Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1447854
A message from our Chamber President This edition of #2B Fayetteville is dedicated to the impact that art has on our city. You may ask what does "Art is the Soul of Fayetteville" mean? By its simplest definition it means that with art we create, publicly and individually our city's collective spirit. The art we create, and exhibit defines our city as unique. That art also demonstrates to both our citizens and guests that Fayetteville is proud of being identified as a one-of-a-kind place. I believe some of us say Fayetteville is Funky. Economic development in the 21st century not what it was in the 20th. The mantra then was cheap land, cheap labor, and low taxes because those were the tickets to getting new jobs. In Today's world businesses in all forms: start-up; spin-off; Fortune 500; international; and generational are looking for something different. They are looking for communities with a sense of place that attracts skilled talent. The attraction of top talent in every field of business or endeavor is the closing point for every company deciding where its business or expansion will locate. Austin, Texas is the home to Fortune 500 companies like Tesla, Facebook, Oracle, Visa, Apple, Google, IBM, eBay and our very own Walmart and Whole Foods. Most of these companies were not there 20 years ago. A talented skilled workforce and a sense of place is what brought these companies to decide Austin was the place for them. Those decisions did not hinge upon the Longhorns, or Willie, or 1.5 million bats living under the Congress Street bridge taking flight at sunset. That decision was focused on skilled talent who were drawn to Austin by its sense of place. We know that Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas offers a better place to live, work, and play as that fact has recently been playing out in Bloomberg news and others publishing stories stating that Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas are the new Austin. Literally thousands of people from around our country and world are looking at Fayetteville/Northwest Arkansas via internet views. They are asking about our soul, our collective spirit and why Life Works Here? Recently the Chamber of Commerce in Jackson Hole, Wyoming decided to showcase itself not by reference to the beautiful Teton Mountains, skiing, or breathtaking vistas as reasons to locate your business there. The Jackson Hole Chamber, in one of its recent blog postings to attract business/skilled talent chose to list 4 ways public art benefits their community. They identified those 4 ways as: #1 economic growth; #2 cultural understanding; #3 cultural identity; #4 sense of belonging. Their message was clear: this who we are not where we are located. Their Chamber clearly believes that if companies appreciate Jackson Hole's sense of place and collective spirit those factors will attract skilled talent and skilled talent attracts companies. This issue is dedicated to art and Fayetteville's public art. We want to highlight Art Ventures and the many artists that are a part of that enterprise. We want to highlight public art on our Chamber building on the Square. We want to highlight that our Chamber creates art with paintings done by every one of our team members. Please check out. Then start on your own piece of art in whatever medium suits you to help us share with the world that ART IS THE SOUL OF FAYETTEVILLE and ART IS SOUL OF CHAMBER FAYETTEVILLE. Steve Clark, IOM President & CEO chamber fayetteville art is the soul of 4