Increasingly, community leaders across the country are recognizing arts and culture as a significant contributor to an area's economic vitality.

A recent study in Colorado, for example, discovered that jobs that support the arts make up Colorado's fifth largest employment sector.

The report, Colorado: State-of-the-Art, Key Findings from The State of Colorado’s Creative Economy,” shows the state's creative industries employ more than 122,000 people in approximately 8,000 organizations -- 3.9 percent of the state's estimated 3.2 million jobs. Creative industries there employ more people than defense and security, agribusiness, food processing and technology.

In Santa Fe, N.M., city leaders are working with artists and arts businesses on a Creative Tourism Initiative that will allow visitors to experience their city in a "hands-on" fashion. For example, tourists can work with an artisan to learn glass blowing, ceramics or another craft, according to the website.

In Rhode Island, Lt. Gov. Elizabeth H. Roberts kicked off a month-long effort in February to promote a "buy local" arts initiative. According to Roberts, there are 2,000 small businesses in the arts that employ 12,000 people in the state. She cited the importance of the arts as an income generator, referring to a 2007 study that found arts and culture generated more than $100 million a year to the Providence economy.

And in July 2008, when the president of Volkswagen Group of America announced plans to build a U.S. production facility in Chattanooga, Tenn., his statement included references to the creative culture in Chattanooga as being the "difference maker" in choosing Chattanooga over the other cities, according to local arts leader Lisa Duncan, executive director for the Dogwood Arts Festival.

Here in Michigan, recognition of arts and culture's positive economic benefits is building, albeit slowly. In her FY2011 budget proposal, for example, Gov. Jennifer Granholm did not recommend eliminating all funding for the state's arts agency, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, as she has in years past. This is a small victory, however, since the agency's budget has been cut by more than 93 percent since 2001.

Locally, signs seem a bit brighter. Washtenaw County's A2 Success program, an initiative to ensure the smart and successful growth of the Ann Arbor region well into the 21st century, specifically recognizes the importance of arts and culture. An arts incubator, designed to help artist entrepreneurs develop their businesses, is one idea of particular interest to those seeking to ignite economic activity on the eastern side of the county.

As the state's economic leaders continue to talk about the need to do business differently in Michigan going forward, let's hope they look to arts and culture as a source of a new economic vitality.

Tamara Real is the director of the Arts Alliance and a regular contributor to Ann Arbor Business Review.