East Gippsland putting a value on the arts

Residents in East Gippsland will soon know for the first time just how much the arts is worth, with a group of University of Melbourne Masters students beginning work on a tool to determine its monetary value. The project will establish not just the economic but also the social value of the arts to the East Gippsland community, and help to further highlight the importance of the arts in regional areas. It comes just months after the implementation of a four-year Arts, Culture and Heritage Strategic Plan, and the East Gippsland Council is hopeful this new tool will help provide better support and development of regional arts. Anna Cook, the Shire's Community Access and Arts Manager, said the Council was excited to have the students contributing in such an important area of the community. "This is enormously valuable to us. By developing tools to measure the economic value of the arts within the community we can better understand the return we are getting from the investment made." The students will attend a public council meeting on Tuesday night and participate in an Arts and Cultures Strategic Advisory Board Meeting on Wednesday before they begin their work. The student project is part of the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Business & Economics Volunteer Business Practicum, a program that allows students to provide a genuine contribution to a business or community while gaining valuable work experience.