The arts business is on a roll

New Mexico Business Journal, Sept, 1997 by Nancy Traver

During the roaring '20s, many of America's leading writers and artists fled their homeland for Europe. But not all. D.H. Lawrence, an Englishman, ventured to New Mexico, which was then considered exotic, even wild. Much taken by the landscape, the mix of cultures and the sweeping beauty of the sky here Lawrence wrote: "I think New Mexico was the greatest experience away from the outside world that I have ever had... In the magnificent fierce morning of New Mexico, one sprang awake, a new part of the soul woke up suddenly, and the old world gave way to a new."

Seventy years later, artists are still drawn to the same beauty that once attracted Lawrence. Lured by the clarity of light and a supportive, thriving artistic community, they come to paint, write, film, act and sing. What they create here - and what those before them have created - not only adds mightily to the state's intellectual depth and cultural riches, it is also big business.

Anyone who doubts that art is business should consider the following:

* According to a 1995 study by the New Mexico Office of Cultural Affairs, the state's cultural resources generate $292 million, surpassing employment levels of other major industries in the state.

* Culture supports 56,342 jobs.

* The state government collects $74 million each year in tax revenue, while local governments collect $35 million from art and culture.

* Five of the nine top reasons tourists visit New Mexico are culturally related.

* Of the $2.2 billion annual tourism industry, fully 20 percent ($438 million) is directly attributable to cultural resources.

Cathryn Keller, director of public relations at the Museum of New Mexico, says, "The notion of cultural tourism is very important here - it's an economic driver." She says the two features that most often attract visitors to New Mexico have been and continue to be the Native American arts and crafts and the pristine landscapes.

After getting off their plane in Albuquerque, many visitors flock first to Santa Fe, for its history, museums, opera, theater and music. One big draw is the city's 160 art galleries. Dirk Meyer, who recently celebrated his tenth anniversary as a gallery owner in Santa Fe, says American or foreign collectors provide an immense boost to the local economy. Says Meyer: "Art brings in higher income people - those who buy art spend much more than the average tourist on restaurants and hotels."

Meyer, who also owns galleries in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Park City, Utah, says Santa Fe is "far and away my best location - by far the best art market in the country for traditional art. Canyon Road is a great place to be." He says Santa Fe easily surpasses New York and Chicago in sales of traditional art, such as impressionism.

And while Santa Fe's 160 galleries can't compare to the estimated 550 in Manhattan (but there are 7 million people in New York, 65,000 in Santa Fe), at least one study has shown that Santa Fe is trailing not too far behind. A Yale economics professor found in a 1992 study that, in dollar sales, Santa Fe is the third to fifth largest art market after New York and Chicago.

Indeed, while many of Santa Fe's top dealers welcome the opening of the new O'Keeffe museum (see accompanying article), they say their business is thriving without it. Sales at Meyer's gallery, for example, totaled $3.1 million last year and he expects to do even better in 1997. Dealers handle top contemporary artists such as painters Robert Colescott and Emmi Whitehorse; well known regional and western artists are O.E. Berninghaus, W.H. Dunton and Clark Hulings.

Gerald Peters, a leading dealer of contemporary, 20th century and Western art, and owner of the Gerald Peters Gallery, says Santa Fe has long been a favorite stopping-off point on the international art tour. He lent a boost to the local scene with the opening in May of a new 32,000-square-foot space on Paseo de Peralta. Says Peters: "This is not driven economically as much as by wanting to do a great job for the artists we serve here, and the artists who live and work here."

And about 2,000 artists do live and work in Santa Fe, according to the Santa Fe Arts Commission. The labor force that works for the arts is similarly impressive; there are nearly 3,200 arts business employees in Santa Fe County - or 27 percent of the county's wages, the commission reported in a 1993 study.

Large employers in New Mexico's cultural scene include the Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and Santa Fe Stages. The three, along with the Maria Benitez Teatro Flamenco and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, have formed a consortium, a sort of umbrella organization for joint marketing. Martin L. Platt, founder and artistic director of Santa Fe Stages, says, "There's a lot we can do to help each other. We're trying to position ourselves as a major theater destination - a place people can come and find something happening at any one time."

It is the Santa Fe Opera that has long been a destination for people from all over the world. Of all the performing arts events in the state, the opera captures the biggest draw in numbers. Now in its 41st season, the opera typically draws people from all 50 states and 30 foreign countries; most stay seven to 10 days. The opera brings in at least $150 million per year to the local economy.