Study shows $8.1 million economic boost from arts organizations in Lexington
In a recently released study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry and its effect on the economy, Americans for the Arts, an arts advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., and New York, offers current data showing the impressively strong and positive effect a healthy arts community has in the current economy and beyond. Lexington was a participant in this most recent study that included 182 regions representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
According to the study, $8.1 million is pumped into Lexington’s local economy by arts organizations. There is an additional $10.4 million in event-related spending by audiences, and our local arts industry supports 709 full-time equivalent jobs, generating $17.1 million in household income to local residents and $1.9 million in local and state government revenue.
“The local snapshot provided by the study gives us great information and ties us to a much larger picture nationally,” said Jim Clark, president and CEO of LexArts, Lexington’s arts funding organization. “The study helps to show that we collectively are an industrial sector that employs a significant number of people, and we generate a significant economic return to the community. Participating in this study has been a good exercise for all our arts groups to see and understand their public value and be able to communicate that more effectively.”
Americans for the Arts used customized economic models to examine each of the 182 regions across the country and measured the economic impact of the nonprofit arts and culture industry, showing it to be a significant contributor to Lexington’s prosperity.
Nationally, the arts and cultural industry creates $135.2 billion in economic activity and supports 4.1 million full-time jobs with $22.3 billion in revenue to local, state and federal governments every year. Interestingly, the study shows that while the economic downturn negatively affected the arts in reduced audience and spending, the results show the industry has suffered less than other sectors, which bodes well for continued growth and strength in the arts both locally and nationally.
Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, commented, “America’s artists and arts organizations live and work in every community from coast to coast — fueling creativity, beautifying our cities and improving our quality of life. In my travels across the country, business and government leaders often talk to me about the challenges of funding the arts amid shrinking resources and alongside other pressing needs. They worry about jobs and the economy. Is their region a magnet for attracting and retaining a skilled and innovative workforce? How well are they competing in the high-stakes race to attract new businesses? The findings from the Arts & Economic Prosperity IV study send a clear and welcome message: Leaders who care about community and economic vitality can feel good about choosing to invest in the arts.”
The entrepreneurial and creative nature of arts organizations help these groups to be on the leading edge of future prosperity. The study quotes business leader Christopher Forbes, vice president of Forbes, Inc.: “The success of my family’s business depends on finding and cultivating a creative and innovative workforce. I have witnessed firsthand the power of the arts in building these business skills. When we participate personally in the arts, we strengthen our ‘creativity muscles,’ which makes us not just a better ceramicist or chorus member, but a more creative worker — better able to identify challenges and innovative business solutions. This is one reason why the arts remain an important part of my personal and corporate philanthropy.”
Lexington’s nonprofits are employers, producers and consumers, supporting jobs, creating household income and generating revenue. The study shows that $8.1 million is pumped into the local economy by arts organizations. There is an additional $10.4 million in event-related spending by audiences, and our local arts industry supports 709 full-time equivalent jobs, generating $17.1 million in household income to local residents and $1.9 million in local and state government revenue.
Lori Meadows, executive director of the Kentucky Arts Council, explained, “Kentucky’s creative industries play a vital role in community, economic and tourism development. We are fortunate in that Kentucky has a widespread infrastructure of arts and cultural businesses, organizations, facilities and events across the entire state and not just located in the major metropolitan areas. Lexington’s participation in the AFTA study is an important step in identifying the depth and breadth of Kentucky’s creative economy. It will serve an integral role as we further develop our arts and cultural amenities.”
As an illustrative scenario, consider an evening out for a Lexington couple. You and your spouse decide to attend a play for a special occasion. After buying tickets online, you plan an evening that involves a gallery exhibit, attending a play and dinner out after the play with friends and drinks at a bar to hear a little music before heading home to pay the babysitter, if you are a local, or to a hotel, if you are from out of town. From the Web designer for the site where your tickets were purchased to the caterer providing hors d’oeuvres at the gallery, to the garage attendant where your car was parked, to the artists, actors, set designers and director of the play, to the restaurant staff, and the babysitter or hotel staff, arts participant dollars stimulate much of the local economy and use many of the services that are the life’s blood of a vibrant, attractive city competing for business at a high level. And these are dollars that stay in the community.
“There has always been the popular discussion that to invest in the arts is mainly about quality of life, but the truth is it is a revenue generator and positively affects jobs and tourism and all economic development. The arts industry is business,” explained Randy Cohen, vice president of research and policy at Americans for the Arts in Washington, D.C. “The study addresses the perception that the arts are a luxury. Investment in the arts doesn’t come at the expense of economic development. Rather, investment in the arts industry supports jobs, is a cornerstone of tourism and generates government revenue,” added Cohen.
“In Lexington, the arts are an $18.6 million industry. It’s a real myth-buster for some people to learn that arts organizations are also purchasers of goods and services, and they aid chambers of commerce in the marketing and promoting of the region. Arts and cultural organizations are good business citizens. The arts industry has proven itself to be a fundamental component of a healthy community,” Cohen further commented.
Cohen will be in Lexington to share information about the Americans for the Arts Arts and Economic Prosperity report on Oct. 18-19. A breakfast presentation will be held Oct. 19 at 8:30 a.m. Space is limited and reservations are required.
The Arts and Economic Prosperity study is available online at artsusa.org.