| Cultural Council of Luzerne County |
| Written by Michelle Pearce | ||||||
 The people of the Wyoming Valley are fortunate to have a nonprofit agency thatprovides coordinated support for arts and cultural activity. Established in 1989, the Cultural Council of Luzerne County (CCLC) nurtures the arts, fosters collaboration between individuals and cultural organizations, and improves access to and participation in activities by sharing and collectively publicizing information as a free public service.Beyond the intrinsic benefits we all know and understand, communities that invest in the arts reap the additional benefits of jobs, economic growth, and a desirable quality of life that positions them to compete in the 21st-century creative economy. There is an emerging consensus that quality of life may be a more important factor in the economic development of a region than conventional stimuli such as tax incentives. To this end, the CCLC encourages artists and musicians not only to submit biographies and photos of artwork or music and video clips, but also to become engaged with it to help make Luzerne County a better place for artists, and everyone, to live and work. To help promote the many benefits of the arts, the CCLC is launching an education and awareness campaign called “Arts. Ask for More!” in association with the Americans for the Arts (www.artsusa.org). This series of public announcements advocates support of, and especially parental involvement in, cultural activities, both in school and the community at-large. Its logo will be prominently displayed in commercials and ads throughout the county as a tool to direct people to its new website, which includes a free cultural directory. The Council was granted 501(c) (3) status and has been operating independently for the past 18 years through foundation and corporate contributions, board donations, and fundraisers. Since 1999, the CCLC has received generous support from Wilkes University in the form of IT services, research assistance, and office space in the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for Performing Arts in downtown Wilkes-Barre. Luzerne County funded the Council for the first time this past year with a $50,000 grant. With this funding, the Commissioners’ vision reflects a growing national understanding of the dramatic economic and social impact of the arts. According to a RAND study, repeated rewarding experiences with the arts creates many benefits that include exposure to new perspectives that sharpen learning skills among youth, expand capacity for empathy, and forge stronger social bonds and vitality in communities. Studies substantiating these benefits have been replicated by universities and research institutions worldwide, and a voluminous body of work, including the most recent report by the Americans for the Arts, strongly advocates public funding at local, state, and national levels. The report (available in PDF on the Council’s website), “National Arts & Economic Impact III,” in which Luzerne County was one of the 156 participants, states that between 2000 and 2005 the nonprofit arts and culture industry grew 24% to $166 billion in economic activity annually. The nonprofit arts industry also generates $30 billion in revenue to local, state, and federal governments annually—governments that spend a total of less than $4 billion to support the arts and culture. That translates to a spectacular 7.1 return on investment!For more information or to volunteer your time, please contact the Cultural Council of Luzerne County at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 570-408-4439 and be sure to visit its website at www.cclcarts.org. Bookmark with:
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