THE ARTS AND THE ECONOMY OF LOUDOUN COUNTY
Contributing authors Andrew J. Glick, Mary Glick, Tamar Datan
Loudoun County is a national case study of stunningly rapid growth. For its first 200 years, the county was an agricultural community with a fairly constant population of 20,000. In the last 50 years, that population has increased by more 250,000. The pace of change put an enormous burden on the public and private stakeholders who seek to lead and serve this community. As it grapples to keep pace with immediate and pressing needs for housing, schools, and roads, Loudoun must also find the courage and conviction to chart a compelling vision for its future – a vision that honors its heritage, acknowledges its present, and determines its future.
The county’s proximity to the nation’s capital, mild climate, vibrant technology sector and rural heritage has attracted a top-notch, affluent workforce. But more than one third of the county’s population moved here since 2000. Who are these newcomers? What kinds of connections to community are looking for? What strategies could engage and solidify these connections? And, critically, in the rush to manage growth, are county leaders doing enough to address these kinds of issues?
In this white paper, Loudoun Forward -- a nonpartisan civic think tank -- is launching the first of a series of research reports on key issues affecting the quality of life and the future of one of the nation’s fastest growing counties. Founded by Dave Wiseman and Tamar Datan, our goal is to create an open and interactive forum where the citizens of Loudoun can look forward into the future, and examine trends and issues that may have a profound impact on where we are headed as a community. We aim to provide data and analyses to stimulate thoughtful discourse and helps us all wrestle with important choices.
This paper documents the rise in Loudoun County of a so-called “creative class” of new residents ¬-- knowledge-based workers in technology, science and the arts, the kind of creative workforce that, national studies show, will propel the 21st Century economy. These are workers who don’t aspire to live in sleepy McMansion suburbs, pocketed by strip malls and congested by traffic. Rather they seek to anchor their lives in a rich cultural environment that breeds innovation and artistic advances.
Already these workers comprise an estimated 43 percent of the county’s workforce. Yet they have come to live in a community where the Loudoun Symphony -- which held its inaugural concert in 1991 and has grown into a robust presence on the local arts scene featuring renowned international performers in a half dozen showcase concerts, a youth symphony, annual gala and more -- must still go begging for performance space in the auditoriums of local high schools.
Loudoun Forward, as a result of research which included a commissioned study as well as extensive consultation with business, political and civic leaders, has concluded that what it will take to satisfy and retain these creative newcomers is a strategy that calls for new priorities in county planning. Sorely missing from current plans are any specific proposals for establishing an arts and culture infrastructure to deliver the cultural amenities and quality of life that these newcomers consider necessities, not luxuries.
National studies are documenting how important regional arts and culture centers are to creating the very foundation for a robust social capital that can convert a bedroom community or even a newly planned development community into a robust destination point.
The issue carries considerable urgency. Precious land that might be used for performance halls and arts centers is quickly being acquired by developers for more housing. And competition for the creative class is fierce. Already, nearby communities such as Rockville and Manassas have built or funded state-of-the-art performance halls.
If our leaders act quickly, we can still identify strategically positioned land that could be devoted to arts and cultural uses. In fact, ideas are now crystallizing around the development of a high-profile arts corridor, with a multi-use Arts Center as its hub.
The Rise of the Creative Class in Loudoun County
Loudoun County has undergone transformative change in the last 50 years. In 1950, 10,000 people, more than two-thirds of the county’s labor force, was employed in farming. At the time, the county was a major supplier of dairy products to the nation’s capitol. Today there is one dairy farm left and only a few hundred agricultural workers among the county’s 125,000 member workforce. Although the rural component remains a robust and growing segment of Loudoun’s dynamic economy, it no longer dominates. Even the nature of the agricultural land use has evolved, shifting from primarily commodity production to a wide array of specialty farms, award winning vineyards, and high technology production techniques such as hydroponics.
The pace of change quickened with the opening of Dulles Airport in 1962, and the subsequent opening of the Dulles Greenway, a private toll road from the airport to Leesburg, in 1995. These changes significantly increased access to Northern Virginia, where post-war government industries were rapidly being established, making Loudoun a logical home for living and working.
The result was phenomenal growth. Loudoun’s population soared from 86,000 in 1990 to 170,000 in 2000 to more than 270,000 in 2007.
As important, during this time, the source of America’s economic success moved from the manufacture of everyday hard goods to the creation of innovations in the areas of science, technology and the arts and the delivery of professional services. This has resulted in a new class of people providing the bulk of the labor for the country’s new economic base.
Economist and public policy expert Richard Florida has coined a new term for these new workers, the creative class. In his 2002 best-selling book “The Rise of the Creative Class,” Florida defines them as “people who add economic value through their creativity” and whose work involves creating “meaningful new forms” rather than manufactured products
SIDEBAR
According to Florida, “some 40 million Americans work in the creative economy, which has grown by 20 million jobs since the 1980s and accounts for more than $2 trillion -- nearly half -- of all wages and salaries.”
Roberts divides the Creative Class into two components. The first is the “Super-Creative Core,” which includes scientists, engineers, professors, poets, novelists, artists, entertainers, actors, designers and architects as well as those he calls the “thought leadership of modern society: nonfiction writers, editors, cultural figures, think-tank researchers, analysts and other opinion makers.”
Florida further defines these super-creators as those who “fully engage in the creative process…such as designing a product that can be widely made, sold and used; coming up with a theory or strategy that can be applied in many cases; or composing music that can be performed again and again…not just building a better mousetrap, but noticing first that a better mousetrap would be a handy thing to have.”
Florida’s second component of the Creative Class includes “creative professionals who work in a wide range of knowledge-intensive industries such as high-tech sectors, financial services, the legal and health care professions, and business management.” Approximately 30 percent of Loudoun’s workforce is employed in these professions.
According to the Greater Washington Initiative, a regional cooperative marketing organization, the District and its surrounding communities in Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland have witnessed the fastest overall growth of all other regions in the country for the past six years, and the majority of these newcomers fit Florida’s criteria for second-tier Creative Class membership.
Florida believes prosperous 21st-century communities need a people climate even more than they need a business climate. “This means supporting creativity across the board – in all of its various facets and dimensions – and building a community that is attractive to creative people, not just to high-tech companies…[communities] need to be open to diversity and invest in the kinds of lifestyle options and amenities people really want.”
Creative Class workers expect more from the places where they live – more work opportunities; more choices for culture, relaxation and entertainment; unique places to hang out and meet other people; diversity of thought and open-mindedness; and a sense of belonging and identity. If they don’t find what they want, they will eventually move to a place that gives it to them.
Florida coined a term to sum up what defines a desirable location for the Creative Class: “quality of place.” He gives it three dimensions
• What’s there: the combination of the “built-in” and the natural environment; a proper setting for the pursuit of creative lives.
• Who’s there: the diverse kinds of people interacting and providing cues that anyone can plug into and make a life in that community.
• What’s going on: the vibrancy of street life, café culture, arts, music and people engaging in outdoor activities – altogether a lot of active, exciting, creative endeavors.
Some of Florida’s critics argue that “people who work in high-tech industries tend to be blandly conservative and prefer homogeneous communities and traditional lifestyles of the sort found in middle-class suburbs,” pointing to suburban Northern Virginia and the Silicon Valley as examples.
But Florida counters that these suburbs are located within larger, diverse metropolitan regions that offer many lifestyle choices. As these suburbs mature and neighborhoods become distinct, the challenge is to provide an array of lifestyle options within each community for different people at different life stages.
SIDEBAR
Silicon Valley faces many of the same challenges as Northern Virginia in sustaining a quality of place for its Creative Class residents. Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley, a privately funded non-profit think tank, makes the case that the Valley’s future prosperity depends on its ability to intelligently manage and support the region’s wealth of creativity and cultural participation.
Working with an Advisory Group from industry, the arts and government, Cultural Initiatives developed a Creative Community Framework to model the impact of the Valley’s cultural sector on community life.
The Framework includes:Outcomes: the desired outcomes of a healthy cultural life, broad-based creativity, social connectedness among diverse people and contribution to the quality of life in Silicon Valley.
• Participation: residents’ participation in arts and cultural activities, including the extent to which diverse people participate together.
• Assets: the mix of cultural assets present in the community, including talent in the creative sector (nonprofit, public and private), venues and facilities, and the aesthetic quality of our environment
• Levers: the extent to which we leverage and build our cultural assets and encouraging people’s interaction with them through arts education, leadership, investment, and policies.
For Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley, the creative community “is essential for sustaining the local innovation economy and for strengthening fundamental elements of community vitality – social capital, sense of place, civic spirit, [and] community innovation.”
The Role of Arts and Entertainment in Creating Quality of Place
Per-household income in Loudoun County is more than $150,000 per year, one of the highest in the nation. But residents seeking entertainment in a professional setting like a civic auditorium, playhouse or concert hall must travel outside the county -- taking their ticket, concession and after-market money with them.
If there is no professional venue for the arts in Loudoun County, asks Loudoun County Arts Council President Jeffrey Stern, “How can artists create or demonstrate their value to the community?”
There is a growing consensus among county cultural leaders that Loudoun is in an excellent position to become a place where the arts can thrive and become an economic engine in the county’s economy.
“A strong arts base encourages tourism, which in turn gives a boost to local business,” writes Loudoun Symphony Director Esperanza Alzona in the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce magazine. “Thus the arts are a powerful partner in the economic development of our communities. For every $1 spent by audiences attending arts events, $2.31 is spent on hotels, restaurants, transportation, and other goods and services.
Study after study across America points to the important role that the cultural arts play in creating healthy economic and social communities.
John M. Eger, executive director of the California Institute for Smart Communities at San Diego State University, has identified arts and culture as key ingredients for helping modern communities to prosper. The effort to create a 21st century community, Eger says, “is not so much about technology as it is about jobs, dollars and quality of life. In short, it is about organizing one’s community to reinvent itself for the new knowledge-based economy and society. At the heart of this effort is recognition of the vital role that art and culture play in enhancing economic development, and ultimately, defining a ‘creative community’ – one that exploits the vital linkages between art, culture and commerce.”
In support of his thesis, Eger cites a recent National Governors Association report which concluded: “Arts programs serve local communities immensely by contributing to a region’s ‘innovation habitat,’… making it more attractive to … knowledge-based employees and permitting new forms of knowledge-intensive production to flourish.”
In Virginia, arts and culture is not only a contributor to “innovation habitat.” According to Virginians for the Arts, it is a billion dollar industry. In 2000, for example, out-of-state visitors to arts and cultural organizations contributed $849 million for Virginia businesses plus $342 million for Virginia-based tourist companies.
Extensive research by the advocacy group Americans for the Arts has consistently demonstrated that communities realize direct, across-the-board revenue gains from supporting the output of their artistic enclaves. So much so that the group was able to create a computer model that can predict the potential revenue from a community arts event.
Taking data input about a region’s population, the amount to be spent producing an event and the projected number of attendees, the model calculates not only how much money will come from gate receipts or entrance fees, but shows the amount spent on concessions and potential tourist accommodations. More importantly, it predicts the less obvious benefits such as job creation from the implementation of the event.
As an example of how the calculator works, look at the Loudoun Symphony, which spent $186,000 producing its 2004-2005 season. At the time, the population of Loudoun County was about 250,000. The total number of people attending Loudoun Symphony concerts was 7,350. According to the Arts Prosperity Calculator, that year the Symphony created the equivalent of 11 full-time jobs and its audiences spent more than $155,000.
The synergy that builds between the practitioners of the fine arts and scientific and technological innovation go well beyond a “warm fuzzy” feeling about being able to go to a concert or a play within a community.
SIDEBAR
Modern hydraulic technology is actually the outgrowth of an ancient musical instrument called the ‘hydraulis.” Western music’s diatonic scale was invented by the classical Greek philosopher Pythagoras – whom most high-schoolers associate with the geometry of right triangles. Today’s blockbuster movies with their stunning computer-generated visual effects are an outgrowth of work by artists like the late UCLA professor John Whitney Sr., who was inspired by radar displays and the imaging science used for the analysis of high-altitude reconnaissance photography.
There is just as much evidence supporting the necessity for the more “creature comfort” side of the arts equation. Anecdotally, the Old Testament relates how the only “balm” for King Saul’s insomnia was the musical performance of a young shepherd boy named David. A great deal of scientific research has borne so much quantifiable data supporting the healing qualities of music that many universities now offer courses in music therapy.
Music isn’t the only art with such qualities. Placebo Effect discoverer Dr. Herbert Benson has found that the most creative thinkers today actually harness the soothing effects of such tasks as knitting or listening to poetry readings in order to better solve the challenges of their occupations. He backs up his findings with functional MRI scans that show exactly what brain functions are involved during this process.
SIDEBAR
In its Creative Community Index, Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley determined that “two of the most important issues to be addressed in fostering a vital community are creativity and connectedness.” In the area of creativity the residents of Silicon Valley are well aware of its direct effects on their society and economy. From conceptualization through design, prototyping and marketing, creativity is a vital strand in the fabric of the area’s economic life.
According to Cultural Initiatives, “arts and cultural activities can play a critical role in connecting people across cultures and affinity groups.”
When people sing in a local chorus, attend an neighborhood festival, or share an evening together watching a play, they connect and form a personal bond that can be the first steps to forming a sense of community.
“Cultural participation helps build a more cohesive, connected community. Evidence is growing that the long-term health of communities and economies is tied to a healthy stock of social capital – bonds of trusting, knowing, and reciprocal relationships.”
In fact, the more traditional forms of civic participation – attending a legislative meeting, voting – have been likened to “civic broccoli”: important but not fun or inspiring. Because people attend and participate in the arts out of sheer enjoyment, Cultural Initiatives points out, the opportunities to create social capital from cultural events are greater.
The Initiatives’ researchers also discovered that there were many participative arts venues that appealed to residents across a spectrum of ethnic or other cultural diversity. For example, Asian residents enjoyed group singing while Latin-Americans gravitated more toward community dances. In all, the authors found that “cultural participation can help bind…people to each other and to the [community] while providing a unique quality-of-life asset for all.”
Florida and other researchers have concluded that a region must embrace the concept of nurturing the creative spirit in all its members if it is to continue to grow and prosper in today’s world. It involves more than just recognizing the local arts council or writer’s society. It needs to structure its development plans in a way that enhances the creative experience for all.
Loudoun County: Poised for the Future
Loudoun County’s Economic Development Strategic Plan recognizes the importance of the creative economy. It envisions “an innovative, globally competitive economy known for its favorable business environment, exceptional quality of place and strong sense of community.”
The plan’s guiding principles echo Florida’s view of a Creative Class-friendly environment: “Economic development and quality of life are interdependent…Loudoun’s cultural heritage and rural countryside are essential to our quality of place…requiring creative partnerships” to attract and maintain the kind of “talented people [who will] power the new knowledge-based economy.”
Its goals include making Loudoun County a “recognized center for innovation…that attracts [a] high-value work force,” with high quality “educational, cultural, recreational, health, safety and welfare amenities” that would make the county a “favored visitor destination.”
The plan’s strategic initiatives include promoting of Loudoun’s “authentic cultural heritage” and the development and expansion of “signature attractions and entertainment.”
The county’s labor force is also engaged in the new knowledge economy. Over the 10-year period between 1994 and 2004, the total number of jobs in the information sector grew from 923 to 10,684, so that this slice of the economic mix now accounts for nearly 10% of the county’s employment.
Among Loudoun’s largest employers are America Online Inc., Loudoun Hospital Center, Loudoun County Public Schools, and high-tech companies including Verizon, Orbital Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Telos Corporation.
The county’s potential future workforce is also growing. Nearly one-third of Loudoun County’s population is under 18, and the rapidly growing suburban developments are known for their family-friendliness. The birthrate in Loudoun is double that of the rest of the state.
According to former Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce President Randy Collins, of the approximately 10,000 businesses in the county, more than 80% are small businesses, and of those, almost 90% are home-based, including a wide range of services from information technology to government policy analysts to potters, private music teachers and free-lance photographers.
Most residents are happy living in Loudoun County. In a 2005 survey of county residents, more than 90% of respondents said they were satisfied with county services such as fire and rescue, public libraries, parks and recreation, and schools
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Ninety-one percent of those surveyed gave high ratings to the county’s quality of life, although this is down slightly from previous years of the survey. Seventy-five percent said they believe they get good value for their tax dollars in Loudoun County, but this, too, is down from prior years (82% in 2002 and 80% in 2001).
What respondents like best about living in the county is its rural character, open space and countryside (24%), proximity to shopping and the city (20%), their neighborhood or community (15%), and the county’s natural beauty (11%).
Preserving that beauty and rural countryside – components of Loudoun’s strong ties to the land and its agricultural past -- plays a significant role in the ongoing debate over growth. It is also an important issue for future prosperity.
One of Loudoun’s strongest assets is its genuine sense of place, born of its deep agricultural heritage, making it a more authentic venue than, say, some of the “planned communities” ringing the suburbs of Washington, DC. Florida posits that a place’s “authenticity” is one of the key ingredients that creative people value in the locations where they choose to live and work.
Loudoun scores well on three ingredients that Florida says are critical to a community’s ability to attract and retain the best of the Creative Class: technology, talent and tolerance. Where these thrive, the following structures are in place:
• A high technology corridor: Three of Loudoun’s six biggest employers are in the high tech industry
• Proximity to one or more colleges or universities: More than a dozen institutions of higher education offer programs in Loudoun
• A vibrant arts community: Loudoun has 16 theater or arts groups. concert series and art galleries, as well as numerous rural towns with myriad cultural distinations
Loudoun County already has a good deal of this creativity infrastructure. In addition to AOL, which makes its headquarters here, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute opened its new biomedical research center at Janelia Farm along the Potomac River in northern Loudoun. George Washington, George Mason and Shenandoah universities all have satellite campuses in Loudoun County, along with Old Dominion University’s main campus.
The beauty of rural Middleburg has been an attraction for the rich and famous for decades. Many of the town’s surrounding farms have earned the region an international reputation for breeding and training horses for equestrian competition. The nearby Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah National Park also have a reputation for natural beauty and year ‘round outdoor activities.
The county seat of Leesburg has evolved as a small urban center over the past three decades while retaining much of the charm it acquired from earlier centuries.
A vibrant local arts community is also evident in various resident ensembles -- Loudoun Symphony, Loudoun Ballet Company and Master Singers of Virginia -- and local venues like the Bluemont Concert series, First Fridays in Leesburg and the annual First Night celebration on New Year’s Eve.
In addition, Loudoun County has a genuine cultural heritage dating back to the earliest years of colonial America. It began as Europeans settled on the western edge of a 5-million-acre land grant from King Charles II of England in 1649. This historical link to the United Kingdom led the county government in the 1960s to ask the College of Arms in London to design a shield and flag. “Based on the coat-of-arms of the Earl of Loudoun, for whom the county was named, it was the first official seal accorded to an American county.
Dozens of historic sites in Loudoun County are listed on the Web site of Journey Through Hallowed Ground, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of history along the Old Carolina Road from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to Albemarle County, Virginia. The road, modern-day Route 15, cuts through Loudoun County and provides its only major north-south transportation corridor. But growth threatens this resource. The National Trust for Historic Preservation named “The Journey through Hallowed Ground” Corridor to its 2005 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
SIDEBAR The following tables from the Loudoun County Convention and Visitors Bureau showcase much of the county’s creative infrastructure.
Historic Site Description
Aldie Mill - Virginia Outdoors Foundation Built in 1807-09. Virginia's only known grist mill powered by two water wheels
Ball's Bluff Battlefield Regional Park Preserves the site of the Battle of Ball's Bluff. This 1861 clash was the largest to take place in the county during the Civil War.
Claude Moore Park/Lanesville Heritage Area Park’s history includes the French and Indian War and the Civil War
Dodona Manor - George C. Marshall International Center
Dodona Manor, located in historic Leesburg, Virginia, was the Marshall residence from 1941 until the General’s death in 1959. Marshall’s name is forever linked to the post World War II European Recovery Act, better known as the Marshall Plan.
Historic Morven Park
Historic mansion, Museum of Hounds & Hunting.
Leesburg Executive Airport Includes exhibit that explores the origins of local flight from pastures to runways and tells the story of the site's former name, Godfrey Field, and its namesake, Arthur Godfrey.
Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum 300 years of agricultural history and rural life in Loudoun County
Loudoun Museum Restored c. 1767 log cabin interprets the county's cultural history with permanent and changing exhibits, an 1820s Children's Discovery Room, tours, and special events.
Lovettsville Historical Society Museum preserves and promotes the history and heritage of the Town of Lovettsville and its people including records of Civil War Battle of Short Hill
Mosby Heritage Area A unique region of the Virginia Piedmont named for Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby (“The Gray Ghost”) who harried Union troops during the Civil War.
Mt. Zion Old School Baptist Church During the Civil War, this 1851 church served as a rendezvous site for Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby
Oatlands Plantation National Trust site, 360 acres, Greek Revival mansion, circa 1804, rare 19th century brick dependencies including America's oldest restored propagation greenhouse, circa 1810, and a magnificent four acre English terraced garden.
Smithsonian Institution Naturalist Center Over 36,000 rocks, fossils, plants, animals, and artifacts.
Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum - Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Adjacent Loudoun County’s southeast border in Fairfax County. Recent extension to the Smithsonian
Thomas Balch Library Local history, family history, Civil War collection, and Loudoun County archives.
White's Ferry Last working ferry on the Potomac River. One of oldest freshwater ferries in U.S.
Winmill Carriage Museum Antique horse-drawn carriage collection.
Thomas Balch Library Local history, family history, Civil War collection, and Loudoun County archives.
White's Ferry Last working ferry on the Potomac River. One of oldest freshwater ferries in U.S.
Winmill Carriage Museum Antique horse-drawn carriage collection.
ARTS ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION
Aurora Studio Theatre, Inc.
Non-profit theater group dedicated to creating quality adult and family theater productions
Bluemont Concert Series
Bluemont presents a wide variety of community events such as public concerts on
Franklin Park Performing & Visual Arts Center
The Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center offers year round programs and performanceshttp://www.visitloudoun.org/thingstodo/details?id=9124
Growing Stage Theatre Company Presents quality theatrical performances to Loudoun County and its surrounding communities
Loudoun Ballet Company
Loudoun Ballet Company is an internationally renowned ballet company based in Leesburg
Loudoun Jazz Ensemble
Sixteen-person ensemble that performs swing and big band music from the 1940s through today
Loudoun Symphonic Winds
Offers the best of yesterday's and today's concert band music
Loudoun Symphony
The Loudoun Symphony offers classical music performances
Master Singers of Virginia
Thirty member choral ensemble. Performs high quality masterpieces, primarily of the 20th and 21st centurieshttp://www.visitloudoun.org/thingstodo/details?id=11180
Not Just Shakespeare, Inc.
A home-grown, community-based classic theatre for all ages
Round Hill Arts Center Gallery Community-based, encouraging participation in the arts for the benefit of the entire community of western Loudoun
Round Hill Arts Center's Bluegrass & Folk Jam Sessions
Family-friendly, organic mix of music and fun! Sit in on an evening of free-flowing bluegrass
Sterling Playmakers 10-year tradition of creating fabulous live theater performances
Tally Ho Theatre Historic theater showing movies and live performances.
Waddell Art Gallery On the Loudoun Campus of Northern Virginia Community College providing regularly changing art exhibits with diversity in both media and content.
Waddell Theater On the Loudoun Campus of Northern Virginia Community College Produces shows involving students, faculty, staff, and the community.
Waterford Concert Series Classical music performances of the highest level in order to renovate and maintain the Old School in Waterford
Growth: A Blessing or Curse?
Loudoun County’s unprecedented growth is both a blessing and curse. Although there is much talk about providing a high quality of place to the Creative Class workers who are streaming into the county in record numbers, there is little detail about how that will take place.
Although entertainment, the arts and culture are seen as vital to the county’s future, county planning documents make no mention of how Loudoun County’s existing arts community will be integrated into the plan or how signature attractions and entertainment will be developed.
Further, there is no county government unit responsible for supporting the arts community. There are no county level departments, commissions or standing committees for the arts. There is an Arts Advisory Council, but its mission is mainly to oversee the exhibiting of visual art in county buildings.
While there certainly are avenues for the arts here, lack of performance space presents a problem. At its debut concert in 1991, the Loudoun Symphony performed for an audience of 1,000 classical music lovers. In its first five full seasons, its budget grew from $6,000 to $90,000. Yet there currently is no facility in the county – apart from high school auditoriums -- adequate to meet the needs of a performance ensemble like this.
The additional expenses accrued from these complications don’t only impact the revenue stream for the performance group. Unpredictable changes in program venue can discourage both potential and existing audiences, adversely impact the morale of the performers and reduce the ability to bring in “star-power” outside talent.
If there is no professional venue for the arts in Loudoun County, asks Loudoun County Arts Council President Jeffrey Stern, “how can artists create or demonstrate their value to the community?
“Loudoun County artists feel like ‘free rangers,’” Stern maintains. “They need unified places where they can be in front of their audiences – educate them as to what they’re seeing. There should be partnerships; the arts can’t live alone.”
Opportunity Costs
Loudoun County’s future prosperity may be at stake if things merely remain as they are. The competition for the Creative Class that will fuel the engine of future economic growth is getting keener. Richard Florida and others believe that regions that were quick to build high-technology corridors at the expense of cultural and lifestyle amenities will lose their competitive edge.
Many of the early suburban technology incubators like Northern Virginia – sometimes referred to as “nerdistans” – are losing their appeal. Florida writes: “Many of these places have fallen victim to serious problems and some may be reaching their limits to sustainable growth. The comfort and security of places like Silicon Valley [and Northern Virginia?] have given way to sprawl, pollution and paralyzing traffic jams.”
Loudoun County has become home to thousands of new Creative Class workers with high expectations. Traffic congestion and rising gas prices make the drive to theaters and museums in Washington, D.C., less desirable. Without a vibrant homegrown arts and culture scene, Loudoun County risks a reputation as what one civic leader called “the poster child for sprawl” and all the negative connotations that implies.
Failing to provide a home for local talent can also have an adverse effect on growing Loudoun County’s civic engagement and community connectedness at all levels. Robert Putnam’s Harvard-based Saguaro Seminar has concluded that “the arts represent perhaps the most significant underutilized forum for rebuilding community in America.”
The framework developed by Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley proposes that “various ‘levers’ are available for influencing the dynamics of the arts and culture …. As these ‘levers’ are exercised, they generate ‘assets.’ These assets, in turn, provide a basis for public ‘participation’ in the arts and culture. Finally, the accumulated results of this participation are measurable ‘outcomes,’ such as increased feelings of connectedness to neighbors or heightened sense of community identification as a result of living in an aesthetically inspiring environment.”
Where are the levers in Loudoun County that are influencing the dynamics of arts and culture? Are there steep social costs – lack of community identity and connectedness, an apathetic electorate – in failing to develop the arts and innovation habitat?
Failing to capitalize on Loudoun County’s authentic cultural resources can have a direct impact on the local economy. Dollars spent on tourism – from lodging and meals to gate receipts and souvenirs – can be a significant revenue stream.
A strong arts base encourages tourism, which in turn gives a boost to local business,” writes Loudoun Symphony Director Esperanza Alzona in the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce magazine. “Thus the arts are a powerful partner in the economic development of our communities. For every $1 spent by audiences attending arts events, $2.31 is spent on hotels, restaurants, transportation, and other goods and services. The Loudoun Convention and Visitors Association reports that in 1999, visitors spent $738 million in Loudoun and its towns. This translates into $18.4 million in tax revenue and over $300 per household in tax relief.”
But in a broader context, failing to develop a thriving arts and culture scene can stifle efforts to sustain two key engines of the 21st century economy: creativity and innovation.
The county appears to have a healthy base – about 30% -- of second-tier Creative Class workers – professionals in sectors like technology, financial services, health care and business management. But there is no guarantee this sector will continue to flourish if their needs for lifestyle amenities are not met in the future.
Florida’s “Super-Creative Core” of scientists, artists, actors, architects, composers, analysts and poets will crave local outlets for their creative expression – or go elsewhere. Their needs go beyond the safe neighborhoods and good schools – vital as these are – that currently occupy the time and energy of county leadership. Those artists who have already settled in western Loudoun, attracted by its undisturbed countryside, may need to move farther west to escape suburban development that does not include provisions for arts and culture.
Then there is the next generation – the one-third of Loudoun County residents under age 18. What is to prevent a “brain drain” when these young people come of age and discover that the county offers little in the way of nightlife and stimulating café culture for creative young singles?
Luckily for them, there may still be time to develop the county’s arts and entertainment habitat before all of the available land is gobbled up by housing, office parks and strip malls. Some see a window of opportunity over the next five years – at the same time as decisions are being made about how fast to grow, how densely areas will be developed, how roads will be built – to invest in creative infrastructure while there are still undeveloped parcels that are not spoken for.
Creating a vibrant arts, entertainment and culture scene is a dynamic process that starts with vision, leadership, funding and a collective will to shape Loudoun County’s future. Ignoring this process for too long puts the county at risk of losing its attractiveness to creative workers seeking their fortunes in its high-tech corridor. As the late urbanist Jane Jacobs said, “When a place gets boring, even the rich people leave.”
How to Move Forward
With its spectacular growth and ability to attract a creative workforce, Loudoun County is ripe for change -- not one that would end up annexing the county’s soul to the greater suburban sprawl of Washington, D.C., but a change that would give it a unique and indisputable place in the top tier of American creative communities.
The county’s assets are numerous and give it an authentic heritage to build on. If leaders act quickly, they can still purchase strategically positioned available land for future development. In fact, ideas are crystallizing around the development of a high-profile arts corridor, with a multi-use Arts Center as its hub.
The Center could provide a permanent home for resident performing ensembles like Loudoun Symphony and Loudoun Ballet, and others could grow and establish themselves there. It would also be an appropriate venue for visiting performers.
The Center could also house a school for the arts and a lively community center with the latest technology for interactive learning and videoconferencing.
David Parker, who has formed an Ad Hoc Committee on the Education and Performing Arts Center to explore a possible arts center for the county’s Economic Development Committee, sees great potential for adding to Loudoun County’s quality of place.
The Center is not really about the performing arts, a library or buildings that hold classes, Parker says. It is about the energy and excitement that happen when all these activities come together.
Ideas for the Center have not been limited by the four walls that would enclose it. Community leaders envision the center as a magnet for other development, including nearby apartments and condominiums, restaurants, galleries and shops that would form a livable, more urban core.
Other local performance venues and historic sites could naturally capitalize on the Center’s synergies. Each could become a creative node in an arts and culture network spanning the county. Tourists would be attracted to the variety of things to see and do in Loudoun County, and residents would be inspired to play tourist where they live.
Parker met recently with a cross-section of county arts, philanthropic and business leaders to talk about the Arts Center idea and was surprised by the wide level of acceptance.
“Not one person said it would be a waste of time or money,” Parker says. “I would have expected 20% would say it’s not worth pursuing. … It was a pleasant surprise.”
Parker’s committee has estimated a cost between $40 million and $50 million just for the performing arts building. This does not include the continuing funds required to operate the facility or the cost of the site itself.
What is required to build an arts center and arts corridor? The process begins for his committee, Parker believes, with soliciting a wide variety of ideas, then defining a larger vision for the county’s creative infrastructure.
Projects like this can develop in various ways: A visionary impresario with professional contacts rallies the community to act, an arts-minded philanthropist works with local arts organizations and funds the project with an endowment, the local arts community leadership works with local businesses and government to create a private-public partnership to get the job done.
Other projects can begin with a study like the Creative Community Index, a collaborative effort of Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley, the Knight Foundation, Americans for the Arts and the City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs.
Community leaders and policy makers, aware of the vital link between the arts and economic prosperity, must be committed to building creative infrastructure for Loudoun County’s future.
What will this future look like?
Former Loudoun County Arts Council President Gale Waldron shares her vision:
“As it continues its growth as a healthy and diverse community, Loudoun County will create a center for the arts where artistic expression is as diverse as the county’s population. That center – a home for the visual, performing and literary artists – will not only make an economic impact on the community by attracting visitors and a creative workforce, it will communicate ideas that bring people together and make them think.”
Andrew J. Glick has a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Music in Composition. He worked in computer multimedia for 20 years and as a professional musician and teacher for over 20 years. He currently composes and teaches private music lessons at his studio in South Riding. He lives with his wife, Mary and their daughter in South Riding. He can be reached by phone at his studio (703)-327-5517 or by email at aglick99@adelphia.net. His website address is www.aglickmusic.com
Mary Glick has a Master’s degree in Communications. She has over 20 years’ experience in print journalism including teaching at the university level. In 1994, she was named “Journalism Teacher of the Year” by the California Newspaper Publisher’s Association. In 1996, she founded the Center for Community Journalism at Oswego State University in New York. She is currently an Associate Director at the American Press Institute in Reston. She lives with her husband, Andrew and their daughter in South Riding.
SIDEBAR
Are there models that county leaders could look to for inspiration? Communities that have recognized the necessity of building cultural infrastructure in order to ensure future prosperity?
One agricultural county far to the west has also undergone rapid growth over the past half century. For the first 40 years after World War II Orange County, California, was known more for its theme parks, beaches and malls, but a few orange groves and bean fields were left to dot the landscape.
Even with these major tourist attractions in their back yard, a handful of community orchestras, large universities that welcomed visiting performers, a number of museums devoted to local art and history, and a resident repertory theater, county residents still traveled the 20 to 40 miles to Los Angeles to see world-class performances and other star-caliber events.
All that changed when the Orange County Performing Arts Center opened its doors in September 1986. The culmination of a seven-year process that began with a gift of five acres of farmland from the Segerstrom family, OCPAC rapidly became a sought-after venue for many of the world’s best performing ensembles.
Family patriarch Henry T. Segerstrom recalled that “the 1980s saw Orange County come to an awakened maturity in the performing arts. The period was an historic and decisive turning point, moving us from aspiration to realization, from desire to availability of the finest artistic offerings. We fulfilled our dreams and enriched our quality of life.
“More than any public entity, or any public work, more than any private institution, The Center has become a symbol of Orange County’s pride and self-esteem. It stands for the betterment of everyone in our community.”
The Santa Fe Opera is a world-class organization with unique performance facilities that was started as the brainchild of an orchestra and opera conductor. It was funded originally as an apprenticeship program for aspiring singers who were making the transition from academia to the professional concert hall and needed experience to prepare them for their careers. The current operating budget stands at $15.6 million, only 46% of which comes from ticket sales. The remainder comes from annual public support and other earned revenue. Early affiliations with international “super-stars” in classical music like Igor Stravinsky and Kiri Te Kanawa have kept the company in the top tiers of American performing arts organizations.
Another model closer to home can be found in the public-private partnership that built The Music Center at Strathmore in Montgomery County, Maryland. A $100 million state-of-the-art multipurpose performance hall with educational facilities and rehearsal rooms, Strathmore is funded by the state of Maryland, Montgomery County and private donations through the Strathmore Foundation.
In its first season of operation -- in spite of its proximity to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. -- Strathmore enjoyed average audiences filling 80% of the hall’s capacity. This is on a par with the average attendance at Kennedy Center events. Even more telling is the fact that 80% of the ticket holders were residents of Montgomery County, demonstrating that the establishment of a local dedicated arts venue can directly and favorably impact the quality of life for the residents of a community and would be valued as such.
On track to open in 2008, the Community Performing Arts Center in Manassas is a $56 million collaboration among George Mason University, Prince William County and the city of Manassas. It will operate as a performance hall, meeting center, opera house and teaching venue.
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