Arts and tourism expand Edwardsville creative economy

A two-part study from Arts Alliance Illinois, “The Creative Economy of Chicago & Illinois: Impact and Assets,” found the creative economy supports 734,269 jobs across Illinois, representing 12.2% of all employment while generating $148.1 billion in total economic output and $20.6 billion in tax revenue.

The creative economy is made up of industries ranging from arts education, design and publishing to museums, festivals, music, film, galleries and cultural heritage organizations, according to Arts Alliance Illinois. It includes professionals such as art teachers, graphic designers, architects, musicians, actors, writers, filmmakers, museum workers, festival organizers and independent artists.

Claire Rice, executive director of Chicago-based Arts Alliance Illinois, said the report gives policymakers new data on an industry that has long been undervalued.

“These reports help quantify what many have long known: Creativity is a major driver of jobs, economic activity and community vitality across our city and our state,” Rice said.

The report distinguishes between direct creative employment and the broader jobs supported by the industry. While creative occupations account for 6.3% of Illinois employment, the sector’s indirect and induced economic impacts bring the total number of supported jobs to 734,269, or 12.2% of all employment.

The creative economy’s impact extends beyond Chicago. For every dollar generated by the creative economy statewide, another 95 cents is created across other industries, illustrating how arts and culture fuel broader economic activity.

But while the statewide numbers are significant, they raise another question: What does the creative economy actually look like in a community like Edwardsville?

Edwardsville’s creative economy extends well beyond painters and performers. It includes nonprofits, arts educators, galleries, festivals, theaters, tourism organizations and the small businesses that benefit when visitors come to experience them.

Many artists also wear multiple hats, balancing their own creative work with teaching classes, organizing exhibitions or supporting local arts organizations.

John Gawlik, program director for the Southern Region of the Illinois Arts Council, oversees grant funding and works directly with artists and arts organizations across Southern Illinois. He said many established artists split their time between creating their own work and supporting organizations like the Edwardsville Arts Center, while newer artists often turn to those organizations to build their careers.

“We have people who have been long-standing artists in those communities,” Gawlik said. “Whether they’re sculptors or visual artists and they have a project or a gallery they’re going to work on, we fund them.”

He said some artists remain independent, while others begin through local organizations before establishing their own studios or practices.

That network also helps draw people to Edwardsville. Beth Browne, executive director of the Edwardsville Arts Center, said one of the organization’s biggest economic impacts comes through its annual Art Fair.

“The Edwardsville Art Fair is a great example; we bring 10,000 people into town in a weekend,” Browne said.

As president and CEO of Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau, Cory Jobe tracks visitor behavior and travel trends across southwestern Illinois, giving him insight into what brings travelers to the region.

Jobe said events like the Edwardsville Art Fair are major economic drivers because visitors don’t simply attend an event — they also eat at local restaurants, shop downtown and visit other attractions.

“They’re having lunch, breakfast or dinner at one of our local businesses or small business owners,” Jobe said.

“It’s a major economic driver in our communities, not only in Edwardsville, but all throughout Madison County and really our six-county region,” Jobe said.

Jobe said the Metro East attracts visitors from within a three- to five-hour drive, including a growing number from the Chicago area who are looking for authentic travel experiences.

“Overall, we’ve seen what I would call an explosion of new art gallery spaces,” Jobe said. “Entrepreneurs are creating unique things, and that has exploded in the region over the last couple of years. That’s what the visitor economy is looking for: something unique, authentic, that maker space. The region really does have that.”

Long before those visitors arrive, however, many local leaders say the creative economy begins in the classroom. Steve Hartman, who grew up in Edwardsville before building a career as a graphic designer and painter, credits the city’s schools and arts institutions with helping develop generations of local artists.

“The arts community in Edwardsville specifically has always been pretty strong and very much alive,” Hartman said. “We have advocates for the arts, thanks to the Edwardsville Arts Center, but also the university and some very strong art teachers at the high school when I was growing up.”

Hartman acknowledged the arts often take a back seat to athletics in Edwardsville.

“The community’s first love is not art, per se. It’s more like sports, so the arts struggle a little bit as a community cultural driver,” Hartman said.

Still, Browne, Hartman and Gawlik all described arts education as one of the region’s most important long-term investments. They said introducing children to creative fields develops future artists while also building future audiences, volunteers, donors and business owners who understand the economic value of the arts.

“Look at what the city does for Arts in the Park, not only the free children’s activities, but the movie nights, concerts and all of that,” Browne said. “Clearly, the city appreciates the arts.”

For local arts leaders, those classrooms, festivals, galleries and organizations form an ecosystem that supports more than creative expression. They believe it also supports tourism, small businesses and the local economy.

Despite the industry’s economic impact, many local artists say making a living from creative work remains one of the biggest challenges facing Edwardsville’s arts community.

“Artists like to say they make art for themselves, and we do, but we also make art to sell it, so we can at the very least buy more art supplies to make more,” Hartman said.

Hartman said one of the biggest hurdles is convincing consumers to see original artwork as an investment rather than a luxury, with many instead purchasing mass-produced pieces from large retailers.

“There is an affluence in town that can afford art and does purchase art, but there are only so many people in a small community who do that, so it’s kind of limited,” Hartman said.

For many artists, that means looking beyond Edwardsville.

Hartman said Metro East artists often rely on St. Louis galleries because Southern Illinois does not have enough exhibition spaces to support local artists. While artists from Madison and St. Clair counties regularly exhibit and sell work across the river, they generally are not eligible for direct funding through the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission and instead must apply through the Illinois Arts Council.

Browne described the Mississippi River as an “invisible wall” that limits participation from Missouri audiences.

“Although we go to St. Louis often, it’s harder to get them to come over here, and we have a really vibrant arts community,” Browne said.

Even organizations built to support artists face financial challenges.

Alumni Players creative producer Craig Becker said their organization operates almost entirely through volunteers, with musicians the only participants who receive compensation because they often give up paid performances to take part in productions.

“The men and women in the band are usually people who, if they’re playing for us on a Thursday or Friday night, are probably giving up a gig to do it, so I feel we need to pay them a minimal amount of money,” Becker said. “Other than that, nobody gets paid for anything. Again, we’re kind of a Robin Hood thing. We keep as little money in our bank account as possible.”

“I feel like it’s very hard to be an independent artist here,” Becker said.

Browne said artists who are able to support themselves financially rarely rely on a single source of income, instead combining artwork sales with teaching, commissions, festivals and other opportunities.

“As an artist, unfortunately, I think one of the biggest challenges makers have if they want to make a substantial living from making and selling the work is being both the artist and the business manager,” Browne said.

“Could Edwardsville support a solid making community? Potentially. But we really need to build tourism, too, rather than just the community fully supporting individual artists,” Browne said. “I think that effort will assist, but any business owner needs to be realistic about how they bring in funds and what that diversity of revenue looks like, whether they’re teaching classes with an organization or privately.”

Funding can also be misunderstood.

Gawlik said many Southern Illinois artists still believe they compete directly with Chicago artists for Illinois Arts Council grants. In reality, he said, funding is divided by region, meaning local artists compete with others in Southern Illinois rather than statewide.

While local artists have developed ways to navigate those challenges, many said the next phase of Edwardsville’s creative economy will depend on more opportunities for independent artists to build sustainable careers close to home.

Even with those challenges, local arts leaders believe Edwardsville is reaching a turning point.

Becker said the city’s population growth over the past 50 years has created new opportunities for the arts, with organizations like Alumni Players, the Land of Goshen Community Market, Arts in the Park, Artini and the Edwardsville Art Fair helping transform Edwardsville into a destination for creative events.

“Honestly, it spreads thin the wallets and generosity of the people who live here because my organization, like everybody else, is always asking, ‘What can you give us?’” Becker said.

Despite that challenge, Gawlik, Browne, Hartman and Becker all said the city already has many of the organizations needed to support a thriving creative economy. The next step, they said, is finding ways to help independent artists build sustainable careers alongside those institutions.

“In my mind, it’s very exciting to see where we’re headed, not only for our personal organization, but as a community,” Browne said.

She said the Edwardsville Arts Center is working more closely with other local arts organizations, believing shared resources and partnerships will strengthen the region’s creative community. For Becker, the Arts Center’s new downtown presence represents more than another gallery.

“Getting into the art gallery across the street, the kids’ art center — that is a huge step forward for Edwardsville,” Becker said. “A bricks-and-mortar, likely permanent fixture on Main Street that’s all about art is, I think, meaningful for Edwardsville.”

Hartman sees opportunities for that collaboration to continue growing, pointing to the partnership between the Edwardsville Arts Center and the Wildey Theatre as an example of what could come next.

“Until recently, with the art center being connected to the Wildey, there hasn’t been that willingness or interest, or maybe even the idea, for them to work together and open up spaces for those things to happen,” Hartman said.

Ultimately, Hartman said the future of Edwardsville’s creative economy depends as much on community participation as new funding or new organizations.

“I think the first step is that people just have to show up, even if you don’t necessarily have the economic means to buy art, you have to show up,” Hartman said. “You just have to show interest and be part of the reality.”