The arts are increasingly attracting investors.
The latest case: Lumberyard Contemporary Performing Arts, a New York City-based residency program, received a $5 million loan from San Francisco-based impact investor RSF Social Finance to build a 5,500-square-foot arts and dance campus on the site of a former building supply company in Catskill, N.Y. Lumberyard, which started in Maryland in 2000, aims to cultivate a performing arts scene in Catskill, about 120 miles north of New York City.
The center will host artistic residents and at least a dozen companies each year to stage performances, Albany-based Times Union reports. It is expected to boost tourism and create several dozen permanent jobs in the small town of 6,700 people.
“We’re eager to see the many ways this project will ripple in its impact by attracting national audiences and artists, and boosting economic vibrancy,” says RSF’s Casey Johnson. Other action in the arts:
- Artscape raised $21.4 million earlier this year to build an art entrepreneurship hub in Toronto.
- Upstart Co-Lab projects the U.S. creative sector alone needs $1.5 billion in investment over the next five years.
- Upstart Co-Lab founder Laura Callanan joined David Bank on the Returns on Investment podcast last year to explain how the initiative promotes creative people and communities.
- Why it matters: Artist-innovators are an untapped source of business and social value.
