Green Bay’s creative agencies band together to unify the local arts and business world with the community
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Following two research studies and a community-wide effort to merge the arts and business worlds, local organizers learned that the arts and culture sectors in Green Bay are having a bigger economic and community impact than ever before.
Moving forward, the President and CEO of the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation said a new initiative will have an even greater impact.
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“We have found that people sincerely value local arts and culture, [but] it just has not risen to the top of recent conversations,” said Dennis Buehler. “Our area is indeed fortunate because we have a large number of people who engage in arts and culture and creative enterprises across the community.”
The new initiative involves the Greater Green Bay Chamber, Bay Area Arts & Culture Alliance (BAACA), the City of Green Bay, U.W. Green Bay, and The Greater Green Bay Community Foundation joining forces to expand and recognize local arts and culture organizations, independent artists, and other creatives.
“People would be surprised to see just how much creative talent there is in Green Bay,” stated Community and Business Leader Bev French. “Now, when someone is looking to connect an artist, a musician, a dance group, or a creative agency, they’ll be able to easily find it.”
There are about 80 arts and culture organizations and 225 for-profit creative enterprises in Green Bay, and according to Kelli Stickland, the Wiedner Center Executive & Artistic Director, each and every group has contributed to nearly tripling the economic impact from 2015 to 2022.
“In my experience in doing work like this all across the country, once the creatives start to find one another and the visibility of those events gets raised up and there’s a brighter light on it, the activity starts to snowball,” explained Sticklang. “You see more and more, and then the younger generation, who aspire to such creativity, are more likely to remain in the community.”
Lead producer and co-founder of Live X says the goal is to strengthen the community by celebrating talent, creating connections, and cultivating a supportive environment.
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The initial studies were conducted by American for the Arts, an arts and culture nonprofit.
To learn more about the new initiative, the strategic assessment, and the findings from the conducted research, you can visit the official American for the Arts website or contact the Bay Area Arts and Culture Alliance.
