The Creative Economy Revitalization Act (CERA) will help communities recover by putting creative workers to work across the country—if it becomes law!
“Creative workers have been some of the most severely impacted by the COVID pandemic. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, 63% of creative workers experienced unemployment, translating to over 2 million Americans. The creative economy is essential to the U.S. economy. Our country exports art, music, and film to the entire globe…. Since the start of the pandemic, the U.S. has lost an estimated $15.2 billion in the arts and cultural sector alone. Just as important as these livelihoods, is the well-being of the communities they serve. The pandemic has not only affected individuals and families, but eroded our social fabric as people were unable to gather, to mourn, and celebrate together, to support each other and their communities in person.”
– Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández
On September 28th, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) led a group of his colleagues in introducing the Creative Economy Revitalization Act (CERA). U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) are co-sponsors of the legislation. In August, U.S. Reps Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) and Jay Obernolte (R-CA), introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 5019. Read the press release.
In September, the U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution in support of the Creative Economy Revitalization Act. More than 175 organizations endorsed the legislation, including the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon, Tualatin Valley Creates, and the Regional Arts & Culture Council to name a few locally.
To rebuild and reimagine our communities, Oregon, and the nation, must put creative workers to work.
Pledge YOUR support for creative workers here by contacting your legislator today!
Oregon’s Creative Economy is Big Business
The creative economy is big business in Oregon. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis, the creative sector is among the most heavily impacted nationally and locally. Direct investments in the arts will not only improve the health and recovery of our communities, but the broader economy as well – boosting tourism, travel, and spending at hotels, local businesses, and restaurants.
| OREGON’S CREATIVE ECONOMY* | |
| $9.1 billion | Generated in Oregon by the creative economy. |
| 3.6% | Percent of Oregon’s annual economic output from the creative economy. |
| 11,606 | Creative businesses in Oregon. |
| 69,549 | Creative workers in Oregon. |
| COVID-19 HAS DEVASTATED OREGON’S CREATIVE ECONOMY* | |
| $1.6 billion | Lost revenue for creative economy businesses in 2020 in Oregon (est). |
| 70% | Oregon creative businesses were severely impacted. |
| 43,332 (64% unemployed) | Creative workers made unemployed in Oregon. |
| $1.1 billion | Total loss of revenue for creative workers in Oregon in 2020 (est). |
| $15,069 (a 40% loss/person) | Average loss of creative revenue per creative workers in Oregon in 2020. |
| 63% | Creatives in Oregon now have no savings. |
*Source – Americans for the Arts
How CERA works
The Creative Economy Revitalization Act (CERA) will create a workforce grant program within the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, putting creative workers back into jobs. The Department of Labor, in coordination with the National Endowment for the Arts, will administer the grants to eligible government, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations. Priority will go to creative workers who became unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Creative Economy Revitalization Act will require that grantees create art that is publicly accessible to the entire community such as free concert series, large-scale murals, photography exhibits, published stories, or dance performances. It is modeled on the WPA Federal Project One which hired creatives across the country as the U.S. recovered from the Great Depression.
To rebuild and reimagine our communities, Oregon, and the nation, must put creative workers to work.
Pledge YOUR support for creative workers here by contacting your legislator today!
http://www.creativeworkers.net/
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