Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 - Regional Arts and Culture Council

The Economic Impact of Spending by Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations and Their Audiences- Through June 23rd 2023

After more than one-year postponement, the Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6) study will get underway mid-2022. AEP6 is the sixth national economic impact study of America’s nonprofit arts and cultural industry. It documents the economic contributions of the arts in over 250 diverse communities and regions across the country, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Previous partners have included local arts agencies, community foundations, economic development agencies, chambers of commerce, performing arts centers, and more. It will be more important than ever to demonstrate that, even in the wake of COVID-19 and the resulting economic recession, the arts will provide a significant boost as we recharge the economy in America’s local communities. The arts will draw people out of the homes and back into community life—spending time with each other and spending their money with local merchants. Studies indicate that audiences cannot wait to return, and we are looking to our community along with us to be there to capture it when they do!

Americans for the Arts is excited to announce the launch of Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6), our sixth national study of the economic impact of the nonprofit arts and culture industry. Building on its 25-year legacy, the highly regarded Arts & Economic Prosperity® series will once again document in unprecedented scope and detail the economic power that the arts and culture wield in 375+ participating communities representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia—communities ranging in geography (Alaska to Florida to Maine to Hawaii), population (1,400 to 4.7 million), and population density (rural to large urban).

Locally

The Arts Mean Business

To measure the impact of spending by cultural audiences in the Greater Portland Area, data were collected from 1,474 event attendees during AEP5. Researchers used an audience-intercept methodology, a standard technique in which patrons are asked to complete a short survey about their event-related spending (while they are attending the event). Event-related spending by these attendees totaled $116 million in the Greater Portland Area during fiscal year 2015, excluding the cost of event admission.

Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 in the region showed conclusively that, locally as well as nationally, the arts mean business!

AEP6 is our sixth economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry in the U.S. The study is conducted approximately every five years to gauge the economic impact (on employment, government revenue, and household income) of spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations and the event-related spending by their audiences. Previous studies were published in 1994, 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017. (Due to the unique nature of the realities of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the AEP6 study was postponed for 16 months.)

In 2017, the previous study, AEP5, documented that the nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $166.3 billion in economic activity (spending by organizations plus the event-related spending by their audiences) which supported 4.6 million jobs and generated $27.5 billion in government revenue. The AEP series demonstrates that an investment in the arts provides both cultural and economic benefits.

Join Us!

Audience surveys will be collected from attendees at performances, events, exhibits, venues, and facilities from May 2022 through June 23rd 2023. Venue Eligibility

If you are interested in getting involved as either a venue to be counted please submit your live event for consideration here (for the tri-county area) and/or are interested in volunteering in Multnomah County, please contact Mario Mesquita, Manager of Advocacy & Engagement at Regional Arts & Culture Council at aep6@racc.org.

Raziah Roushan, Executive Director of Tualatin Valley Creates, director@tvcreates.org, for Washington County
Dianne Alves, Executive Director of Clackamas County Art Alliance, dianne@clackamasartsalliance.org, for Clackamas County