The Arts Mean Business: Findings from Americans for the Arts
The Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) recently announced that the most recent Creative Industries report released by Americans for the Arts (AFTA) reveals there are currently 7,919 arts related
businesses in Indiana employing 49,274 people. The figures represent an increase of 41 arts related businesses and a growth of 1,710 full-time jobs during calendar year 2006.
“The findings of this study reinforce the message that we in the arts community have long been sharing,” said IAC Executive Director Lewis C. Ricci, “that a healthy creative economy is directly linked to the broader general economy of our state and our nation.”
Nationally, creative industry businesses total 546,558, or 4.2% of all U.S. businesses, and they employ 2.7 million people (2.0% of all employees) nationwide. As of January 2007, Indiana’s Congressional District 1 is home to 774 arts-related businesses that employ 3,858 people. These arts-centric businesses play an important role in building and sustaining economic vibrancy. They employ people, spend money locally, generate government revenue and are a cornerstone of tourism and economic development.
The national arts research project combines Dun & Bradstreet data (as of January 2006) and geo-economic analysis to map the location of arts related businesses in six major creative industries: museums/collections; performing arts; visual/photographic arts; film/radio/television; design/publishing; and art schools/services.
According to the AFTA study, creative industries have remained strong in comparison to business trends nationally. Between 2004 and 2006, total U.S. businesses declined by 0.2 percent while arts-related business dropped by 0.12 percent. During the same period national employment decreased by 5.6 percent compared to a decline of just 3.7 percent in the nation’s creative industries.
“This study reveals for the first time the extraordinary presence of creative industries throughout our nation,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “With growth of the information age, the arts are now a fundamental component of the U.S. economy, and one in which every state and virtually every community has a stake.”
Located in Washington, D.C., Americans for the Arts is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America.
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