Regional Arts Commission

Tourists pay 71% more than local patrons at concerts, museums and festivals, according to a 2022 report by Americans for the Arts. The Regional Arts Commission is trying to bring more visitors into the city by giving federal coronavirus relief funds to local art organizations, venues and festivals.

The murals are also meant to highlight city businesses and encourage economic growth.

A unique menagerie of performances and art is the product of the 22nd annual Artica Urban Arts Festival held on the St. Louis riverfront, next to the historic Cotton Belt Freight Depot.

The report by UK-based consultant Sound Diplomacy finds that music supports nearly 30,000 jobs in and around St. Louis — 18.000 of them directly.

An upcoming research initiative by the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis will help the group establish its priorities.

St. Louis’ Regional Arts Commission is helping dozens of local artists through grants.

The $4.5 million in grants is RAC’s largest yearly dispersal since before the pandemic. The regional arts funder also is allocating $10.6 million in one-time federal funding announced in November.

Music at the Intersection returns to Grand Center in September and features more than 50 local, regional and national acts.

The Regional Arts Commission gets most of its funding from the hotel-motel tax. With tourism down since the outset of the pandemic, a new marketing campaign aims to raise the profile of St. Louis as an arts destination.

The Regional Arts Commission will distribute $10.6 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act to St. Louis artists and organizations.