The Thriving Artist Podcast

Todd Scalise is the founder and CEO of Higherglyphics, a creative placemaking firm that manages large-scale public art projects from start to finish: funding, art, design, construction, and merchandising. An artist himself, he knows the importance of generating publicity and brand awareness. In this 55-minute episode, he discusses the enormous economic contribution that artists bring to their communities, framing art as a service that's worth funding and publicizing.How Art Benefits the Community"In 2012, arts and culture production contributed over $698 billion to the US economy, which is about 4.3% of the US gross domestic product.""It's a statistical fact that public art (creative placemaking) attracts potential investors in business to communities.""Property values did go up slightly, but also occupancy rates went up dramatically around these environments.""I learned to look at the return on investment aspect of the Sistine Chapel ceiling---I don't know what Michelangelo got paid, but he certainly did not