A conference in Casper this week aims to teach Wyoming business and community leaders how the arts can help them diversify the economy.

The Wyoming Arts Council is bringing in national speakers and arts leaders, including the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, for an event to show leaders how to attract better employees, generate revenue, improve the quality of life and more through the arts.

In fact, art already stimulates the economy more than people realize, said Arts Council member Bruce Richardson of Casper.

The state has writers' colonies, design studios, music festivals, galleries, symphony orchestras and performing arts centers, he said.

"The reality that we have in Wyoming is that anyone taking a look at the towns will find a tremendous amount of stuff here already," he said.

Now, communities have to learn to promote, market and build on what they already have, he said.

First lady Nancy Freudenthal generated the idea, said Susan Stubson, pianist and arts council board member from Casper.

She "really recognized that the state has such a wealth of artistic happenings. There's just so much music and really great art going on, but we've never had one event that brings them all together," Stubson said.

Sessions will include information on "strengthening rural communities through the arts," "impact of arts education on work force preparation" and the "ABC's of funding arts initiatives in your communities," according to program information.

The conference is the first of its kind put on by the state arts council. The goal is to do one every two years; the 2009 theme will be arts education.

The council decided it could help boost the economy after studying research and recent books on how communities with a "creative economy" tend to have low crime, good schools and happy citizens, Richardson said. The council is now trying to hire a community arts development coordinator to help Wyoming towns boost this part of their economies.

Companies like to relocate to towns where their employees can participate in diverse activities.

"Towns they perceive have these are attractive," Richardson said.