This article was published in the Fairfax Times  on Tuesday January 5, 2010. You can also access it online at www.fairfaxtimes.com.

Arts critical to Fairfax County's well-being.

Arts organizations in Fairfax County are businesses that contribute to the overall economic health of our communities. They provide jobs and purchase goods and services. They help to revitalize and draw tourists and business to our downtowns. They supplement the work of our schools and enrich our lives.

According to a recent study, the arts in Fairfax County are a $40 million industry, supporting the equivalent of 1,693 jobs and delivering $4.59 million in state and local government revenue.

Through the Arts Council of Fairfax County, more than $600,000 in county support is distributed annually to county artists and arts organizations. They in turn provide programs and services throughout the county.

The Virginia Commission for the Arts is also an important funder of the Arts Council of Fairfax County as well as a direct funder to county arts organizations. Its support to Fairfax County helps to develop our arts industry and extend the arts to all parts of our county and throughout the Commonwealth.

According to the commission, every dollar spent by the state for grants awarded to arts organizations is matched by $7 that arts organizations generate from local government, corporate and private giving.

The Arts Council of Fairfax County and the Virginia Commission for the Arts help to support these organizations in Fairfax County:

• The Arts Council of Fairfax County's annual International Children's Festival, featuring more than 400 artists, is attended by more than 23,000 people. The Arts Council's service to the public schools through its Creative Arts Program in the Schools program annually provides support for more than 1,000 performances in the schools.

• The Greater Reston Arts Center presents a local artist exhibition series and programs in its local schools. More than 27,000 students were reached by the school programs last year, and more than 175,000 people attended its exhibitions and outreach programs.
• The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra presents an annual concert season and education and outreach programs reaching more than 35,000 people a year. The impact of its work and its audiences generate annual local taxes and fees of $106,273 and state taxes and fees of $110,123.
• The McLean Project for the Arts provides an extensive outreach program to schools that includes free programming for the at-risk and special-needs student populations.
• The new Workhouse Art Center in Lorton expects to attract more than one million visitors, generating $50 million in revenue and $125 million in ancillary spending within the first five years of operation, and generate 150 new full-time jobs.

Support from Fairfax County and the Commonwealth of Virginia has helped to extend the arts to all our citizens, enhance the quality of life in our communities and support our economy. As a result of current national and state economic pressures, government support and its service to the community is threatened. Continued county and state support is vital to the survival of our cherished arts institutions, to local and state tourism, to arts education and to keeping highly talented artists working in Virginia.

John Mason, Chairman
Board of Directors
Arts Council of Fairfax County