NJ Arts and the ethnoburbs
Northern New Mexico has the Native American/Spanish Colonial/High Desert vibe. Western North Carolina has the American crafts/mountain people thing. Los Angeles has a reputation for being cool and laid back.
A good way to get more people in New Jersey to spend their arts dollars in the state, and attract more dollars from outside is to develop a distinct arts identity for New Jersey.
The best way to do that is to build on the state's distinct qualities and assets. Among them is ethnic and cultural diversity. New Jersey is one of the most culturally diverse regions in the United States. Nearly 41% of residents are Latino, African-American, Asian-American, of multiple races, or of other minority ethnicities. (Even the term "White" may be misleading, because there are plenty of people of European descent who have more in common with the cultures of the Old World than of the American Midwest.) New Jersey is also among the wealthiest -- and those two can go hand-in-hand to expand the market for arts and tourism in the state.
According to the latest Census Bureau estimates, there are more than 371,000 minority/multicultural households in New Jersey with incomes of at least $75,000. There were nearly 244,000 minority/multicultural households with incomes of at least $100,000. (This represents, respectively, 11% and 8% of New Jersey's households, and 36% and 23% of minority/multicultural households in New Jersey.)
As New Jersey has gotten more diverse, it has also gotten wealthier. Estimated total household income in New Jersey in the last half of the 2000s was $1.8 billion more than in 1999. (This is in inflation-adjusted dollars, to compare apples to apples.) According to the Selig Center for Economic Growth, between 2000 and 2010, New Jersey's total buying power grew more than 19% to $399 billion. Much of that wealth was driven by the growing numbers of Hispanics and Asian-Americans in the state. (Hispanic buying power grew nearly 58% in New Jersey, while White Non-Hispanic buying power grew 7%)
The diversity of the diversity also creates opportunities for arts organizations and communities that want to engage in creative placemaking. East Orange is surrounded by a number of arts centers in Essex County -- Orange, Maplewood, South Orange, Montclair, and of course, Newark. But East Orange has something those other towns don't -- a high density of people of Carribbean and West Indian descent. Highlighting the art and culture of these cultures can help East Orange compete with its neighbors for the dollars spent in restaurants, shows, galleries and gift shops. Similarly, Linden can build an arts and cultural environment on the high concentration of people of Eastern European origin. Along Bloomfield Avenue from Verona to North Caldwell? -- an Italian-American heritage trail. Woodbridge, Edison and other towns in Middlesex County could be the "capital" of South Asia in New Jersey, and perhaps the Northeast Corridor.
The Latino and Portuguese-language populations are so diverse that several communities can -- and do -- have districts that showcase the culture of different nationalities: Peruvians in Paterson, Colombians in Elizabeth; Portuguese in the Ironbound section of Newark.
By the way, diversity means everyone. The towns that promote 19th century Americana are as much a part of the diversity mix as every other community mentioned above.
How can creative placemakers build on the diversity in their communities?
- The first step is to build good relationships among members of the local arts communities and members of the local ethnic communities.
- The second is to develop strategies that benefit as many members of those communities as possible.
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