Destinations Focus on the Arts
Nasher Sculpture Center in the Dallas Arts District
In the same way that cities are building medical and science facilities to attract meetings to their destinations, some cities are revamping or creating arts districts in an effort to attract more tourism and group business.
Dallas has created the Dallas Arts District, now the biggest such district in the nation at 68 acres, which has museums, performing arts centers, churches and an arts school. Pritzker Prize-winning architects designed four of the buildings, and the district fits neatly into the larger downtown landscape near dozens of hotels and thousands of square feet of convention space. In North Carolina, Charlotte’s Wells Fargo Cultural Campus brings museums and green space to a city known for banking and car racing. And Kansas City, which is home to internationally known museums including the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, unveils a $413 million Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts next fall. The center will be near the new Kansas City Power & Light District, popular for dining and nightlife, and the Crossroads Arts District.
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo. (Courtesy Kansas City CVA)
Art associations, which represent everything from architecture and painting to literature and conceptual art, have a number of meetings and events nationwide every year. Many of the planners of those events want destinations for their conferences that appeal to the interests of their members. Pamela Meister is the executive director of the Southeastern Museums Conference. She helps select the site for the group’s annual meeting each year, which brings about 200 museum professionals together from 12 Southeastern states, as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. “We are a little unusual because the most important thing for us is the local museum community,” says Meister. “A really important goal of our annual meeting is to visit the local museums. Beyond that, we’re much more like a regular association and we’re looking at good meeting space, headquarter hotel and so on.”
“When we’re selecting a site we insist that we’re invited by the museum community,” she says. In 2009, Meister took the conference to Charleston, W.Va., where she organized events at the newly renovated West Virginia State Museum, the governor’s mansion and the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences, which includes an art museum, science center and performing arts center. Next month, the SEMC Conference takes place in Baton Rouge, La., where attendees will have a private tour of the Louisiana State University Museum of Art and will work on a project at a local historic house museum. A number of events will be held at local museums. “Museums are fabulous event spaces and all of our members will certainly tell you that,” says Meister.
Niki de Saint Phalle's "Firebird" on Charlotte's Wells Fargo Cultural Campus (Gary O'Brien)
Leaders of Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) addressed the importance of the arts for destinations at its annual convention earlier this summer in Hollywood, Fla. “One of the most important tasks of a destination marketing organization is to thoroughly understand, market, and nurture the programs, activities and events that give their community a true sense of place,” says Michael Gehrisch, DMAI president and CEO. At the annual convention, Gehrisch announced a new partnership between DMAI and Americans for the Arts (AFTA). The goal of the partnership is to improve the relationship between DMOs and cultural institutions within their cities.
Dan Fenton, former DMAI board chair and Team San Jose CEO, says, “Having all partners of a community working together on behalf of the visitor, to create ease and a valuable experience, is a shared goal for all of us.” At next year’s DMAI convention in New Orleans, one DMO will be honored as the Arts Destination of the Year, recognizing that city for effectively and innovatively using the arts to market its community.
“One of the strongest ways to reinforce a destination’s brand is by weaving a community’s cultural-heritage story into its overall community message, effectively developing a truly distinctive locale,” said Gehrisch. Eligibility requirements and application information for DMOs will be available later this year on the DMAI website.
