Full Resource: Cross-Currents: Artists + Manufacturers Strengthening Place

Source: Art-Force

Authors: Jean P. Greer and Janet Kagan

In response to steep, post-recession job losses and decreases in state funding for the arts in rural communities, Art-Force explored how connecting artists with manufacturing firms in rural communities can create both alternative sources of income for artists and revenue for manufacturers in rural communities. This report demonstrates how alternative strategies for economic development that involve artists can create an “artistic and commercial connection to place, reaffirming the community’s authentic identity.” Art-Force is a non-profit organization that stimulates and diversifies economic development in distressed communities.