Friday, July 27, 2012
07/27/2012
AL: Arts Pump $235M into Jefferson County
"Jefferson County arts and culture organizations and their audiences pumped $235 million into the county’s economy in 2010, according to a report by Arts & Economic Prosperity IV, a project of the arts advocacy group Americans for the Arts.
The study evaluated 182 communities and regions around the nation to determine the economic impact of arts and culture, taking into account the number of full-time jobs, household income, attendance by residents and non-residents, and average spending at events. Organizations are defined as employers, producers, consumers, and key promoters...
In Jefferson County, 99 of the 124 eligible nonprofit arts and culture organizations identified by the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham participated in the study. The 80 percent participation rate was far ahead of the national average of 43.2 percent.
'The preliminary data collected from the Arts and Economic Prosperity study for Jefferson County is very good and we’re quite pleased,' said Buddy Palmer, CAGB president and CEO. 'We’re currently examining the numbers more closely and in the context of the economic environment in which the information was collected, and we’ll come back to the community soon with a complete analysis.'
Audience members in the county spent an average of $29.66 per person (not including admission costs), also ahead of the national average, $24.60. The Jefferson County numbers reflect $19.62 spent by residents and $50.91 by non-residents. The $235 million figure includes $88.5 million in expenditures by organizations and $146.4 million by audiences. More than 40 expenditure categories, including labor, local and non-local artists, operations, and facilities, were covered.
The project also reported attendance of more than 4.9 million at arts and culture events for the 99 participating organizations, and full-time equivalent jobs of 6,805.
Americans for the Arts’ previous study, done for fiscal year 2005, reported that $125 million went into the Jefferson County economy. It included figures provided by 48 arts and culture nonprofits."
The Birmingham News 07/26/2012
