510Arts.com

Easy to get to and inspiring for all, the East Bay arts scene reflects our unparalleled diversity in everything from edgy industrial to fine arts, hot galleries to eclectic open studios, hip-hop to ballet, symphony to soul and acclaimed music, dance, theater, spoken word, design, film, public art and hundreds of cultural events and festivals. And you can get the 4-1-1 on the East Bay arts scene and world culture at 510Arts.com.

510Arts and The East Bay Culture Corridor is a collaboration between the cities of Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Richmond. The forward-thinking partnership reinforces the role of the arts in each community as both a proven catalyst for economic development and as a model for improving quality of life and community sustainability. A chief goal of the four cities is to increase the visibility, accessibility and sustainability of arts communities. The EBCC helps to foster relationships between the diverse arts communities of each city by leveraging new audiences and resources for the arts as well as new resources for each partner city. Local business also benefit locally through partnerships with the arts.

You might ask Is there a lot of arts activity in the East Bay? Well here are some facts…

Together, the East Bay communities boast:
• One of the highest per capita artist populations in the country with more than 6,000 professional artists calling it home.
• More than 150 languages spoken and many times that number of culturally specific art forms practiced.
• One of the nation’s largest per capita collections of public art.
• For decades East Bay communities have consistently ranked at the top of national city diversity figures and their arts reflect this depth and variety.
• Hundreds of non-profit visual arts, music, dance, theater, culturally specific, multi-disciplinary and innovative organizations from the internationally known to neighborhood programs, education programs and offerings for youth, seniors and others.
• Alameda and Contra Costa Counties are home to 5,532 arts-related businesses that employ 21,477 people according to a 2007 study conducted by Americans for the Arts.

And if you didn’t know, The arts drive economies. As Americans for the Arts note in their report Arts and Economic Prosperity III, investment in the arts translates to positive economic impact on restaurants, retail stores, hotels and other businesses frequented by arts patrons. The average amount spent on such businesses by local arts audiences is $27 above the price of admission to the art event; cultural tourists from outside the area spend an average of $19 to $40. For Example, you should visit the next First Fridays in Oakland next time to see what were talking about. Creating sustainable arts communities is good business.

They also provide links to other art resources within the four East Bay cities for your next excursion. And as a local artist , you can even get your organization/work/event listed on the website. Visit 510Arts.com for more information on the latest happenings in our community.