Stafford looks to the arts to bring new tourism, development

Stafford County held a two-day training for artists who could use an education in the art of business.

The training was provided by the Clark Huling Fund for the Visual Arts, which is based in Albuquerque, N.M. and was founded to provide training for those in the fine arts entrepreneurship skills to sell their work and grow their businesses. A press release states:

The Thriving Arts Exchange, held at Gari Melcher’s Home and Studio at Belmont, focused on crafting a regional arts economy. The program, facilitated by Shem Cohen, allowed participants to share their vision, identify opportunities, and discover impediments to reaching that vision.

Virginia participated in a two-day arts-business training program with an emphasis on developing individualized goals, objectives, brand strategies, and marketing plans for their small businesses. For many, this was unique training not provided in traditional arts education.

With attendees ranging from [University of Mary Washington] students to artists in their retirement years, the highly interactive program left many motivated to invigorate their creativity with business tools as well as supplying specific tools and contacts related only to the arts. Using humor and shared dialogue, the Clark Hulings Fund staff brought artists to their own conclusions including establishing a stronger regional network to share resources and information. All participants are automatically enrolled in the continuing online educational opportunities provided by the Fund to continue their education.

Stafford County Economic Development and Tourism Director John Holden said the event held in November in an effort to help grow an entrepreneurial environment in the county. The artists who enrolled in the program received two days of business training, said Holden.

Normally these exchanges are held over the course of multiple days, Holden says this training was much shorter than the usual sessions held by the Clark Huling Fund. He pens in an email:

“This Exchange was just the start of a conversation on how to further engage the arts in our economic development efforts.  We are holding a follow-up call with [Clark Huling Fund] to further outline “next steps” in that regard.”

Stafford County spent $5,000 to sponsor the training. As the county looks to the arts as a way to bring new life itno the county, events like this have been boon for nearby Manassas in recent years, to include the city’s annual Fall Gallery Art Walk, where merchants showcase the work of local artists in their store windows.

Stafford County lacks a walkable downtown, but that is something Holden and county officials are looking to change. Over the past two years, the county has been in talks about developing a parcel of county-owned land, across from the government center that could serve a place for residents to live, work, shop, and play.

The recent opening of a new diverging diamond interchange and re-routing of Courthouse Road to meet Hosptial Center Boulevard, which is designed to divert traffic from the area of the county courthouse, should make it easier for pedestrians to navigate a future downtown area.