Introduction


In 1998, the City of Kelowna's Arts Development Office published a study entitled The Economic Impact of Arts & Culture in the Central Okanagan, and Toward Our Future: Cultural Tourism & the Cultural Industries.

Publication of The Economic Impact of Arts & Culture brought about a sea change in the understanding of culture's role in the regional economy. The study quantified culture's GDP impact and the extent of regional employment attributable to culture. It also demonstrated how local government investment in the arts stimulated important economic activity. The study is reproduced here in its entirety.

Executive Summary

The overall objectives of this study are: (a) to profile the cultural economy as it exists today; (b) to identify and analyze opportunities within the cultural economy; and (c) to make recommendations to develop the cultural economy.

This study begins by quantifying the direct impact and economic "ripple effect" generated by primary arts and cultural contributors within the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO). Primary contributors are defined as those businesses, institutions, individuals and organizations that contribute directly to the production, facilitation, performance and servicing of arts and cultural activity within the regional economy.

The primary contributors analyzed in this study are grouped within the following ten sectors:

• Art Galleries & Dealers (Commercial Art Galleries, Art Dealers, Art Distributors and Publishers.)
  
  
• Arts Instruction & Education (Music, Drama and Art Teachers, Music Schools, Dance and Acting Schools.)
  
  
• Commercial Arts (Commercial Artists, Graphic Designers, Photographers.)
  
  
• Performing Arts (Musicians, Musical Ensembles, Bands, Orchestras, Comedy Groups, Theatre Companies, Touring Entertainers.)
  
  
• Visual Arts (Painters, Sculptors, Ceramic Artists, Craftspersons.)
  
  
• Literary Arts (Creative Writers.)
  
  
• Events & Festivals (Coordinators, Administrators, Featured Performers.)
  
  
• Cultural Facilities (Public Art Galleries, Museums, Libraries, Theatre Venues.)
  
  
• Service & Material Providers (Artists' Suppliers, Picture Framers, Craft Retailers and Suppliers, Dance, Masquerade and Theatrical Suppliers, Musical Instrument Retailers, Audio/Video Service and Equipment Providers, Arts Consultants, Ticket Outlets, Live Music Venues.)
  
  
• Societies & Associations (Cultural Service Organizations, Recreational Arts Groups.)
  

The Economic Impact of Arts & Culture
In the Central Okanagan, arts and culture accounts for a total of 2,368 full and part-time jobs (or 1,896 full-time equivalent jobs). Of this total, 1,592 jobs (or 1,198 full-time equivalent jobs) are created directly through expenditures made by the cultural sectors. The remaining 776 jobs result from the "ripple effect': the induced impact of arts and culture on employment in other sectors through the spending and re-spending of incomes earned by cultural workers, and by workers in other supporting sectors. All told, 3.8 percent of regional employment is due to the cultural economy.

Of the 1,592 jobs created directly through expenditures made by the cultural sectors, 1,164 jobs (or 814 full-time equivalent jobs) are cultural jobs, employing cultural workers. This figure represents 1.9 percent of regional employment. Along with job creation, arts and culture accounts for $37.3 million in direct GDP impact. Adding the induced impact of arts and culture on other sectors, the cultural economy accounts for $67.1 million in total GDP impact. Between 1,300 and 1,700 volunteers are involved with the region's cultural organizations. The dollar value of the hours donated by these volunteers is between $780,000 and $1 million. While helping to sustain the cultural economy, this volunteerism also demonstrates a strong support for, and commitment to, community participation in arts and culture.

Finally, the economy enjoys almost $1 million in peripheral impacts due to the performing arts. Peripheral impacts are expenditures on restaurants, babysitters, dry cleaners, etc., associated with performing arts attendance. Along with the value of volunteerism, the value of peripheral impacts is in addition to the direct and induced economic impacts of arts and culture (Table 1, below).

TABLE 1 DIRECT AND INDUCED ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF ARTS AND CULTURE (FISCAL YEAR 1995-96)
Type of Impact	Direct Impact	Induced Impact	Total Impact
Employment (full-time equivalents)	1,592 (1,198)	776 (698)	2,368 (1,896)
Gross Domestic Product ($)	37,298,000	29,838,000	67,136,000

The Cultural Sectors
The cultural economy of the Central Okanagan has been analyzed within ten cultural sectors.¹ The art galleries and dealers sector is comprised of 23 commercial art galleries, art dealers, distributors and publishers. This sector accounts for $3.4 million in total GDP impact (i.e., including induced impacts). Direct employment totals 64 jobs (including 42 cultural jobs), while total employment (including induced impacts) accounts for 103 jobs.

The arts instruction and education sector is comprised of two distinct sub-sectors: the academic and the private, with the latter consisting mainly of home-based music teachers. The total GDP impact of this sector is $15.6 million. Direct employment totals 255 jobs (including 190 cultural jobs), while total employment accounts for 435 jobs.

The commercial arts sector is comprised of commercial artists, graphic designers, and photographers. This sector has emerged as one of the strongest over recent years, accounting for $7 million in total GDP impact. Direct employment totals 147 jobs (including 112 cultural jobs), while total employment accounts for 228 jobs.

The performing arts sector includes the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, Sunshine Theatre, other non-profit theatrical and musical groups, local bands and individual performers, and touring entertainers who visit Kelowna and region. The performing arts sector accounts for $3.3 million in total GDP impact. Direct employment totals 77 jobs (including 63 cultural jobs), while total employment accounts for 115 jobs.

The visual arts sector includes painters, sculptors, ceramic artists and craftspersons, most of whom work from home-based studios. The visual arts sector accounts for $3.8 million in total GDP impact. Direct employment totals 114 jobs (including 96 cultural jobs), while total employment accounts for 158 jobs.

The events and festivals sector is comprised of a variety of performances and celebrations, ranging from the Kiwanis Music Festival, to the Fringe Theatre Festival, to the Central Okanagan component of the Okanagan Wine Festival. Events and festivals account for $851,000 in total GDP impact. Direct employment totals 88 jobs (including 81 cultural jobs), while total employment accounts for 98 jobs.

Cultural facilities are the public art galleries, museums, libraries and theatre venues located in the Central Okanagan. Major cultural facilities include the Kelowna Centennial Museum and its satellite museums (the BC Orchard Industry Museum and the Wine Museum), the Kelowna Community Theatre, the Kelowna Library, and the Kelowna Art Gallery. Cultural facilities account for $6.2 million in total GDP impact. Direct employment totals 158 jobs (including 124 cultural jobs), while total employment accounts for 230 jobs.

The service and material providers sector is the largest of the sectors in terms of jobs, wages and salaries, and GDP. This sector includes picture framers and suppliers of materials for artists and craftspersons, suppliers of musical instruments and related materials, and theatrical and dance suppliers, along with craft retailers. Audio/video service and equipment providers also belong to this sector, along with arts consultants, ticket outlets, and live music venues. Service and material providers account for $26.6 million in total GDP impact. Direct employment totals 666 jobs (including 436 cultural jobs), while total employment accounts for 973 jobs.

The societies and associations sector is comprised of 23 non-profit cultural service organizations and recreational arts groups. This sector accounts for $432,000 in total GDP impact. Direct employment totals 15 jobs (including 13 cultural jobs), while total employment accounts for 20 jobs.

1 Although the literary arts sector was identified as part of the cultural economy, insufficient data was gathered to permit a detailed analysis.


|Economic Development Opportunities
Arts and culture presents the Central Okanagan with two significant opportunities for economic development.

Foremost among these is the opportunity to develop Kelowna into a cultural tourism destination. Cultural tourism -- tourism centred around arts events, cultural festivals, museums, art and craft galleries, and heritage attractions and sites -- is a rapidly growing sector of the world tourism industry. The World Tourism Organization estimates that cultural tourism is growing by 15 percent annually, while the Canadian Tourism Commission has identified cultural tourism as a "critical area of development" for the future of tourism in Canada. However, other than the town of Chemainus on Vancouver Island, no community in British Columbia has aggressively developed and marketed itself as a centre for cultural tourism. Possessing a well-developed recreational tourism industry and marketing infrastructure, the allure of "wine country", and a cultural district in its downtown north end waiting to be developed, Kelowna is ideally positioned to become the leading cultural tourism destination in Western Canada.

The second opportunity for the Central Okanagan lies with developing the cultural industries.

Cultural industries are for-profit creative enterprises which include film and video production, sound recording, publishing, multi-media production, the production of commercial and fine art, ceramic and glass production, and the manufacture of other products with a high design element.

In British Columbia, the cultural industries are concentrated in the Lower Mainland, where they make a significant contribution to the provincial economy. However, the Central Okanagan's quality-of-life appeal, its relative affordability of commercial land and residential housing, its well-developed transportation system, and its state-of-the-art communications make the region an attractive alternative for cultural producers. Moreover, unlike numerous cities in the United States and Europe, no city in Canada has implemented a strategy to attract cultural producers. Kelowna is well-positioned to do so.


Recommendations
Cultural Tourism
To develop the Central Okanagan as a cultural tourism destination, the Arts Development Office recommends:

1. That the City of Kelowna assume a leadership role in working with the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Kelowna Association, the Economic Development Commission of the Central Okanagan, the Kelowna Hotel Motel Association, the Restaurant and Food Services Association, the cultural community, and other interested parties seeking to develop Kelowna's cultural tourism potential.
   
   
2. That the City of Kelowna create a strategic plan for developing the Kelowna Cultural District, including a strategy for coordinating cultural activity within the District, and recommendations for District financing, marketing, signage, and a compatible retail/commercial component.
   
   
3. That the City of Kelowna implement all recommendations contained in the 1997 management review of the Kelowna Community Theatre, enabling the Theatre to become the performing arts "anchor venue" within the Cultural District.
   
   
4. That the City of Kelowna consider means by which to increase its investment in non-profit arts organizations, including contributing to a new fund administered by the Kelowna Arts Foundation to help launch cultural tourism initiatives.
   
   
5. That the development of local arts festivals be encouraged, and, to this end, that the City of Kelowna and the Arts Development Office create a strategic plan for developing arts festivals.
   
   
6. That, in developing arts festivals, every effort be made to position such festivals in the shoulder seasons and the off-season, when Kelowna's tourism industry can benefit most.
   
   
7. That the City of Kelowna animate its downtown parks with entertainment throughout the summer and, to this end, that the City provide stable funding to its Parks Alive! program.
   
   
8. That the City of Kelowna, in partnership with corporate or community interests, upgrade Island Stage in Waterfront Park to provide the dressing rooms, washrooms, lighting and sound system, and audience seating required for a fully functioning outdoor venue.
   
   
9. That the City of Kelowna, the Regional District of Central Okanagan, the Central Okanagan Historical Society, the Catholic Church, the Arts Development Office, and other interested parties work to restore the Father Pandosy Mission and develop its tourism potential.
   
   
10. That the wineries of the Central Okanagan integrate art and music into the Okanagan Wine Festival and other winery events, and, to encourage this activity, that artists and arts organizations approach wineries and propose partnership initiatives.
    
    
11. That the development of cultural tourism in Kelowna be aided by:
    
    The creation of cultural tourism marketing vehicles, including: (a) a destination marketing vehicle (for distribution outside the Okanagan) that clusters Kelowna's exportable, "market-ready" cultural products; and (b) an event marketing vehicle (for distribution within the Okanagan) that promotes the full range of Kelowna's cultural events.
    
    The creation of shared cultural/non-cultural product packages where the cultural product provides entertainment in the evenings and in the event of poor weather. (Golf offers a particular opportunity in this regard.)
    
    The creation of shared marketing vehicles for cultural attractions and Central Okanagan wineries. (Cultural attractions and wineries share a large crossover demographic.)
    
    Targeting the in-bound tour-bus market, which caters primarily to mature markets and international travellers (both of which have a high cultural participation rate).
    
    
12. That the City of Kelowna's new public art program encourage sculptures, murals, and other significant works of art at the gateways to the city, and within the Cultural District and the downtown core.
    
    
13. That every effort be made by the City of Kelowna, the Regional District of Central Okanagan, the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, and other relevant players to improve the aesthetics of Highway 97 and discourage the billboard development on the Westside approach to the floating bridge.
    
    

The cultural Industries
To develop the Central Okanagan as a cultural industries centre, the Arts Development Office recommends:

1. That the Economic Development Commission of the Central Okanagan and the Arts Development Office research a cultural industries strategy appropriate to the region, identifying the support infrastructure, the development partners, and the funding required.
   
   
2. That the City of Kelowna investigate appropriate sites for the establishment of artists' live/work studios, and amend zoning by-laws to encourage such developments.
   
   
3. That the newly created Okanagan-Similkameen Film Commission work to: (a) attract film and television projects to the region; (b) identify local technicians, talent, and service companies to service such projects; and (c) determine training needs and opportunities