VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The arts are a prominent aspect of Hampton Roads.
Those traveling through the seven cities can't help but see the colorful murals, grand statues and assortment of art museums. Though, the arts aren't just visual spectacles; they also generate millions of dollars within the local economy.
According to the most recent study by Americans for the Arts, the nonprofit arts and culture industry in South Hampton Roads had a total economic impact of $270 million in 2022.
"That's a quarter of a billion dollars, and that says to me that people want this," said Clayton Singleton, an artist and art teacher at Lake Taylor High School in Norfolk.
"We've always had Neptune [Festival]. We've always had Stockley [Garden Arts Festival]. We've always had Bay Days [Festival], but now we've got more festivals," he said, highlighting the art community's growth.
"We have weekends now in the area that there are three and four and five things from which to choose."
Americans for the Arts, founded in 1960, releases an Arts & Economic Prosperity study about every 5 years. Their most recent study was released at the end of 2023. Each study reviews nationally and locally what the economic impacts of the arts and culture industry were in the preceding year.
In previous years, the study had only looked at the city of Virginia Beach, but it was expanded in 2022 to include the whole South Hampton Roads region: Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Suffolk, as well as Franklin, Southampton and Isle of Wight counties.
According to their 2015 study, the total economic impact of Virginia Beach's art and culture industry was $87.7 million. Compare that with numbers from the latest study, and it indicates a thriving arts community.
When asked if that money has been returned to the arts community, Tessa Hall, a muralist and creative event space owner in Virginia Beach, spoke about her specific arts community.
"I don't know about everywhere, but I do know that [for] the Vibe Creative District, the money that comes in... they give it back, they pay their artists," she said.
The study also found that when resident audiences were surveyed at art venues and facilities, 85% agreed or strongly agreed that it was an important pillar for them within their community.
In Norfolk, Chelsea Pierce, who is the McKinnon Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Chrysler Museum, emphasized the cultural importance of the arts at the site of the museum's new "Tsenacommacah" outdoor sculpture.
“When I was approached by Reclaiming the Monument to discuss [the piece] it seemed perfectly timed to both answer the call from members of our Native Advisory Council to exhibit local Indigenous artists and serve as a visual embodiment of the language in our Land Acknowledgement."
Pierce continued on the many art institutions around saying "There [are] so many organizations here and education programs for the arts, so I think it does come back into the community... it's not just visual art. We have the opera. We have the symphony, [and] other arts partners."
Mia Guile, a muralist, abstract artist and Public Art Chair for Virginia Beach, spoke to 13News Now on the impact of art in the community while participating as a live artist at an AIDS Awareness Event at Bryant & Stratton College.
"While people who are not interested in art may not directly benefit, it is increasing the joy of living here, and I don't think that goes unnoticed."