If artsID is an identity column (guaranteeing uniqueness and monotonicity), you could ask for
SELECT @artsID = max(artID) from arts
(assuming that's the column name) It may be sensible for you to use this in a subquery, depending upon how you arrange things.
Now, after an insert, and before you close the connection, you can use
SELECT TOP 1 @@IDENTITY From arts
and it would be returned from your stored procedure.
Do not forget to include
SET NOCOUNT ON
in your procedure or the return record set will be a mess