Arts spark county’s creative quest to keep, attract young population

Key Takeaways

Potter County, Pa., which has a dwindling population and a rising median age nearly a decade older than the national average, is investing in art and culture to help keep its youth population in the county and attract a new, younger crowd, as part of its broader “Revitalize Potter County” economic improvement plan, which also includes job training and local manufacturing initiatives. 

The Potter County Creative Council, which is made up of local artists and community stakeholders, was recently established and is hosting a series of events in the county, including concerts and art showcases.

The Potter County Commission applied for the grant funding that helped launch the Creative Council, which is working with consultants and researchers at Penn State University to determine the best ways to use arts and culture to support community and economic development, which include engaging youth in the arts, according to Potter County Commissioner Paul Heimel. 

“The recognition of the value of a vibrant community is really at the heart of it,” Heimel said. “The goal being that we need to give young people, young families, people coming out of school more reasons to stay here.”

Since 2000, Potter County’s population has dwindled from 18,000 down to under 16,000 —  more than an 11% decrease that will only continue to grow without investments that address the population crisis, such as Revitalize Potter County, Heimel said. 

“Studies show that the cultural attractions, the social scene, the friendliness of the community and opportunities, are real high on the list of things that young adults want,” Heimel said. “And they certainly appear to be a lot more attractive in other areas to the folks coming through the high school here.” 

Ronan Bray, a high school junior in Potter County, recently opened for the California Guitar Trio, a Grammy-nominated ‘90s rock band, who the Creative Council brought to the county to perform a free concert. Bray’s been playing the guitar since he was 6 years old, and his dream is to study jazz theory at Carnegie Mellon University. He said he would be interested in moving back to Potter County if it had a “more vibrant arts community.” 

“It can get very dull around here,” Bray said. “And more specifically, everybody I know moves out, because there’s not a lot of shared culture around here, and people aren’t really going out and doing stuff.”

Bray said Revitalize Potter County is creating “great outlets for artists,” but that the arts events usually attract an older crowd, so he’s hoping for more widespread support of arts and culture among teens. 

Before its recent relaunch, the county had an arts council that petered out in the early 2000s due to a lack of volunteer involvement. Art Metzger, a former school teacher, helped establish the original arts council in Potter County and is involved with revitalizing it. Metzger works with local youth in the arts, including Bray, to help make the community events possible and said the goal of the council is to inspire young artists and get them involved in performing — on their own and with people established in their respective fields, he said. 

The school district in Potter County’s seat of Coudersport has less than 560 students in total. Many of the schools don’t have the resources or capacity on their own to host community events and create innovative art programming, so the council is hoping to help bridge those gaps, Metzger said.   

“I think we have some really good opportunities to combine the forces of the schools and our local musicians and artists, and also bring outside people in for special events,” Metzger said. “And doing things where children in the community get to see people who are professionals, who are out there working and doing interesting things in music.”

Metzger’s vision for the arts council is one that casts a wide net and modern lens of “arts and culture” for youth, including the technological and commercial aspects of music, as well as videos and podcasts, he said. Because of Potter County’s rural environment, the council is also looking into tying in agricultural production to the arts initiative, he said. Ideas in the works include featuring live music at farmers markets and the arts council hosting a farm-to-table dinner in partnership with local farmers.

“This area is a unique opportunity for artists — there’s growth opportunities, with the ruralness of it, and there’s a lot of history here,” said Will Hunt, Potter County’s director of planning and community development. “The community in general, county-wide, has been seated in the arts, through music and through fine woodworking — we are one of the leading counties in lumber production.”

The arts and culture portion of Revitalize Potter County is in its early stages, but the arts council is looking to roll out some big initiatives in the coming months, according to Metzger.

“We’re getting a lot of feedback in that there’s excitement around the preservation of the arts and the history of our community character,” Hunt said. “There’s a lot of energy around it.”