St. Pete 2.0 Results: Arts As an Economic Driver [Part One]

The St. Petersburg renaissance has been in full swing for more than a decade. We’ve excelled in many areas and struggled in others. In our series St. Pete 2.0, we’re partnering with the St. Pete Catalyst to explore what lies on the other side of our potential – what will it take to move to the “next level” as a city? Through this series, we’ll dig into specific topics with the hope that you, our thoughtful citizens, will share your insight, experience and wisdom.

The arts have long been a hallmark of St. Petersburg’s unique culture and a driver of its economic growth. People from all over the world flock to the city’s world-class museums and residents and visitors alike enjoy attending art festivals and musical events, which are just starting to come back after a Covid-induced hiatus. However, that’s not to say that the pandemic hasn’t dramatically affected the local art scene, and many questions still remain about the future impact it will have on the area’s artists and arts organizations.   

In this edition of St. Pete 2.0, The Partnership and Arts Alliance sought to quantify the role that art plays in our community, our development as a city and in our individual lives. We invited Catalyst readers to answer a series of questions on a variety of arts-related topics, including their most memorable arts experiences, how art contributes to local quality of life and what we as a community can do to support the arts economy going forward.

Here’s part one of what we found.

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