Wichita’s arts and cultural organizations part of effort to help city grow

There is a movement afoot in Wichita, a movement that is having a positive impact on the quality of life in our city.

This movement is driven, in large part, by young professionals, the group society has assigned the moniker “millennial.”

When my wife and I moved to Wichita in 2005, there were no gourmet coffee experiences in downtown Wichita. Now there are eight that I can think of quickly.

The same can be said of brew pubs. In 2005, there was one in downtown, and now there are how many? Four, maybe?

This may seem insignificant, but it serves as a barometer – and a pretty reliable one – for the direction our community is headed. And it is worth noting that the young professionals so critical to the growth of our business base demand these quality-of-life enhancements, mostly to the benefit of us all.

As one scholar puts it: “Millennials are forcing established systems, be it education, the workplace, or corporate America, to take them seriously; to re-evaluate how they do business in order to accommodate what is the first digital generation in recorded history.”

Thanks can be placed with local public officials, developers, the Greater Wichita Partnership and others who have developed a vision for meeting this demand. They have done so creatively and effectively, and the work continues.

But there is one other segment of our community that is quietly and deliberately assisting with this effort that gets little recognition: nonprofit arts and culture organizations like our museums and performing arts groups.

Certainly I can say that, as chief development officer for the Museum of World Treasures, we have very systematically and deliberately begun creating programs intended to assist local businesses like Cargill, Koch Industries, Cox Communications, Spirit AeroSystems, Textron Aviation and others who are working to attract and retain the young professionals we call millennials.

We are including events in our annual schedules that meet the demands of millennials for a wide variety of high-quality events intended to entertain, educate and inspire lifelong learning.

For example, on June 20, 2017, the Museum of World Treasures is bringing the foremost Alexander Hamilton presenter in the U.S. to Wichita. This event will replicate a 1787 Philadelphia pub during the Constitutional Convention.

During that time, Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay wrote what would become the Federalist Papers.

The event will include period costumes, food, beverages, music and, of course, Hamilton himself.

It should be known by members of the community – including public officials and business leaders – that organizations like the Museum of World Treasures and other Wichita cultural organizations, led by advocacy groups like the Wichita Arts Council, are working diligently to foster an enhanced quality of life by creating experiences and programs that will assist local businesses as they work to attract and retain young professionals.

All of us certainly stand ready to assist in any way we are able to achieve this outcome and to help our community grow.

This story was originally published December 14, 2016 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Wichita’s arts and cultural organizations part of effort to help city grow."