women-owned employers.
“The far-reaching, undeniable success of the 2014 bond measure is proof that every Rhode Islander – not just those who enjoy the arts – benefits when we make sound investments in our state’s creative economy,” said Randall Rosenbaum, director, Rhode Island State Council for on the Arts. “If the voters support a continuation of this investment, we can help arts organizations throughout our state increase their capacity for programming and educational outreach, which in turn results in a significant benefit to our local and state economies and to the education of all Rhode Islanders.”
Learn more at www.yeson6-ri.com
About the Rhode Island Coalition for Arts & Preservation:
The Rhode Island Coalition for Arts & Preservation is a coalition of art and historic preservation organizations from across Rhode Island working together in support of Question 6, the “Cultural Arts and State Preservation Grant Programs Bond Measure,” that will be on the Rhode Island Special Election ballot on Tuesday, March 2.
Learn more at www.yeson6-ri.com.