WIXOM — One year following the launch of its nationally recognized report in 2012, ArtServe Michigan – the state’s leading statewide arts and cultural advocacy organization – today released its Creative State Michigan report focused on Fiscal Year 2010. The report details economic and social data from 346 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, representing an estimated 17 percent of the more than 2,000 cultural groups operating statewide. The data reveals that these organizations contributed more than one-half billion dollars in expenditures alone to the Michigan economy in 2010. Learn more at www.CreativeStateMI.org.
Among its most compelling data, the report affirms the creative economy as a significant growth sector and strategic opportunity for Michigan’s economy. From 2006 to 2011, the number of arts-related jobs increased by 15 percent to 85,656 jobs in Michigan, while arts-related businesses increased by 65 percent to 28,072. From 2010-2011 alone, jobs increased by 11 percent, while businesses increased by 16 percent. Moreover, of the $553.4 million in annual expenditures by the nonprofit creative community in 2010, nearly $194 million supported salaries for 22,335 jobs.
Nationally, arts and cultural organizations spent $61.1 billion in 2010 and leveraged an additional $74.1 billion in event-related spending by arts audiences, according to Americans for the Arts. This combined $135.2 billion in economic activity supported 4.1 million jobs and generated $22.3 billion in total government revenue.
Michigan’s arts and cultural destinations continue to demonstrate their essential value to the state’s tourism industry, generating more than $2 billion in state tourism revenues in fiscal year 2011. That represents 16 percent of the state’s total tourism revenues in that year – more than golf, boating and sailing, hunting and fishing, and hiking and biking combined.
“Every day, Michigan’s arts and cultural organizations and creative industries are making major contributions to our state’s economy – creating jobs, spending in local communities, generating tourism revenues and shaping vibrant cities and towns that attract talent and business investment,” said Jennifer Goulet, president and CEO of ArtServe. “This year’s Creative State Michigan report reinforces the critical role of Michigan’s creative economy in defining new opportunities to position the sector as a strategic economic tool and resource for our state.”
The report also provides indicators for the resources the arts provide for Michigan’s schools and children, as well as residents of all ages. In 2010, more than 2.7 million students benefitted from educational programs and events offered by arts and cultural venues statewide. These same organizations hosted 26,515 youth and school group visits and facilitated 1,135 programs in schools providing valuable educational experiences at a time when many schools have cut funding for arts programs. Michigan’s cultural groups are reaching growing audiences, reporting more than 15.7 million visits in 2010, 54 percent of which were free of charge.
Data sources for the Creative State Michigan report include the Michigan Cultural Data Project, Americans for the Arts’ annual Creative Industries Reports, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation/Pure Michigan. The Michigan Cultural Data Project report includes FY 2010 data profiles from 346 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations. There are nearly 800 organizations registered in the Cultural Data Project today, positioning future reports to demonstrate increasing impacts over time.
Launched May 2010, the Michigan Cultural Data Project is a powerful online management tool with a robust support network designed to strengthen arts and cultural organizations. It also provides funders with reliable, comparable data to inform grantmaking and helps advocates and researchers better understand and communicate the sector’s impact. A growing national model owned and operated by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Project is operating in 12 states and the District of Columbia, with 253 grant programs and close to 14,000 organizations participating across the US.
Twenty Michigan foundations and funders have collaborated to bring the Cultural Data Project to Michigan and support Creative State Michigan committing to the initiative as an important investment in the growth and sustainability of Michigan’s arts and cultural resources. Melonie Colaianne, president of the MASCO Corporation Foundation, said, “This year’s Creative State Michigan report once again makes a clear and compelling case for the far-reaching contributions of the arts in Michigan – using data from the growing set of cultural organizations participating in the Cultural Data Project to emphasize the significant ways that arts and culture strengthen the economy and serve our communities. We are looking forward to working with ArtServe to share its findings widely.”
This year Data Driven Detroit once again provided research support for ArtServe Michigan, as an independent examiner of the information. “This effort provides a critical reminder of the importance of the nonprofit sector in Michigan’s economy, supporting previous research from the Michigan Nonprofit Association,” said director of Data Driven Detroit, Kurt Metzger, “By drilling down within the arts and culture sector, the Michigan Cultural Data Project brings forward a rich new source of detailed data with solid collection methods to deliver a more complete picture of the region’s economic and social activity.”
