Communities across British Columbia see a lack of access to medical care, infrastructure in need of reinvestment, and a host of social challenges that require the financial support of local, provincial, and federal governments.
How does the impact of investing in arts, culture, and heritage compare to other sectors of the economy? From a purely economic point of view, investing in the arts is a smart investment. On a macro level, it is easy to find data that reinforces why investing in arts, culture, and heritage makes sense, but let us look at the micro level to see how museums support the economic health of their local communities.
For small communities across the province, museums, galleries, and heritage spaces are integral to vibrant local economies and tourism sectors. The goal of this commentary is to demonstrate, from an economic perspective, why investing in museums makes sense and hopefully help those skeptical about public investment in arts, culture, and heritage understand why this is a prudent use of public funds.