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Why the Arts Matter: 7 Powerful Reasons Creativity Can’t Be Cut

7/24/2025 12AM


From music on the radio to city murals and evening entertainment, the arts are a part of our everyday lives. They bring beauty and meaning to our experience and serve as a universal form of human communication and connection. But beyond these lofty gains, the arts also have powerful quantifiable perks. They underpin economic growth, sharpen critical workplace skills, and weave the social fabric that keeps neighborhoods vibrant.

 

Understanding the value of art is the first step toward making smart choices about where we invest time, talent and tax dollars. Here are seven crucial reasons to support the arts in your community.

 

  1. A $151.7 Billion Economic Engine

 

Nonprofit arts and culture organizations and the audiences they attract generated $151.7 billion in economic activity nationwide in 2022. That spending supports 2.6 million jobs, puts $101 billion in residents’ pockets, and delivers $29.1 billion in tax revenue — returns any industry would envy.

 

The benefits of art for local economies include:

  • Local dollars stay local: Performance tickets spark restaurant reservations, rideshares and hotel bookings.
  • Jobs across sectors: The arts employ stagehands and marketers, yes, but also electricians, security guards and accountants.
  • Resilient growth: Communities investing in culture rebound faster after downturns.

 

  1. Creativity: The Top Skill for 2025 and Beyond

 

LinkedIn’s 2025 skills analysis shows that 70% of today’s job skills will change by 2030. Creativity drives many of the “new” competencies — from AI literacy to adaptive problem-solving.

 

Cultivate creativity by participating in and experiencing the arts:

  • See more stories: Regular theatergoing trains the brain to hold multiple perspectives — gold for leadership and negotiation.
  • Practice improvisation: Jazz concerts model quick thinking within constraints, mirroring agile project work.
  • Translate ideas visually: Exposure to stage design or dance composition strengthens cross-functional communication.

 

  1. Live Performance Is Good Medicine

 

Stepping into a concert hall or joining a community choir doesn’t just lift the spirit; it measurably lowers stress hormones, releases dopamine, and boosts social bonding chemicals such as oxytocin. A 2025 UK-based meta-analysis found that regular arts participation can save £1,000 (over $1,300) in annual health costs through fewer doctor visits and improved quality of life.

 

Boost your health with a dose of live performance art:

  • Pair a Friday night show with a device-free policy for a double dose of relaxation.
  • Choose performances that encourage audience participation, such as sing-alongs and talkbacks, to maximize mood gains.

 

  1. Arts Education Builds Stronger Students and Communities

 

A 2025 National Endowment for the Arts brief confirms that children who engage deeply in the arts earn higher GPAs, attend school more regularly, and show stronger social-emotional skills.

 

The ripple effects of arts education include:

 

  1. The Cure for a Loneliness Epidemic

 

In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General called social isolation a public health crisis. People who attend or create art report significantly higher feelings of belonging and trust than those who do not.

 

Grow your connection to your community through the arts:

  • Invite a neighbor to a show and build a new friendship.
  • Volunteer as an usher — free tickets meet community service.

 

  1. Culture Revitalizes Downtowns

Cities from San Francisco to Jacksonville use cultural districts and festival series to fill vacant storefronts, raise property values, and attract foot traffic that daytime office work alone no longer guarantees.

 

Arts and culture can provide a wealth of benefits and opportunities for your local community:

  • Outdoor summer concert series stimulate evening economies for cafés and retailers.
  • Commissioned public art makes pedestrian areas safer by drawing consistent crowds.

 

  1. Arts Preserve Our Cultural Heritage — and Propel It Forward

Paintings, plays and musical traditions safeguard collective memory, giving each generation a chance to understand where it came from — and imagine what comes next. When audiences support the arts, they underwrite everything from Indigenous language revivals to cutting-edge multimedia works that speak to tomorrow.

 

Keep heritage alive by supporting the arts in your community:

  • Attend diverse programs: Seek out performances rooted in cultures other than your own to broaden empathy and guard against historical erasure.
  • Support local artists: Buying local artwork or streaming independent musicians helps creators pass knowledge to the next wave.

 

Experience It All at Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts

 

Nothing beats witnessing artistry up close, and the 2025-26 Center Presents season is the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts’ most ambitious yet. Subscribe now to lock in great seats for performances that will move you all year.

 

Subscribers benefit from:

  • Significant savings: Save up to 20% on Classical, Jazz, and Songbook series packages.
  • Create-Your-Own flexibility: Pick any four or more shows across genres and receive discounts and presale perks.
  • Best seats, every time: Keep your favorite spots with priority seating.
  • Exclusive invites: Enjoy behind-the-scenes artist talks, subscriber appreciation nights, and early notice of added events.

 

Ready to invest in your well-being, your city and your creative spark? Start here, choose your series, and mark your calendar for a season that proves exactly why the arts matter.

 

Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts is a nonprofit organization that aims to engage and inspire the Indiana community through enriching arts experiences. The Center is responsible for the operation and programming of a multidisciplinary performing arts campus in Carmel, Indiana, that presents scores of events each year and provides space and support services for six resident companies: Actors Theatre of Indiana, Carmel Symphony Orchestra, Central Indiana Dance Ensemble, Civic Theatre, Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre, and Indiana Wind Symphony. Explore the upcoming events and experiences or support the mission and the expansion of the arts today!