Art in the News
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In Providence, Rhode Island, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates nearly $206 million in economic activity per year. Spending by arts nonprofits and their audiences supports 5,115 full-time equivalent jobs and generates $21 million in city and state tax revenue. These numbers come from Arts and Economic Prosperity 5, a national economic impact study by Americans for the Arts.
On September 8, leaders from the arts, business, and local government will gather for a public forum on the intersection of arts and the local economy. The event—called “Whose Business is the Arts?”—will be co-sponsored by the Lehigh Valley Arts Council and the Lehigh Valley Partnership. The forum comes as a response to the release of Arts and Economic Prosperity 5, the latest economic impact study from Americans for the Arts.
Randy Cohen, Vice President of Research and Policy at Americans for the Arts, visited Buffalo on August 7 to discuss the results of Arts and Economic Prosperity 5. The study measured the impact of the nonprofit arts and culture industry by collecting data from 341 communities and regions across the country.
Mike McInally, editor of the Albany Democrat-Herald, is a believer in art for the sake of art. McInally wrote an editorial on the importance of measuring the economic impact of the arts, prompted by the release of Arts and Economic Prosperity 5.
FOX 25 News reported from Oklahoma City, where the nonprofit arts and culture industry helps the local economy thrive. Arts and Economic Prosperity 5, a study by Americans for the Arts, found that arts and culture nonprofits generate over $602 million of economic activity in the Greater Oklahoma City region, and over $872 million in the state as a whole.
Morris Arts Executive Director Tom Werder traveled to Capitol Hill this July to speak to lawmakers about the importance of the arts in New Jersey. Werder joined arts advocates from around the country at a press conference organized by Americans for the Arts, where they discussed data from Arts and Economic Prosperity 5, a recent study that measured the economic impact of the nonprofit arts and culture industry.
Actors and theatergoers aren’t the only people excited about the new black box theater under construction in downtown Peabody, Massachusetts. Local business owners are anticipating a swell in economic activity in their restaurants, bars, and shops.
Ebony McKinney, a tireless advocate for the arts who pushed for diversity in the community and for unity among local organizations, died unexpectedly July 29 from complications related to pneumonia and lupus. She was 41. McKinney was a member of Americans for the Arts’ Emerging Leaders Council from 2009-10.
Ohio’s nonprofit arts and culture sector isn’t a charity—it’s a bona fide industry. In the Greater Columbus area, nonprofit arts and culture organizations generate $412 million in economic activity per year, support nearly 15,000 full-time equivalent jobs, and provide $373.4 million in annual household income for Ohio residents.
Nonprofit arts and culture organizations in Doña Ana County, New Mexico generated over $33 million in economic activity in 2015, according to a new study by Americans for the Arts. This figure includes both direct spending by the arts organizations and event-related spending by audience members. A person who attends a nonprofit arts and cultural event in Doña Ana County spends an average of $28.93 at local hotels, restaurants, and stores.
