A newly released report shows just how valuable the arts and culture sector is to San Luis Obispo County.
Up and down the county, there’s always an event, a concert or some sort of artistic experience for people in the community and tourists to enjoy.
“There's always been arts here,” Missy Reitner-Cameron said as she continued painting a canvas in her office at The Bunker SLO. Reitner-Cameron owns the joint coffee and art space.
A recently published economic impact report by the PolicyCraft Institute supports the notion that arts and culture drive economic growth.
“I think what is clear is that tourism is a major economic driver in the region and arts and culture is a core component of that. There's synergy," PolicyCraft Institute CEO and President Vince Vasquez explained.
Some of the key findings found that in 2024, arts-related tourism contributed $291.1 million in visitor spending, leading to a $478.7 million total economic impact across the county. It also found that the nearly 3,000 volunteers in the arts and culture sector are contributing around 200,000 hours, producing about $7 million in labor income.
“I think there are clear, clear challenges on the financial side. But in the meantime, you see a lot of residents and docents here rolling their sleeves up to being part of the success of the arts and culture institutions here in the region," Vasquez stated.
It’s the first economic report for SLO County Arts since 2017, and now that they have the data, SLO Arts Council Programs Director Jordan Chestnut says it’s time to use it.
“We rely on data like this to make a case for the arts and why funding it is important," Chestnut stated. "One of them is that we are a huge economic driver here in the county and on a state level.“
Both Chestnut and Reitner-Cameron agree that there still needs to be a greater emphasis on supporting the arts.
“There's not much reinvestment, so that's something to consider," Chestnut said.
“I think we're ahead of the curve from where we've been, but I think there's still a lot more opportunity," Reitner-Cameron added.
