With this week’s announcement that historic Madisonville hopes to join five other parish communities in becoming a cultural district, St. Tammany Parish is starting to look like the center of art in this part of the state, and that is a great thing, both culturally and economically.

Currently, downtown Covington, Olde Towne in Slidell, Old Mandeville, Abita Springs and Lacombe all have cultural district status.

The idea of creating cultural districts is the brainchild of Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu. When a town or section of town is declared a cultural district by the state, several nice bonuses come with the designation. All art created by local artists can be sold tax-free in the district, a boon for both the art collector and the artist. The idea of buying tax-free art is a stimulus for tourism. The tourists come to buy art, and artists and art galleries make some money. Though the tax-free art does not add to tax revenue, the influx of more tourists means more customers at local restaurants and hotels, which stimulates the local economy, and does add to the parish’s tax revenue. To us, it’s a win-win situation.

The designation of cultural district also brings with it tax breaks for preservationists and residents who want to restore historic buildings that are older than 50 years. Madisonville, which will soon be celebrating its bicentennial certainly has more than enough old historic buildings that could use some renovation.

We have always had a large number of artists in St. Tammany Parish. It’s beautiful scenery and slower pace of life seems to draw the artistically-talented here from all over the country. We understand how hard it is to make a living as an artist, and the idea of cultural districts is a way of keeping those artists here creating their works, and at the same time helping our economy. The cultural districts will also help the parish maintain the numerous important historical buildings. All of that will bring in more tourists, more money, and hopefully, even more art and culture.