State Arts Agency Creative Economy Initiatives
Arkansas
In 2006, the Arkansas Arts Council (AAC) co-hosted a symposium on "Strengthening the Arkansas Creative Economy", in partnership with the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority, the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges and the North Carolina-based economic consultant Regional Technology Strategies, Inc. (RTS). The symposium kicked off a project commissioned with RTS to identify and grow Arkansas' creative economy assets. Because the project is supported by a three-year grant from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, RTS organized the project into three year-long phases. In its first phase, RTS conducted an initial quantitative analysis of the size, scale and scope of Arkansas' creative economy. In the second phase, RTS is conducting regional site visits to discuss the first phase's results, to find out whether creative assets were overlooked in the initial phase, and to identify regional creative industry clusters within the state. In late summer 2007 RTS will issue requests for proposals (RFP's) to implement the third phase, which will distribute seed funding for regional creative economy pilot projects within the state. The AAC will continue to represent the arts on the project's advisory board and to educate and involve arts organizations and artists about the project's mission.
Contact: Joy Pennington, Executive Director
Iowa Arts Council
Iowa first promoted the role of arts in state employment with the Iowa Community Cultural Grants program, in 1983. The program awarded matching grants for projects that create sustainable employment for Iowans while enhancing the state's artistic, cultural or historical resources. The Iowa Arts Council (IAC) continues to manage this program today, with funds from its parent agency, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs (IDCA). The IDCA initiated recent efforts, when it convened Cultural Caucuses, in 2001 and 2004, to identify the state's cultural assets. Based on this community input, the IDCA developed the Imagine Iowa:2010 plan to increase support for the creative sector by 2010. In 2004, the IDCA established a program to certify Cultural and Entertainment Districts, special zones where state incentives help a high concentration of arts and cultural organizations stimulate economic development. Thirty districts in 22 Iowa communities earned the designation between 2004 and 2006. In 2005, the IAC and 18 other state agencies collaborated to develop the Governor's Great Places initiative to bolster the state economy by focusing state resources to support culture, innovation and entrepreneurship in Iowa communities. The selection committee named three Great Places pilots in 2005 and another six in 2006. Beginning in 2007, new Iowa Great Places will be named as they are able to show readiness to implement their development plans in partnership with the state. The IAC advises Great Places applicants, provides technical assistance to Great Place communities (often focused on public art planning), and awards a 10 percent scoring bonus to Great Place communities that apply for IAC grants. In addition to its work with these creative economy initiatives, the IAC launched BuyIowaArt.com, an online marketplace for Iowans' original artwork, in 2005.
Contact: Mary Sundet Jones, Division Administrator
Louisiana Division of the Arts
The Lieutenant Governor and the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism (DCRT) -- the Louisiana Division of the Arts' parent agency -- originally developed the Cultural Economy Initiative (CEI) to support the state's artistic assets and preserve its culture. The Lt. Governor convened the state's first Cultural Economy Summit conference in 2004 to introduce the Initiative to the public. The Lt. Governor and the DCRT then commissioned a study to measure the state's cultural sector and released the resulting report, Louisiana Where Culture Means Business, at the 2005 Cultural Economy Summit II. Four days later, hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the state, and the Initiative emerged as an essential tool for rebuilding. The Lt. Governor and the DCRT outlined the Initiative's new goals in Louisiana Rebirth: Restoring the Soul of America and created the Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation to spearhead the relief efforts. The partnership created the Louisiana Rebirth Scorecard to continually track its progress toward these goals, in hopes that the Initiative would become a model for ethical rebuilding efforts and accountability. This helped inform the 2007 Status Report, which discussed the status of current CEI projects and revaluated the action steps necessary for continued progress toward its goals.
Contact: Pamela Breaux, Assistant Secretary, Office of Cultural Development
Maine Arts Commission
The Maine Arts Commission (MAC) began measuring the size and impact of Maine's creative economy in the 1990's with its Discovery Research program, which has since indexed cultural assets in more than 70 percent of the state's communities. The MAC used this quantitative research as an advocacy tool during the 2002 gubernatorial election. After the election, the governor identified the creative industry as a driving force in the state's economy and convened the 2004 Blaine House conference to rally public support for Maine's creative economy. The MAC and the New England Foundation for the Arts' timely economic impact study, Maine's Creative Economy: Measurement and Analysis, supplied the conference with current statistics. After the conference, the governor established a permanent Creative Economy Council to advise and advance Maine's Creative Economy initiatives. The MAC chair co-chairs the council, which also includes members of the private sector and key state government officials. In March 2006, the Council released Maine's Creative Economy Connecting Creativity, Commerce and Community, a set of recommendations for strengthening Maine's grassroots creative industries and creative workforce. A companion guide, Maine's Creative Economy Handbook, offers a how-to advice for communities and entrepreneurs interested in building creative commerce. The MAC acts as an ongoing organizer of creative economy activity across the state by promoting the initiative, commissioning ongoing research and facilitating communication among participating communities.
Contact: Alden Wilson, Executive Director
Maryland State Arts Council
In 2001, the state of Maryland created the Arts & Entertainment District program to provide tax benefits to artists and art organizations within designated districts. Since then, 14 municipalities have completed a comprehensive planning and application process to earn the designation. The Maryland State Arts Council has administered the adjudication process and provided technical assistance to the applicants. Additionally, the council has been integral in developing amendments to the original legislation which provide a higher level of benefits to the arts industry.
Contact: Elizabeth Carven, Deputy Director, Maryland State Arts Council
NASAA State Spotlight: Maryland's Arts and Entertainment Districts Merge Commerce and Culture.
Massachusetts Cultural Council
The Massachusetts Cultural Council's (MCC) first initiative, the Cultural Economic Development program (1997-2003), funded arts and culture projects that contributed to the state's economic growth. The MCC resumed this work in 2004, when the Legislature appropriated $4.5 million for the renamed Adams Arts Program for cultural economic development between 2005 and 2007. The program has since funded more than 40 community projects. The MCC has also pursued several initiatives to stimulate arts employment. HireCulture.org is a free online database of cultural job opportunities across the state. MCC also worked with the New England Foundation for the Arts to launch Matchbook.org, an online performing arts database that connects performing artists and presenters and encourages bookings. After a decade of advocacy from the MCC, the state legislature passed the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund as part of a statewide economic stimulus bill in 2006 and approved a $13 million appropriation to the Fund for fiscal year 2007. The Fund will award grants that support the construction and repair of nonprofit cultural facilities as well as technical assistance for feasibility assessment activities. The MCC will manage the grant administration, on behalf of MassDevelopment and will advocate for continued and significant state investment in the Fund.
Contact: Greg Liakos, Communications Director
Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs
Michigan's governor introduced the Cool Cities initiative in 2003 as a state-wide plan to develop vibrant communities that attract creative "knowledge" workers and spur economic growth. Designated Cool City communities receive access to more than 100 community improvement grants, tax incentives, loans and development assistance. The Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA), in collaboration with the governor's office and the Department of Labor and Economic Growth, facilitated the application review process and helped award more than 70 Cool City designations since the 2004 pilot program. The MCACA convened the 2003 "Creating Cool" conference, the first in a series of its annual creative economy conferences, to support the initiative. At the 2005 conference, the MCACA's Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL) released Cultural Economic Development Strategy for Michigan and created the Office of Cultural Economic Development (OCED) to implement the strategy. The strategy aims to spur community economic development in Michigan and the Great Lakes community by supporting cultural attractions, growing meaningful partnerships, and encouraging entrepreneurship and job creation. The strategy plans to develop a way to measure this economic development and share statistics with the community through a Cultural Economic Development Online Tool (CEDOT). The OCED worked with an economist from Michigan State University to develop research methods for CEDOT, with input from cultural organizations, state agencies and private developers. In 2006, the partnership completed more than 6,000 online household surveys that will provide baseline information for the forthcoming launch of CEDOT. In 2006, the MCACA partnered with the Michigan Humanities Council and Michigan Public Media to promote the state's creative economy efforts, and produced a series of mini-documentaries on Cool City community revitalization projects. The MCACA also funded CraftWORKS!Michigan, a 2006 report designed to measure the impact of the craft industry on Michigan's economy.
| Contact: | Betty Boone, Cultural Economic Development Director, Department of History, Arts and Libraries John Bracey, Executive Director |
Montana Arts Council
The Montana Arts Council (MAC) collaborated with the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity between 2002 and 2005 to measure the impact of creative enterprise on Montana's economy. The resulting economic impact reports underscored the significance of Montana's fine handcrafts and the partnership funded travel for Montana-based artists and legislators to study Kentucky's established craft market. MAC reinvigorated efforts to bolster the state's fine handcraft and traditional arts market in 2007, when Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) designated Montana as a Creative Community grantee. MAC plans to focus its grant resources to expand these markets and provide business skill training for artists, with a particular focus on engaging the state's Native American Artists. This work will complement MAC's continuing work with the Montana Department of Trade and Commerce to promote Montana-made art on the "Made in Montana" website and to encourage state parks to include Montana-made products in all park stores.
Contact: Arlynn Fishbaugh, Executive Director
Oregon Arts Commission
In 2006 the Oregon Arts Commission undertook a Creative Vitality Index (CVI) for the state of Oregon. Modeled after the concept developed by the Washington State Arts Commission, the Creative Vitality Index measures the health of the creative economy in a city, county, state or other geographic area compared to the national index, and creates a benchmark for future measurement. By using readily available data on employment and community participation the index measures for-profit and nonprofit arts-related activities, as well as participation in the arts, to reflect the vigor of this sector of the economy and culture. The Oregon Arts Commission believes the CVI offers a more complete picture of the health of a creative economy. While most economic impact studies measure the impact of nonprofit arts organizations, they usually do not count the thousands of people who make their living by applying creativity outside of the nonprofit arts world: visual artists, graphic designers, writers, architects, etc. The CVI is an attempt to capture a more complete picture of the artistic creativity in Oregon by looking at both the creative occupations and participation sides of the creative economy.
Contact: Christine D'Arcy, Executive Director
Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
In 1998, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed legislation to provide tax incentives to artists who live and work in nine designated arts districts. The legislation was designed to spur economic and community development in the designated districts, by attracting artists and art enterprise. Recently, RISCA revamped its efforts to provide affordable live-work space for artists, in response to a tightening housing market in some Rhode Island communities. In 2004, RISCA made a three year commitment to the Rhode Island Citizens for the Arts' Sustainable Artist Space Initiative and hired a consultant to manage the Initiative during that time. At the end of the three years, RISCA will revaluate its commitment based on the Initiative's progress.
Contact: Randy Rosenbaum, Executive Director
Vermont Arts Council
The Vermont Arts Council (VAC) initiated a discussion about Vermont's Creative Economy with the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) in 2001. The two organizations built grassroots support for the creative economy, but also recognized that policy makers needed persuasive data and a practical plan to implement state-wide initiatives. In 2003, the VCRD created the Vermont Council on Culture and Innovation (VCCI) to evaluate the economic impact of Vermont's creative sector and to help prepare a plan. The VCCI released the resulting Advancing Vermont's Creative Economy report, a blueprint for boosting Vermont's Creative Sector, in time start of the 2005 legislative session (in 2004). The state legislature increased funding for the state's Cultural Facilities Grant Program -- a competitive funding resource administered by the VAC since 1989 -- by 400 percent, based on the report's recommendation. The VCRD also received a foundation grant to implement the report's policy recommendation to create the Vermont Creative Communities Program to provide targeted community-led planning assistance to jump-start local economic development. The Program has since provided assistance to 12 communities, with input from the VAC and other members of its advisory committee.
Contact: Alex Aldrich, Executive Director
Washington State Arts Commission
The Washington State Arts Commission (WSAC) convened a group of cultural leaders in 2003 to explore how Washington's creative sector could measure its contributions to state and local economies. The group conceptualized the "Creative Vitality Index" (CVI) -- a tool designed to provide an annual assessment of the health of Washington's arts-related creative economy. The index includes both nonprofit and commercial activity and incorporates measures of community arts participation and arts-related occupations. All measures are based on pre-existing standardized data, which allows Washington communities to compare results to neighboring localities, the state and the nation. The Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs and WSAC provided start-up funds for the Index and contracted with the Western State Arts Federation to manage research efforts. In 2005, WSAC released baseline research findings in the Creative Vitality Index report. WSAC plans to release these index values annually in order to monitor changes, promote the arts sector, and catalyze policy discussions about how to further develop Washington's creative economy.
Contact: Mark Gerth, Communications Manager
New England Foundation for the Arts
In 1980, the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) released the first region-wide economic impact study of nonprofit cultural organizations, based on a survey of non-profit cultural organizations in each of the New England states. NEFA streamlined its data collection process in a 1996 follow-up study and now updates these studies annually. In 1998, NEFA collaborated with the New England Council (NEC)--a regional business advocacy organization--and the Boston Symphony Orchestra to convene a one-day meeting at Tanglewood to discuss the implications of NEFA's 1996 study and the possibility of extending the scope of research to include for-profit cultural organizations. The meeting established a Creative Economy Initiative, with NEFA as the primary funding source and manager of the Initiative's research efforts. The Initiative released the first economic impact study of New England's entire creative sector--both non-profit and for-profit--in 2000 and followed it with a set of policy recommendations for developing the sector in 2001. After years of surveying New England's creative enterprise, NEFA created the New England Cultural Database (NECD) to make financial, demographic and other information about the organizations and individuals that comprise New England's creative economy more accessible to the public. State and local organizations in Massachusetts funded an interactive economic modeling tool, Counting on Culture, which uses NECD data to calculate the economic impact of cultural organizations in the Massachusetts. The NECD also shares data with Matchbook.org, an online database designed by NEFA and six New England state arts agencies that connects the region's performing artists with presenters and encourages bookings.
Contact: Jane Preston, Director of Programs
For additional information visit the Creative Economy Resource Center, or contact Jesse Rye at NASAA.
May 2007
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