Ginger Ewing: Art can transform city’s narrative

I could give you a bunch of statistics on why art and creativity are a good investment for a city.

Statistics like for every dollar invested in the arts, $5.50 is returned to the economy. That when implemented as an educational tool, art improves critical thinking, reading, writing and math. That when used as a rehabilitation strategy, art can transform neighborhoods from crime-ridden pockets of despair to vibrant, thriving communities that attract more people. Look at Detroit. Tacoma, Mobile and others. When cities invest in art, jobs increase, economic growth is sparked and the quality of life goes up.

It’s undeniable: art works.

However, despite art’s proven record, when looking at Spokane’s municipal support of the arts, we are woefully underfunded compared to other cities our size. Des Moines, Iowa, invests $477,000 per year; Tacoma, $900,000; Boise, $1.5 million. Spokane? $80,000.

But this is about more than statistics.

Like most people my age (37), I grew up being told that if I was going to be “successful” or “have fun in my twenties,” it was going to have to happen anywhere but here. A self-fulfilling prophecy that has seen Spokane hemorrhage its young and creative people for decades.

This same mentality has us declaring our city as “a nice place to raise a family,” and that’s about it. And while having a safe, affordable place to live is nothing to take a dig at, we are so much more.

We’re a close-knit indie music venue that supports local talent and impresses national touring bands with our sense of community. We’re a grassroots arts organization that mobilizes 8,000 people in one night. We’re a museum with the second-largest Plateau Indian collection in the world. We’re a student-centered art program that acts as an equalizer and gives children a voice. We’re the smallest city to ever host the Individual World Poetry Slam. We’re a program that places art and creative entrepreneurs in vacant storefronts. We’re James-Beard-award-nominated restaurants. We’re a class that encourages young girls to be rock stars. We’re the state poet laureate. We’re national best-selling authors.

We’re a community that, despite the recommendation of our predecessors, has decided to change the narrative.

And in the last several years , we’ve made incredible strides. However, due to the lack of municipal funding, that success has come almost entirely from the grassroots. To stabilize and build off the changes we’ve made, our city must start investing in the organizations and individuals who are reimagining Spokane as the perfect place to spend a lifetime exploring, creating and investing in.

And here’s the thing: Our colleagues in those better-funded cities hear about what’s going on in Spokane and ask, “How did you pull that off? How have you done so much with so little?”

Imagine, for a moment, what we could do with more.

Ginger Ewing operates Window Dressing, a storefront art gallery, and is a founder of Terrain.