This program is made possible by support from the following organizations at Bowling Green State University.the Communications Officer, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Musical Arts, the School of Art, the Department of Theatre and Film, and the Division of University Advancement.

It's also made possible by Martha MacDonell and the members of WBGU-TV.

Northwest Ohio is a hub for artistic expression, and this translates into money and jobs.

According to a study conducted by the Center for Regional Development at Bowling Green State University, creative industries generate two-point-four billion dollars annually for Northwest Ohio.

These endeavors include writing, performing, publishing, sound recording, musical instrument manufacturing, advertising, audio and video media production, and the operation of museums and historical societies.

These professions support 33,000 jobs, and generate 247-million dollars in tax revenue.

Advertising and design services are responsible for 276-million dollars in the Northwest Ohio economy.

And independent artists, writers and performers generate 60-million dollars.

The results of this study indicate that a thriving arts community is an important and crucial part of the Northwest Ohio economic community.

How exactly do these endeavors lead to revenue growth, and how do they help our region's economy in the long run?

Why do employers and citizens consider the arts important?

And what are some of the positive effects produced in our creative economy?

(Music Plays) (Music Plays) The city of Toledo is home to much of Northwest Ohio's arts and culture.

Brian Kennedy is the director of the world-class, Toledo Museum of Art.

The Toledo Museum of Art has been around for a long time.

It was founded in 1901.

I think one of the distinguishing features about it is the incredible loyalty the community has to the museum and the way it has been evolved in the community.

It's one of those museums that gets more than its city's population in visitor numbers every year.

And distinguished things have happened here over the years, especially to art education programs and the first museum to allow kids to come in here unaccompanied and the beginnings of big docent programs.

Then in 1962, the foundation of the studio, art glass movement, through the invitations of some artists to come here and make glass on the premises, and of course that's going to be 50 years away in 2012.

The museum makes a significant contribution to the local economy.

I think the economic impact of the museum on the city is, can be seen in multiple ways.

First of all, I mean directly in terms of putting $10-million worth of wages into the economy.

But also with construction projects like the glass pavilion that was opened in 2006, and in deed currently the Wolfe gallery for contemporary art that's under construction, which is several million dollars worth of work.

Indirectly, we can you know go further into the products that are used and by the museum that are drawn into the café, that are drawn into all the special events.

And I suppose more broadly, the opportunity that is presented to Toledo, by having a museum of this quality which can attract employees, it can attract visitors to the city, and add luster to what has been a great-designed city over the years and the Glass City of the world.

Marc Folk, director of the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, shares this view.

The arts help stoke the economy.

If you look at the creative economy and the businesses that are defined in it, there are over 424 businesses, employing over 3,000 people in Toledo proper alone.

The statistics are much more staggering as you start to look out 27 county region and then to the broader state.

The creative economy, I think, is specifically important to Northwest Ohio, is we transform from a manufacturing base into a creative base.

We need to use this aesthetic and culture that's already here of innovation and new thinking to become the designer of products and the designer of new services.

That which is the new model that will drive our community forward in the future, there is always going to be a more cost effective option for the manufacturing of an object.

We need to become the place and foster the support of the creative economy because it's been proven as the driver forward of innovation and a leader in the development in the new business model.

Impressively, the museum is often out in the community, promoting the arts.

I feel it's a place for local artist to have a place to display their art through the community gallery and also through our annual jury exhibition called the Toledo Area Art Exhibition.

It's a very prestigious place that the artists can display their artwork.

And so that keeps the art activists interested, it keeps them in the area, it keeps them in our café, in our stores, buying things, it promotes the economy by having them be engaged with the arts.

As mentioned, the economic impact of the Toledo Museum of Art is huge.

And the artists themselves also have an effect.

Martin Porter is the director for the Toledo School for the Arts, which helps develop up and coming artists.

Toledo school for the arts is middle and high school program completely focused around an arts-based curriculum.

We offer college preparatory academic program along with a very intense experience in the performing individual arts.

Some of the most creative students in our community are looking for an environment that's different, that's accepting of the arts and seeing the world differently, and challenges them artistically as well as academically.

As I said, I think we do about a quarter of a million dollars of work with area vendors and a lot of those are what we would consider a part of the creative economy.

Whether it's our graphic design people who help work on the advertising and the brochures and the products we create.

Whether it's the visual or performing arts groups, whom we associate our students on a regular basis.

We work very hard with area artists to try and make that linkage happen between our kids and the professional environment here.

Porter not only believes that the arts produce a sizeable economic influence, but also aids in another outcome.

Parents, who are often employed by major companies, are looking for venues where their children will be exposed to the arts.

One of the major corporations had an employee transfer in from North Carolina.

They were referred to our school as a likely place for their children to attend and so they came to the school for one of our first Friday events.

We had an opportunity to chat with them about how they learned about the school and it was through that, that we really begin to see there is an impact with area business wanting to have good homes, in terms of educational homes for the children of their employees.

We're hearing all the time that employees want to be hired by companies that live in communities with rich and diverse cultural offerings.

And by having a community with A level amenities, we're helping our businesses and corporations be able to recruit and maintain those people as employees which in turn causes them to invest in our local economy by buying housing stock, they support our organization, they patronize our local businesses.

So it becomes a real feeder for the economic development of our community.

I think the arts play a critical role, particularly now, in the real push for stem schools which is science, technology, and math based.

Our argument for art schools would be that unless you can use those academic skills in a creative way, we're not sure that the product is going to be what we have come to expect.

We think that if you give the students a strong academic foundation with the creative outlets that we provide through the arts that in fact they are going to become stronger participants in that creative economy.

Kathy Carroll is the president and CEO of the Toledo Symphony.

Our mission is to serve the music needs of the region.

So the range is from very high quality productions of beautiful art, musical art, to Turkey in the Straw , if that's appropriate for an audience that we are playing for as part of our outreach program.

So we do everything musical.

Like Martin Porter, she sees creative organizations such as the Toledo Symphony as a stimulus to the local economy.

We put on performances and performances bring people to venues.

We don't have our own venues so we routinely fill the Peristyle, where we pay rent.

We routinely fill the Stranahan Theatre, the Franciscan Center, venues and community centers and churches all around the region.

We are a generator of activity in spaces.

Music attracts people.

They might go to dinner before that performance, they buy a ticket, they might go to someplace afterward; they might put gas in their car to get there.

They might buy something new to wear to the performance.

They may buy additional tickets to bring friends to share the moment with them.

So there is that aspect of the ticket buying, the sales piece.

The other dimension though, to economic growth and well being of the region, is bringing highly-trained professionals to be resident among us.

To come to Toledo, to win an audition, to make a commitment to perform their instrument in many, many different ways in this regional community.

They may come buy a home, they certainly pay taxes.

They pay taxes every time fill up their car so they can drive sixty miles for a performance in Bryan, Ohio, or they buy food at the grocery, their children come to our schools, they vote for our levies.

They are consumers of the opportunities that exist in this community.

So in that way I think they have a huge impact on our economic sustainability.

Mike Thaman, former chairman of the symphony board, agrees.

Well I'm chairman of the board and Chief Executive Officer of Owens Corning, which you know puts me in charge of our global operations and the people and customers of our company.

I also see the symphony as being a critical important part of the community in that it also brings talented people into the community, who plan our symphony and become a vibrant part of the cultural life of Toledo.

Dick Anderson is the current chairman of the Toledo Symphony Board.

He believes the symphony is essential.

And all that relates to the quality of life, the attracting.the attractiveness of the community and therefore economic strength.

Sauder Village in Archbold is a definite part of the creative economy in Northwest Ohio with its mission of history and education.

It's a big employer in Fulton County.

Debbie Sauder-David is the executive director there.

Well as Ohio's largest living history village it's really an all around destination.

And we welcome guests from all around the world and nationally, and many, many guests from this tri-state area.

And we serve them in many capacities whether it's educational, whether it's experiential, or if it's for something like a family reunion or business conference, or special event like a quilting show.

Well Sauder Village is a community resource; it's really a regional resource.

And we employ many people of all ages offering them opportunities for both paid employment as well as volunteer involvement.

And from a paid stand point we have about 50 year-round full time persons that employed, and about 350 additional people that we employ seasonal and part time.

And that translates into about a 3.7 million dollar payroll out of a 9 million dollar budget.

As with other organizations, Sauder Village plays a role in attracting new businesses to the area.

When you think about, where would you like to have a business, where would you like to open a business?

You know a lifestyle and a quality of life is really important and we have a great workforce here in the area.very good work ethic and that's one of the values that we hold dear at Sauder Village and that we really teach, that you know, life is about hard work and giving back.

So I think the spirit and the value is there.

But also to have a venue like we have with the inn, a beautiful 98-room inn, and campground, a large convention center and a whole hospitability industry that can cater to the needs of the businessperson or their travelling sales rep or any of the guests they might host.

I know when I often show some of the business leaders around that are looking at this area they say, "Oh wow, we can't believe there is a place like this out here in the cornfields. "

Mike Thaman agrees.

One of the most important things for us as a company, as a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Toledo, is the ability to recruit and retain great talent, to want to live in the community.

And it is, it's institutional like the symphony, the art museum, the zoo, the other institutions that we have in Toledo.the Mud Hens, the Walleye, that allow us to demonstrate to potential, you know, employees of Owens Corning, what a great community this is and what a wonderful place it could be to live.

The arts and other creative endeavors are not only important today, but are also a part of the future.

They lead to the development of a skilled, creative, and a highly collaborative workforce.

These are characteristics that employers seek.

It's one of our most creative programs, I think it's the junior historian program that's been around here for about ten years, and we're quite nationally known for that.and children from all over the region.

In fact I think there's 52 different communities where children come from to serve here at the village, ages 10 to 16 ,about 200 of them.

You know it's wonderful to have an opportunity when you're a young person to interact with the public, I mean how often do you get to have a chance to really interact in an official way with someone out in the public and learn those communication skills and even learn to show up to work on time, and when is it appropriate to take a break, you know that's course work development right there.

The arts impact workforce development, in a number of ways.

We run a program called Young Artists at Work each year, where we employ local youth to work under the instruction of local artists and give them the experience to create public murals or individual works of art.

While we're fostering their job skills, what we're doing is connecting our youth to the community through workforce development which will make them much more likely to stay here and make an impact on the community later on.

It gets them invested.

The skill set that you develop as an artist.

Those skills are very transferable.

Whether it's self-discipline, and the motivation to stay in practice room for extended periods, the amount of time it takes to actually produce a visual art product is extensive.

That kind of work ethic that I think is developed, that kind of discipline that comes as a fine performer or visual artist.

I think those are the kinds of skills that transfer well, including the collaborative skills that come about if you're working in an ensemble, a music ensemble or theatre component or a dance piece.

All of those ensemble and collaborative skills are critically important in our economy as it goes forward because more and more of the business places are changing from being the top-down management model to a collaborative model.

Jerry Good is the regional economic development director for the Ohio Department of Development in the Lima area.

He also contends the arts are essential for workforce development.

I think employers today most definitely are looking for individuals that can be self-motivated, self-directed and work very well in teams.

The arts lend themselves to that same kind of work process.

And so having creative individuals that can work in teams and be self-directed is very important in building the workforce here.

He believes magnet schools are a part of the development.

Well I think the role that the Magnet program plays, particular in the area of the arts magnet is to create those individuals that are creative.

That can find themselves in the workforce; find creative solutions to all kinds of problems that come up along the way in daily activities in their working lives.

I think employers today look for those skills in their employees.

And one of the things I think West Central and Northwest Ohio have been most known for is the can-do attitude of workers here, and I think they get that to some degree from their arts background, that no problem is too big to tackle and that there are creative solutions to those problems.

So I think the arts can lend themselves very well to that.

Much of the economic impact from the Allen County-Lima creative community comes through the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center in downtown Lima.

Cynthia Wood is the Center's executive director.

We're a center for activity.

We're the mainstay of downtown Lima.

This facility hosts at least forty events in Crouse Performance Hall annually as well as the various conventions and activities that are some arts-related in the community.

We have done the analysis twice now.

The economic impact of the facility is about five-million dollars for less than a one-million dollar budget.

The five-million dollar economic impact is based upon not only the activities that go on in the facility but also from what happens in conjunction with this.

So when people come into the community they eat food either here or elsewhere.

They shop.

With our box office activity, 65 percent sales from people outside of Allen County were bringing people into this community to experience a day.

A key to the Civic and Convention Center's future success is some of the partnerships it has developed.

As far as regional partnerships, we work very closely with local groups.

The Lima symphony orchestra is probably our biggest partner when it comes to performances.

What we hope to do in the future is work more closely with venues, in Columbus and/or Toledo for example, because when you are putting together a talent purchase, in order to have an activity in the performance hall, if you give one or two dates, or several performances, and can do bulk buying with a talent much like you can coffee, then it's cheaper for all of us to put that talent on stage.

Madhouse Creative LLC also benefits from partnerships.

Madhouse is a graphic design firm located in Toledo Ohio.

We're eight people total.

We work in print, motion and interactive design.

We have been really fortunate to work with some great clients around town.

We've worked with the Toledo Museum of Art.

We've worked with the Arts commission.

We work with BGSU.

We've started doing some work for them, some print work and some video work too.

And then a big client of ours, who we've been working with for 3 ½- 4-years now, is the Toledo Zoo.

And we've had some great opportunities to do some good work there and feel like that relationship has really grown too.

Post-industrial cities like Toledo have an abundance of affordable real estate for creative individuals and businesses, the purchase of which helps revitalize an area.

We purchased this building downtown.

We tore this apart and put it back together, and really improved this corner.

I don't think it's just the fact that we've refurbished an old building, but I think it's important that people are coming downtown to eat lunch and to go out places around her after work, or just being present in an area.

It's bringing clients and all of our employees investing the time to keep the place up and really work on this little corner.

It's an important thing to do for an area.

I think it's worked out pretty well.

Both partners feel satisfied to live and work in Northwest Ohio.

We have family here and we're happy to be here.

You don't need to go to a major market to do good work.

This is a great place to live.

We get the kind of work we want to get.

We could get more if we wanted to get different kinds of work, we could.

We could be anywhere at once.

The spirit of entrepreneurship is deeply imbedded in the Madhouse partners.

I think that we've always been willing to take a risk.

We're always thinking of new things to do.

And if anything, we're not short on new ideas for other projects or things we could try.

Usually it's just making sure that we can do it all well, and not extending ourselves too far.

I think we're a piece of the puzzle.

Creatively I think there are other firms that are really creative in town too.

And I think that together the competition and the camaraderie, I think you know that we lend to the creative culture here in Toledo.

Bowling Green State University is an exciting center for arts and excellence in Northwest Ohio.

Dr. Katerina Ray is the director of the School of Art.

The University's mission and obviously the art's mission is to educate students for economic, cultural, and social employment of tomorrow.

In the arts we are proud that our students are indeed some of the leaders in the nation in these fields.

BGSU as a university has an enormous economic impact.

And generates 700 million dollars a year including phenomenal taxation revenue.

The arts at BGSU form over twenty percent of the student enrollment.

The impact of our graduates, both regionally, nationally and internationally is phenomenal.

That economic impact is significant.

The Wolfe Center for the arts, which is under construction at the moment, at a cost of forty million dollars is creating jobs for Northwest Ohioans.

When it is completed together with the arts units that will be in it, it will have over half a million dollar annual budget in terms of equipment and materials that students and the University spend to produce performances, exhibitions and art works.

We educate students for the knowledge economy and the creative economy as a subset of the knowledge economy.

Ryan Davis is an undergraduate student in the School of Art.

He performs much of his work on computers.

It's a methodology, a process of visually communicating an idea and basically most of our work is rendered on computers.

We do, do a lot of drawing; where we sketch out our ideas but the ultimate process will be rendered on a computer and that's what the audience will see.

Just like many of the other-mentioned organizations, Bowling Green State University helps develop tomorrow's workforce.

The arts at BGSU educate young people who are creative, innovative and practical.

Artists are small entrepreneurs.

They have to come up with an idea, they have to actually produce it and then they have to market it.

You have to use analytical skills, synthesis, and it's a process from beginning to end to come to an ultimate conclusion.

And art works the same way, learning how to start something and finish it.

And through a process of whatever method you use you can come to your ultimate conclusion.

Artist form that sector of the economy that is growing at the greatest rate, which is the small entrepreneur.

We prepare our students for this future through our arts management program, as well as professional practices courses and the internships that students have in the region and nationally.

Creative industries make a strong impact on our Northwest Ohio economy.

They create, attract and retain companies, enhance learning and provide the creativity, discipline, and collaborative skills needed by 21st century workers.

Generating wealth, enriching lives and building community, our creative economy is both beautiful and big business.

This program is made possible by support from the following organizations at Bowling Green State University.the Communications Officer, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Musical Arts, the School of Art, the Department of Theatre and Film, and the Division of University Advancement.

It's also made possible by Martha MacDonell and the members of WBGU-TV.