HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.b. Creative Discussion
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Port Authority Date: November 21, 2017
AGENDA ITEM: Creative MN Discussion AGENDA SECTION:
New Business
PREPARED BY: Kim Lindquist, Deputy Director AGENDA NO. 4.b.
ATTACHMENTS: Creative MN 2017 report
APPROVED BY: LJM
RECOMMENDATION: Information Item
ISSUE
Chair Weisensel provided a brochure from MN Citizens for the Arts. The brochure indicates the
economic impacts associated with the arts and what artists are looking for to be successful. This is
provided as an information item, and additional discussion may be had on this item at the meeting.
THE IMPACT OF MINNESOTA’S
ARTISTS, CREATIVE WORKERS
AND NONPROFIT ARTS AND
CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS
2017
Creative Minnesota 2017 is our second biennial report
intended to fill the gaps in available information about
Minnesota’s cultural field and to improve our understanding
of its importance to our quality of life and economy. This
project is a long-term endeavor to collect and report data
on the creative sector every two years for analysis, education
and advocacy.
Our first Creative Minnesota report, released in 2015, was
a snapshot of the health and impacts of nonprofit arts and
culture organizations, which looked at their spending and
their audiences, as well as other indicators of the sector’s
health and impact on the economy. Both statewide and
regional in scope, it leveraged new in-depth research made
possible by Minnesota’s participation in the Cultural Data
Profile (culturaldata.org) with DataArts. It was followed by
17 local studies that showed substantial economic impact
from the nonprofit arts and culture in every corner of the
state, from the Arrowhead to the plains of Southwest
Minnesota and from the Red River Valley to the river lands of
the Southeast.
(see page 32 for a summary)
INTRODUCTION
Creative Minnesota 2017 shows that supporting artists and arts activity is
a pathway to solving problems and achieving the goals of our communities.
We also hope to empower artists to advocate for themselves. We have found
that there is an artist on every block and that they are already contributing
to the health of our economy and are already working to improve their
communities. Our artists give Minnesota a competitive edge.
MINNESOTA’S ARTISTS GIVE OUR
STATE A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
INDEX
PAGE 2 Section I: Artists and Creative Workers Are Everywhere
PAGE 7 Section II: Economic Impact Survey of Artists and Creative Workers
PAGE 16 Section III: What Artists Give to Communities and What Artists Need to Succeed
PAGE 23 Section IV: Public Opinion Polling About the Arts and Participation
PAGE 26 Section V: Update of Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations
Page 33 Section VI: Sources, Definitions and Methodology
PAGE 36 Section VII: Acknowledgments
creativeMN.org
TO MAKE A LIVING AND A LIFE IN THE
ARTS, THE MOST URGENT NEEDS FOR
MINNESOTA’S ARTISTS INCLUDE:
SPACE TO WORK
Artists desire spaces and tools
of their own in order to do their
work – but not in solitude.
CONNECT
Artists have strong interest
in opportunities to form
connections and serve
communities.
AUDIENCE
Artists desire to reach wider
audiences and markets.
LEARN
Artists embrace and are
seeking more learning
experiences; experienced
artists would like to pass on
their skills; younger artists are
looking for mentors.
EARN
Artists remain ambitious about
developing paying audiences
and generating income from
their work, but their identities
as artists and the non-monetary
value they derive from their
practice are strong regardless
of earnings.
This study updates the 2015 Creative Minnesota report and
adds additional in-depth analysis of the economic lives of
Minnesota’s artists and what they need to build a career and
a life in the arts. It combines both new, original research and
Minnesota-unique data from other national studies.
Minnesotans are more highly engaged in and supportive of
the arts and culture than other Americans. Minnesota is
repeatedly shown to have a more robust arts and culture
economy than states with which we compete. The arts and
culture are one of our state’s strengths compared to the rest
of the Midwest and the rest of the country, and we should do
more to capitalize on it to support creative workers and draw
more creative people.
We found over 100,000 people
working in artistic occupations in
every corner of the state and over $2
billion in total economic impact from
artists, creative workers and nonprofit
arts and culture organizations and
their audiences:REGIONAL REPORTS
We should note that Minnesota’s 11 Regional Arts Councils
(RACs) work with the Minnesota State Arts Board to provide
services, training and grants designed to meet the unique needs
of each region in the state. Each RAC serves between five and
eighteen Minnesota counties, and so when we refer to regional
data it follows the borders of these regions. While some regional
data is included in this report, much more data on each region
can be found at CreativeMN.org.
We envision that arts advocates, legislators, local government
officials and arts and cultural organizations will use this report
to find new ways to improve their lives and economies with
arts and culture. Find more at: CreativeMN.org
Creative Minnesota was developed by a collaborative of arts and culture
supporting organizations in partnership with Minnesota Citizens for the Arts
(MCA). The Creative Minnesota team includes Minnesota Citizens for the
Arts, The McKnight Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Forum
of Regional Arts Councils of Minnesota, Target, Jerome Foundation, Mardag
Foundation, Springboard for the Arts and the Bush Foundation, with in-kind
support from the Minnesota Historical Society, City of Minneapolis and others.
ARTISTS THEMSELVES ARE A NATURAL RESOURCE.
$2 BILLIONTOTALECONOMIC
IMPACT
NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS:
1,601 ORGANIZATIONS
ECONOMIC IMPACT: $1.4 BILLION
ADDITIONAL FTE JOBS SUPPORTED: 47,146
GOVERNMENT REVENUES: $139 MILLION
64,646 FTE
ADDITIONAL
FTE JOBS
SUPPORTED
$222 Million
TOTAL
GOVERNMENT
REVENUES
ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS:
104,148 PEOPLE
ECONOMIC IMPACT: $644 MILLION
ADDITIONAL FTE JOBS SUPPORTED: 17,500*
GOVERNMENT REVENUES: $83 MILLION
SUMMARY
*Additional FTE jobs supported = Full-Time Equivalent labor employed in
Minnesota that is supported by the spending of artists and creative workers, or
by organizations and their audiences.
creativeMN.org 1INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY
2017 Creative MN Report
1:2:
4:
6/8:
9:10:
11:
7E:7W:
5:
3:956
2,826
939
1,967
1,710
73,798
4,846
6,7213,069
3,217
4,099
TOTAL CREATIVE JOBS IN MINNESOTA BY REGION 2014(1)104,148
Architects • landscape architects • curators • librarians • art directors • craft artists • fine artists including painters, sculptors
and illustrators • multimedia artists and animators • commercial and industrial designers • fashion, floral, graphic and interior
designers • set and exhibition designers • actors, producers and directors • dancers, choreographers, music directors and composers
• musicians and singers • radio and television announcers and public relations specialists • editors, technical writers, writers
and authors • media and communications workers • audio and video equipment technicians • broadcast technicians • sound
engineering technicians • photographers, camera operators, television, video and motion picture • film and video editors • media
and communication equipment workers • theatrical and performance makeup artists • directors of religious activities and education
(for example, choir directors) • musical instrument repairers and tuners • merchandise displayers and window trimmers • advertising
and promotions managers • public relations and fundraising managers • agents and business managers of artists and performers
41 OCCUPATIONS IN TOTAL
WHO ARE CREATIVE WORKERS?
SECTIONIARTISTS AND CREATIVE
WORKERS ARE EVERYWHERE
TOTAL CREATIVE JOBS PER REGION(1)
creativeMN.org2ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS ARE EVERYWHERE
2017 Creative MN Report
CREATIVE OCCUPATIONS WITH THE GREATEST NUMBER OF JOBS(1)
MINNESOTA IS HOME TO AN ASTONISHING
104,148 ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS
The Twin Cities is second only to New York City for
percentage of the workforce employed in theater companies.
NYC has 3 times the national average, the Mpls/St. Paul MSA
has 2.4 times the national average, followed by Seattle at
2 times, and Las Vegas at 1.9 times.(2)
twin citiestwin cities MN
newyork citynew york city NY
nationalnationalaverage US
WAseattleseattle
NVlasvegaslas vegas
HIGH CONCENTRATION OF ARTISTS
A recent National Endowment for the Arts study(2) found
that Minnesota has the highest concentration of artists in the
Midwest, higher than all surrounding states including Illinois.
Minnesota has 1.5 times the national average for artists as a
percentage of the workforce.
Creative Economy Workers per 1,000 Employed Residents
2 — 7
20 — 28
7 — 20
39 — 62
28 — 39
AND THEY MAKE THEIR HOMES IN
EVERY COUNTY
It’s no surprise that the highest density of creative workers
is in the Twin Cities metro area, but it’s important to know
that there are many other thriving arts communities across
the state where creative workers are also essential members
of the local economy. For example, Cook, Carver, Martin,
Benton, Cass and Marshall counties also have a high density
of creative workers in their workforce.
These maps do not include all creative workers – just those employed full
or part-time by others or self-employed in creative occupations. They do not
include students, retired or hobbyist artists.(1)
DENSITY OF CREATIVE WORKERS IN THE WORKFORCE
PHOTOGRAPHERS
16,403
WRITERS
AND AUTHORS9,544
MUSICIANS
AND SINGERS10,268
GRAPHIC
DESIGNERS9,530
creativeMN.org 3ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS ARE EVERYWHERE
2017 Creative MN Report
GOOD
GOODvery
The Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP)
conducted national surveys on behalf of participating
colleges and universities to learn about the lives and careers
of their arts graduates. 286 schools participated nationwide
and 92,113 arts alumni completed the survey nationally
in 2011-2013. Participating Minnesota schools included
the College of Visual Arts, Minneapolis College of Art and
Design, St. Cloud State University, St. Olaf College and
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
The Twin Cities rated significantly higher than other cities
of comparable population size around the country as a good
place to be an artist. When combined, the percentage of
artists responding that the Twin Cities are “Good” or “Very
Good” is nearly as high as New York and Los Angeles and
tied with Chicago, a much larger city. The Twin Cities also
had the highest rating in the Midwest, as well as one of
the highest level of respondents reporting themselves to be
professional artists.
85% OF ARTS DEGREE GRADUATES
RATE THE TWIN CITIES AS A “GOOD” OR
“VERY GOOD” PLACE TO BE AN ARTIST(3)
I can’t imagine a more fulfilling place to be an artist. Minnesota is not only committed to artists creating work, it is
committed to showcasing that work, being patrons of that work and cultivating spaces to better understand the artistic process.
Art is a part of the cultural fabric and expression of this state - you can’t get that everywhere.”
- Tish Jones, Founder and Executive Director
TruArtSpeaks
creativeMN.org4ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS ARE EVERYWHERE
2017 Creative MN Report
*Metropolitan Statistical Area
**How current artists rate this area as a place to pursue their artistic careers. “Art” and “artist” refer to a range of creative activity, including performance, design,
architecture, creative writing, music composition, choreography, film, illustration and fine art. Strategic National Alumni project, Indiana University Bloomington:
snaap.indiana.edu/snaapshot/#location.
IS WHERE YOU LIVE A GOOD PLACE TO BE AN ARTIST?
NYNEW YORK
CODENVER
MD
WASHINGTON DC/ BALTIMORE
CA
LOS ANGELES
WASEATTLE
MNTWIN CITIES
ILCHICAGO
RESPONDENTS
FLMIAMI
MIDETROIT
CURRENT EMPLOYMENT
47%
40%
51%
39%
44%
53%
43%
Self-employed
46%
43%
49%
51%
48%
59%
51%
56%
60%
Professional
Artist
52%
52%
ARTIST RATING**
Very good Good Fair Poor Very poorVery goodor good
34%1%5%35%25%
42%1%3%
65%
38%16%
1%
1%
3%
50%
10%22%
2%31%
62%
16%
1%52%
1%3%
3%
54%
10%25%
1%
33%
2%31%
12%
12%
87%
69%
80%
86%
81%
85%
85%
30%34%26%8%2%64%
29%29%30%8%3%58%
1104
3435
1014
9338
3797
6252
1594
Number of study
respondents
731
866
MSA* Population
Size (2015)(4)
2,814,330
9,625,744
3,733,580
20,182,305
9,551,031
13,340,068
3,524,583
6,012,331
4,302,043
creativeMN.org 5ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS ARE EVERYWHERE
2017 Creative MN Report
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES WITH
THE GREATEST EARNINGS(1)
$7.8 BILLION2014 ALL CREATIVE
INDUSTRIES TOTAL INDUSTRY EARNINGS(1)
(Sales generated by all creative
industries. Includes both for-profit
and nonprofit industries.)
AVERAGE HOURLY WAGES FOR CREATIVE
ECONOMY WORKERS(1)
ALL CREATIVE INDUSTRIES IN MINNESOTA
AVERAGE HOURLY
WAGES FOR CREATIVE ECONOMY WORKERS, 2014USA
THERE ARE 37 CREATIVE JOBS PER 1,000 WORKERS IN MINNESOTA
AVERAGE
HOURLY WAGE
AVERAGE
HOURLY WAGE
$23.00 FOR ALL WORKERS
MN
$24.00 FOR ALL WORKERS
$22.22 FOR ARTISTS AND
CREATIVE WORKERS
$16.54 — $17.37
$20.85 — $25.48
$19.01 — $20.84
$18.20 — $19.00
$17.38 — $18.19
COMMERCIAL
GRAVURE
PRINTING
$1.2B
ARTISTS,
WRITERS AND
PERFORMERS
$442M
ADVERTISING
AGENCIES
$500M
BOOK
PUBLISHERS
$724M
SOFTWARE
PUBLISHERS
$825M
print
software
book publisher
ad agency
artist, writer, performercreativeMN.org6ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS ARE EVERYWHERE
2017 Creative MN Report
THE GENERATIONS ARE CHANGING
Visual arts is the most commonly practiced discipline,
followed by theater, but people from different generations
practice different disciplines.
The younger an artist is the more likely they are to practice
theater as opposed to the visual arts. Millennials are the
only generation that chose theater as their primary artistic
discipline, most often.
*Some respondents did not answer the question, so the totals do not equal 100%. Baby Boomers were over-represented compared to their percentage of the Minnesota
population by 5%, and Elders were under-represented by 5%. Millennials were under-represented by 2% and Generation X were over-represented by 3%.(3)
Artists and creative workers have a
big impact on our economy.
Minnesota’s artists and creative workers have a large and
growing impact on our state’s economy. Both through
direct spending and through founding and running creative
businesses, they are a core part of the economic vitality of
our state.
This section is based on Creative Minnesota’s 2016 survey
of over 2,139 self identified artists in Minnesota, whether or
not they are making their living as artists(1). The survey results
include full and part-time workers as well as students, retired
and hobbyist artists unless otherwise noted.
Nearly 200 organizational partners worked together to
promote the survey, which was done with the assistance of
Americans for the Arts. We’d also like to thank the responding
artists who made this research possible.
CHANGES OVER TIME
This survey benefited from over twice the response rate of a
similar previous study in 2007 called “Artists Count.” The
existence of the previous study allows us to look at some
changes in the artist population over time.
The most significant change is in how we count artists and
creative workers in Minnesota. In 2007, we counted 19,676
artists for whom we had contact information for the study. In
2016, we count 104,148 artists and creative workers using
“Artists and Arts Workers in the United States” data from the
Quarterly U.S. Census of Employment and Wages.
The second largest change over time was finding a dramatic
increase in artists with health insurance, with the uninsured
rate dropping from 14 percent to 5 percent between 2007
and 2016.
2007
2016 5%UNINSURED
ARTISTS
14%UNINSURED
ARTISTS
ONLY
1/4 OF
ARTISTS
WORK
FULL-TIME
AS ARTISTS
SECTIONIIECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEY OF
ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS
Visual Arts
Theater
Music/Opera/Musical/Theater
Literature
Inter-Disciplinary/Multi-Disciplinary
Photography Media Arts
Crafts
Design Arts
Dance
Other
Folk-life Traditional Arts
21%
7%
25%
10%
1%
2%
4%
2%
3%
17%
8%
26%
13%
15%
9%
1%
3%
3%
3%
5%
13%
9%
38%
11%
9%
6%
2%
2%
1%
2%
8%
14%
6%
31%
10%
14%
8%
2%
2%
2%
3%
6%
14%
8%
MILLENNIALS1981 and after GENERATION X1965 to 1980 BOOMERS1947 to 1964 % OF TOTAL ARTISTSn = 2135ELDERS1946 and before
46%
9%
5%
9%
3%
2%
1%
3%
7%
9%
6%
ECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEY OF ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS
2017 Creative MN Report 7creativeMN.org
GOVERNMENT REVENUE
GENERATED BY ARTIST SPENDING
THE IMPACT OF ARTIST SPENDING
Artistic spending by Minnesota’s 104,148 full-time and part-
time artists and creative workers has a far reaching impact.
Artists buy supplies, contract for services and more. These
actions, in turn, support jobs, create income and generate
government revenue. This economic impact study sends
a strong signal that when we support Minnesota’s creative
workers, we not only enhance our quality of life, but also
invest in Minnesota’s economic well-being.
Separate from our previous study of the economic impact of nonprofit arts and culture organizations (see Section V), with this
survey of artists we now have compelling new evidence that individual artists and creative workers also comprise a significant
industry in Minnesota—one that generates $644 million in direct statewide economic activity and supports more than 17,533
additional full-time jobs.
THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF ARTISTS(1)
17,553$644 MILLIONTOTAL ARTISTIC EXPENDITURES MADE IN MN
FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT JOBS SUPPORTED BY ARTIST SPENDING
RESIDENT HOUSEHOLD INCOME GENERATED $494 MILLION Resident household income includes wages and
salaries paid to MN residents that in turn is spent
on rent, food and other living expenses.
$65 MILLION$18 MILLION
Government revenues includes sales, income and property taxes as well as
license, utility and filing fees, etc.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUE GENERATED
STATE GOVERNMENT REVENUE GENERATED
$83 MILLIONTOTAL GOVERNMENT REVENUES
8 ECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEY OF ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS
2017 Creative MN Report creativeMN.org
$2,702
11% OF ARTISTS ARE EMPLOYERS
About 1 in 10 artists support a paid position and/or
engage volunteers. Full-time artists employ other people
at a higher rate than part-time artists and hobby artists.
A quarter of full-time artists (27 percent) hire at least
one paid position, and about 1 in 10 (12 percent)
engage volunteers.
“NOT INCLUDING YOURSELF, HOW MANY PEOPLE DO
YOU EMPLOY DIRECTLY IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION
OR DELIVERY OF YOUR ARTISTIC WORK?”
ARTIST SPENDING IMPACTS LOCAL ECONOMY(1)
Not surprisingly, the average annual artistic spending by full-time artists is more than twice the average of part-time artists. For all
artists “supplies” was the largest expense, followed by car/truck expenses, uncategorized expenses and travel. Uniquely, full-time
artists also reported high expenses on contract labor and depreciation.
FULL-TIME ARTISTS/
CREATIVE WORKERS
PART-TIME ARTISTS/
CREATIVE WORKERS
ALL MN ARTISTS/
CREATIVE WORKERS
AVERAGE ANNUAL ARTISTIC
EXPENDITURES $12,588 $4,699 $6,116
7% HIRES AT LEAST ONE PAID EMPLOYEE/STAFF/CONTRACTOR
4% ENGAGES AT LEAST ONE UNPAID PERSON
(e.g., volunteer, unpaid intern, unpaid apprentice)
4% BOTH PAID AND UNPAID
85% NONE
*All MN Artists/Creative Workers Includes Hobbyists, Students and Retired
SUPPLIES COMMISSIONS/FEES
TAXES/LICENSES
UTILITIES
ENTERTAINMENT
TRAVEL MAINTENANCE
DEPRECIATION NON-HEALTH
INSURANCE
WAGES MORTGAGE INTEREST
ADVERTISING DEPLETION
RENT/LEASE (VEHICLE)
OTHER INTEREST
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
OTHER ARTISTIC
EXPENSES
CAR/TRUCK
EXPENSES
CONTRACT
LABOR
PROFESSIONAL
SERVICES
OFFICE
EXPENSES
BUSINESS
USE OF HOME
RENT/LEASE
(OTHER)
PENSION/PROFIT
SHARING
$2,702
$1,606
$1,531
$825
$760
$720
$702
$575
$550
$535
$444
$403
FULL-TIME
ARTISTS/
CREATIVE
WORKERS
$1,058
$650
$574
$180
$323
$276
$205
$219
$224
$228
$191
$109
PART-TIME
ARTISTS/
CREATIVE
WORKERS
$1,372
$813
$754
$298
$382
$355
$309
$279
$276
$278
$231
$174
ALL MN
ARTISTS/
CREATIVE
WORKERS
$293
$180
$167
$157
$153
$139
$50
$33
$29
$27
$7
$0
FULL-TIME
ARTISTS/
CREATIVE
WORKERS
$180
$72
$44
$67
$33
$26
$19
$0
$15
$5
$2
$0
PART-TIME
ARTISTS/
CREATIVE
WORKERS
$165
$98
$73
$81
$64
$51
$23
$9
$16
$13
$2
$0
ALL MN
ARTISTS/
CREATIVE
WORKERS
CATEGORY
OF ARTISTIC
EXPENSE
CATEGORY
OF ARTISTIC
EXPENSE
ECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEY OF ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS
2017 Creative MN Report 9creativeMN.org
SELF-REPORTED ARTISTIC INCOME(1)
MUSICIAN
$18,225
$29,792
= $48,017
DANCER/
CHOREO-
GRAPHER
$17,233
$16,855
= $34,088
ART,
MUSIC/
THEATER
DIRECTOR
$15,516
$21,224
= $36,740
COMPOSER
$15,342
$23,143
= $38,485
OTHER
MISC.
$14,566
$24,998
= $39,565
SINGER
$10,033
$29,977
= $40,010
VISUAL
ARTIST
$8,528
$27,913
= $36,411
CURATOR
$8,475
$26,108
= $34,583
CRAFT
ARTIST
$7,625
$32,680
= $40,305
ACTOR
$7,463
$25,608
= $33,071
PHOTO-
GRAPHER
$7,204
$31,211
= $38,414
WRITER/
AUTHOR/
EDITOR
$7,167
$32,192
= $39,359
ARTIST
$6,537
$25,306
= $31,843
Together, Minnesota’s full-time and part-time individual artists and creative workers collected $1.4 billion in artistic income
during 2015. This represents 40 percent of their total personal income of $3.8 billion from all sources. Survey respondents
reported a statewide average income of $9,893 from their art per artist/creative worker during 2015.
23%PART-TIME
ARTISTS
TOTAL INCOME THAT
COMES FROM THEIR ART 76.5%FULL-TIME
ARTISTS
AVERAGE ARTISTIC INCOME
Full-Time:
Part-Time:
Hobbyist:
Retired/Student:
AVERAGE TOTAL PERSONAL INCOME
AVERAGE NON-ARTISTIC INCOME
$30,652 $40,073$9,421
$4,485 $35,451$30,966
$827 $36,840$36,013
$5,348 $35,645$30,297
FULL-TIME ARTISTS MAKE, ON AVERAGE, MORE FROM THEIR ART AND MORE OVERALL, THAN PART-TIME ARTISTS
$9,893 $36,907$27,014
AVERAGE INCOME BY JOB
(FULL + PART-TIME ONLY)
AVERAGE
NON-ARTISTIC
INCOME
AVERAGE
ARTISTIC
INCOME
AVERAGE TOTAL
PERSONAL
INCOME
AVERAGE
NON-ARTISTIC
INCOME
AVERAGE
ARTISTIC
INCOME
AVERAGE TOTAL
PERSONAL
INCOME
AVERAGE INCOME BY DISCIPLINE
(FULL + PART-TIME ONLY)
DESIGN
ARTS
$20,918
$21,705
= $42,623
DANCE
$16,054
$22,319
= 38,373
OTHER
MISC.
$16,670
$19,167
= $35,837
MUSICAL/
OPERA
MUSICAL
THEATER
$16,480
$27,454
= $43,934
THEATER
$10,797
$22,472
= $33,269
PHOTOGRAPHY
$9,776
$31,429
= $41,205
LITERATURE
$8,708
$33,718
= $42,426
INTER/MULTI-
DISCIPLINARY
$8,370
$20,720
= $29,090
CRAFTS
$7,813
$27,024
= $34,837
VISUAL
ARTS
$6,150
$28,149
= $34,298
FOLK-LIFE
TRADITIONAL
$4,295
$35,919
= $40,215
ALL DISCIPLINES $9,893 + $27,014 = $36,907
ALL JOBS $9,893 + $27,014 = $36,907
ALL ARTISTS
10 ECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEY OF ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS
2017 Creative MN Report creativeMN.org
ALL ARTISTS $9,893 $27,014 $36,907
WOMEN MAKE
LESS FROM
THEIR ART
AVERAGEARTISTIC INCOME
$7,782
$14,198
AVERAGENON-ARTISTIC INCOME
$21,159
$30,968
AVERAGETOTAL PERSONAL INCOME
$32,941
$45,166
WOMEN ARTISTS
MEN ARTISTS
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT(1)
NOTE: The survey asked artists to identify their race and ethnicity in an open text box. 82% gave a response that could be classified as “white,” 10% as a “person
of color” and 7% as “other” which matches the demographics of Minnesota’s workforce overall.(4)
AVERAGEARTISTIC INCOME
$8,608
$10,397
AVERAGENON-ARTISTIC INCOME
$21,697
$28,022
AVERAGETOTAL PERSONAL INCOME
$30,304
$38,419
ARTISTS OF COLOR
WHITE ARTISTS
ARTISTS OF COLOR
MAKE LESS FROM
THEIR ART
WOMEN LESS LIKELY TO SAY THEY ARE
FULL-TIME ARTISTS AND BOTH WOMEN
AND ARTISTS OF COLOR MAKE LESS
FROM THEIR ART
Two-thirds of survey respondents identified as female, one
third as male, and two percent as “other” or did not respond.
Men are more likely to identify as “full-time” artists compared
to women, as has been reported in other studies nationally.(2)
1412 RESPONSES
WOMEN ARTISTS
24% FULL-TIME ARTIST
44% PART-TIME ARTIST
28% HOBBY ARTIST
4% STUDENT/RETIRED/OTHER
688 RESPONSES
MEN ARTISTS
31% FULL-TIME ARTIST
44% PART-TIME ARTIST
20% HOBBY ARTIST
5% STUDENT/RETIRED/OTHER
28 RESPONSES
OTHER
25% FULL-TIME ARTIST
54% PART-TIME ARTIST
18% HOBBY ARTIST
4% STUDENT/RETIRED/OTHER
ECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEY OF ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS
2017 Creative MN Report 11creativeMN.org
CREATIVE WORKERS IN DESIGN, THEATER AND MUSIC
ARE MORE LIKELY TO WORK FULL-TIME AS ARTISTS
CREATIVE WORKERS
IN LITERATURE HAD
THE HIGHEST LEVEL
OF PART-TIME ARTISTIC
WORK AT 57 PERCENT
ONLY ONE-
FOURTH OF
ARTISTS WORK
ON THEIR ART
FULL-TIME
31% HOBBY/STUDENT/
RETIRED/OTHER ARTIST
668 RESPONSES
VISUAL ARTS
23% FULL-TIME ARTIST46% PART-TIME ARTIST
176 RESPONSES
INTER- DISCIPLINARY /MULTI-DISCIPLINARY
28% FULL-TIME ARTIST42% PART-TIME ARTIST30% HOBBY/STUDENT/
RETIRED/OTHER ARTIST
51 RESPONSES
DANCE
25% FULL-TIME ARTIST49% PART-TIME ARTIST26% HOBBY/STUDENT/
RETIRED/OTHER ARTIST
120 RESPONSES
CRAFTS
23% FULL-TIME ARTIST33% PART-TIME ARTIST44% HOBBY/STUDENT/
RETIRED/OTHER ARTIST
218 RESPONSES
LITERATURE
15% FULL-TIME ARTIST
57% PART-TIME ARTIST28% HOBBY/STUDENT/
RETIRED/OTHER ARTIST
161 RESPONSES
PHOTOGRAPHY/MEDIA ARTS
22% FULL-TIME ARTIST43% PART-TIME ARTIST35% HOBBY/STUDENT/
RETIRED/OTHER ARTIST
35 RESPONSES
FOLK-LIFE / TRADITIONAL ARTS
9% FULL-TIME ARTIST
37% PART-TIME ARTIST
54% HOBBY/STUDENT/
RETIRED/OTHER ARTIST
56 RESPONSES
DESIGN ARTS
36% FULL-TIME ARTIST
39% PART-TIME ARTIST
25% HOBBY/STUDENT/
RETIRED/OTHER ARTIST
303 RESPONSES
MUSIC/OPERA/MUSICAL THEATER
35% FULL-TIME ARTIST
41% PART-TIME ARTIST
24% HOBBY/STUDENT/
RETIRED/OTHER ARTIST
23% HOBBY/STUDENT/
RETIRED/OTHER ARTIST
309 RESPONSES
THEATER
34% FULL-TIME ARTIST
43% PART-TIME ARTIST
FULL-TIME
ARTIST
SUPPORTED ENTIRELY
THROUGH THEIR
CREATIVE WORK
24%PART-TIME
ARTIST
PARTIALLY SUPPORTED
THROUGH THEIR
CREATIVE WORK
42%HOBBY
ARTIST
NO INCOME
FROM THEIR
CREATIVE WORK
25%OTHER
STUDENT OR RETIRED
2%
Note: The majority of “other
responses” said they were
either retired or a student.
12 ECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEY OF ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS
2017 Creative MN Report creativeMN.org
HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE
HAS RISEN DRAMATICALLY
AMONG ARTISTS AND CREATIVE
WORKERS SINCE THE PASSAGE
OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
The most dramatic change from our previous survey is that
95 percent of 2016 survey respondents reported having
health insurance.
In our 2007 study we found 14 percent of artists were
uninsured. The uninsured rate has dropped dramatically,
most likely because of the Affordable Care Act (also known as
Obamacare), passed by Congress in 2009. Most frequently,
artists currently have insurance through an individual plan,
which would be expected from a population that is more likely
to own and run a small business. This has jumped up to
42 percent from 28 percent in 2007.
WHILE WE REJOICE THAT RATE OF THE UNINSURED
AMONG ARTISTS HAS DROPPED, AFFORDABILITY IS
STILL AN ISSUE.
ARTIST ACCESS TO HEALTH INSURANCE
RESPONSES
In the past, artists (because of factors like self-
employment and variable/low incomes) were twice as likely
as the general population to be uninsured. The Affordable
Care Act brought the uninsured rate for artists closer to
the national average - about five percent. That’s the good
news. But we also know, through our work with artists
getting health insurance and through national reporting
and research, that the cost of premiums and deductibles
and considerable system navigation challenges are still
discouraging people from using or getting insurance,
meaning that the number of artists (and others) who are
underinsured and therefore not able to access healthcare
remains high. In order to make access to healthcare truly
available to everyone, there needs to be a concerted effort
around controlling costs and making the system more clear
and accessible.”
- Laura Zabel, Executive Director
Springboard for the Arts
“DO YOU HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE?”
2017 STUDY
2007 STUDY
29%
36%
25%
23%
5%
14%
42%
28%
2139
1047
YES, ON MY OWN
THROUGH AN
INDIVIDUAL PLAN
YES, ON MY OWN
THROUGH AN
EMPLOYER
YES, THROUGH MY
SPOUSE, PARTNER, OR
FAMILY
NO
INSURANCE
WHITE PERSON
OTHER
PERSON OF COLOR
ALL ARTISTS
42%
38%
43%
42%
1756
150
233
2139
29%
27%
33%
29%
25%
29%
17%
25%
4%
6%
7%
5%
Note that for this section percentages may add up to more than 100 because participants could select more than one option.
2017
ARTISTS OF COLOR ARE MORE
LIKELY TO BE UNINSURED
Artists of color in Minnesota are more likely to be uninsured
than white artists. Artists of color are more likely than white
artists to have insurance through an employer, but less likely
to be insured through their spouse or another family member.
ECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEY OF ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS
2017 Creative MN Report 13creativeMN.org
ARTISTS VOLUNTEER MUCH MORE
THAN OTHER MINNESOTANS OR EVEN
OTHER AMERICANS(5)
Compared to the responses to our 2007 survey, artists are
reporting even more volunteer hours donated than ten years
ago. The flip side of the great willingness of artists to volunteer
for their communities is that others often take advantage of that
good will by not offering adequate compensation for their work.
MINNESOTA
ARTISTS88%ALL
MINNESOTANS35%ALL
AMERICANS25%
Artists make many generous contributions to our
communities and they deserve to be valued and compensated
for their time and expertise like any other professionals.”
– Arleta Little, Arts Program Officer
The McKnight Foundation
OTHER DEMOGRAPHICS OF
MINNESOTA’S ARTIST WORKFORCE(6)
Note: Artist workforce refers to residents who identified an art profession as their most recent and primary source of income.
STATEWIDE ARTIST WORKFORCE
STATEWIDE TOTAL WORKFORCE
Minnesota’s artist workforce
is more likely to be college
educated and less likely to
be foreign-born or a person
with a disability than the rest
of the state’s workforce:
DISABILITY
HAVE AT LEAST
1 DISABILITY
EDUCATION
COLLEGE EDUCATION
OR HIGHER
NATIVITY
FOREIGN-BORN
POVERTY STATUS
LIVE BELOW
POVERTY LINE
6%58%5%8%
12%30%9%10%
6–10
HOURS
23%
1–5
HOURS
37%
11–20
HOURS
15%
20+
HOURS
12%
ZERO
HOURS
12%
14 ECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEY OF ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS
2017 Creative MN Report creativeMN.org
CHANGE OVER TIME: SLIGHTLY MORE ARTISTS HAVE A RETIREMENT PLAN
Note: This section’s percentages may add up to more than 100% because participants could select more than one option.
FULL-TIME ARTISTS ARE MOST LIKELY TO HAVE NO RETIREMENT PLAN
ARTISTS OF COLOR ARE MOST LIKELY TO HAVE NO RETIREMENT PLAN
2136 RESPONSESTOTAL 2017 ARTISTS 34%11%32%33%
1047 RESPONSESTOTAL 2007 ARTISTS 33%10%35%33%
833 RESPONSES
BABY BOOMERS1947 TO 1964
41%
34%
15% 23%
174 RESPONSES
ELDER1946 AND BEFORE
49%
28%
12% 20%
536 RESPONSES
MILLENNIALS1981 AND AFTER
19%
30%
6% 50%
593 RESPONSES
GENERATION X1965 TO 1980
29%
39%
11% 30%
40%22%
11% 36%
559 RESPONSES
FULL-TIMEARTIST 30%35%
10% 35%
942 RESPONSES
PART-TIMEARTIST 28%47%
14% 22%
539 RESPONSES
HOBBYARTIST 41%24%
14% 30%
98 RESPONSES
STUDENT/RETIRED OTHER
34%
35%
12% 30%
1756 RESPONSES
WHITEARTIST 24%
33%
8% 42%
233 RESPONSES
ARTISTS OF COLOR 34%
27%
12% 40%
150 RESPONSES
OTHER
OVER 20% OF OUR MOST
SENIOR ARTISTS HAVE NO
RETIREMENT PLAN
Thirty-two percent of individual artists
in Minnesota have no formal retirement
plans. This is a slight improvement from
our 2007 results.
YES ON MY OWN THROUGH AN INDIVIDUAL PLAN
YES ON MY OWN THROUGH AN EMPLOYER
YES THROUGH MY SPOUSE, PARTNER, OR FAMILY
NONE
ARTIST RETIREMENT PLANS
ECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEY OF ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS
2017 Creative MN Report 15creativeMN.org
SECTIONIIIWHAT ARTISTS GIVE TO
COMMUNITIES AND WHAT
ARTISTS NEED TO SUCCEED
WHERE (AND WHO) ARE THE ARTISTS?
We have established that Minnesota is an artist-rich state.
It’s important to note, though, that the 104,000 artists and
creative workers documented in Section I only represent those
who show up on the economic radar screen as full- or part-
time workers(1) or self-employed in the U.S. Census.
This brings up an often posed but never adequately answered
question, namely, who is an artist? Section II of this report
has taken a “yes, and” approach to that issue by asking artists
to self-identify. There, we broadly define “artists” along a
continuum from the hobbyist, to the part-time practitioner,
to the full-time professional.
This report takes a look at
the structure, condition and
needs of Minnesota’s artist
ecosystem.
To understand the cultural, social and economic impact artists
have on the state, we need to examine:
• Where artists live and work
• The many ways artists contribute to our communities
• What Minnesota’s artists need to thrive
Our report is informed by three core assumptions about the
cultural ecosystem in Minnesota:
• The arts sector is a network of artists, formal and informal
arts organizations, audiences, funders and others who
depend upon each other to succeed
• The sector’s creative fuel comes from the community of
artists working within it
• The sector’s overall health depends upon the health of the
artist community
DENSITY
However you define them, Minnesota’s artists and creative
workers are not evenly distributed across the state.
Like most workers, artists tend to live in places that have
the creative infrastructure they depend on to make and
share their work. These include: fellow artist collaborators,
audiences and customers, employment opportunities, access
to training and facilities and much more. Naturally, these
support systems are more likely to reach a critical mass in
areas with greater population density. This is why the Twin
Cities is home to 71 percent of the state’s artists and creative
workers that we’ve identified. It’s important to note, though,
that over 30,000 artists have established themselves in
communities outside of the metro area. This is likely to be in
part because the state’s Regional Arts Council system has
provided critical services and significant funding (from the
Legacy Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and other sources)
to artists and arts organizations in small and midsized
communities across the state for decades. Several other
arts funders, such as the Mcknight, Bush and Jerome
Foundations, have also supported artists across the state.
This has made it possible for even more artists to thrive in
places like St. Cloud, Rochester and Bemidji, which have
particularly high concentrations of artists and creative
workers.
These high-density “artist clusters”(2) can be a powerful
stimulant for community development.(2) The City of
Minneapolis has compiled data on creative workers by
location as a part of the Minneapolis Creative Index.(3) That
data shows that the seven Minneapolis zip codes(4) that hug
the east and west banks of the Mississippi River are home to
50 percent of the total arts workers counted in the city. Further
west, 32 percent of the counted artists live in the seven zip
codes that surround Minneapolis’ Chain of Lakes. Locally
dense artist communities like these can be a powerful asset.
There are similar creative clusters throughout the state, such
as Grand Marais on the North Shore of Lake Superior and
Lanesboro in Southeastern Minnesota. These organic creator
enclaves, a result of the work of many individuals, present
municipal and regional planners and policy makers with even
more opportunities for leveraging these creative resources in
ways that can make a significant economic and social impact.
designtranslate advocate
educate
animate
nurture
transcend
document
motivate
beautify
inve stigate
provoke
invent
witnessbuild
decoratecommemor
ateentertain
inspire
persuade
mediate
praise
celebrate
explore
healSome, like entertain, decorate, educate and design, likely fit
many people’s perception of the roles that artists can play in
our society. Other words derived from the realms of medicine,
politics and religion remind us that for most of human history
(and pre-history) artists have had a much more expansive
job description that included essential functions like, healer,
historian, mediator and spiritual leader.
HOW DO ARTISTS CONTRIBUTE
TO OUR COMMUNITIES?
Artists are often viewed through the lens of their work
products—the painting, the book, the play and the song.
But when artists are asked to share what drives them they
describe a practice driven by a passion to create with a much
broader range of intentions.
THIS LIST OF WORDS CULLED FROM ARTISTS
INTERVIEWS IS AN INTERESTING WAY TO BEGIN
EXPLORING WHAT ARTISTS BRING TO OUR
COMMUNITIES.
WHAT ARTISTS GIVE TO COMMUNITIES AND WHAT ARTISTS NEED TO SUCCEED
2017 Creative MN Report 17creativeMN.org
ARTISTS ARE ENTERPRISING
Much of the data in this report highlights the impact that
artists and creative workers have on the state’s economic life.
It’s significant that we can point to the $644 million that
artists contribute to the state’s economy. It’s also important
to recognize that these artists produce the work that inspires
and fuels the rest of the state’s $2 billion cultural ecosystem.
As such, artists are the beating heart of a robust and growing
creative Minnesota economy. This inventive spirit has also
manifested in thousands of creative workers who are operating
as arts entrepreneurs. Just like any small business they buy
materials, hire workers, make and sell products and services
and pay taxes. The numbers add up and are impressive,
but there is more. Given the generative nature of the creative
industries, these micro-enterprises also constitute a
self-perpetuating incubator for future ventures—new
enterprises that will ultimately manifest as locally
developed, non-polluting, renewable community assets.
ARTISTS BUILD SOCIAL CAPITAL
We all know that art can be inspirational and provocative.
But, interestingly, new research also shows that the presence
of artists and small arts organizations brings other benefits in
less obvious ways. Earlier, creative clusters were described as
a potentially potent community building resource. Research
shows that neighborhoods with very dense, highly interactive
networks of artists and arts organizations produce specific
benefits for those communities.(5) These benefits include
poverty reduction, population retention and growth and
increased civic participation. The power of creative clusters
derives, in part, from the dynamic social networks they create,
particularly among active cultural participants. In her article
How Art and Culture Happen In New York, urban planning
researcher Elizabeth Currid says these creative connections
also stimulate art making, stating that “cultural producers
… tend to cross-fertilize, collaborating to create goods and
services, review each other’s productions, and establish new
careers.”(6) This cultural synergy effects public life as well, in
that the presence of cultural resources produces high levels
of “cross-participation” in neighborhoods that stimulates
residents’ involvement in other civic activities.
ARTISTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE
In addition to being creative entrepreneurs, Minnesota’s artists
are deeply involved in community building and placemaking.
In small urban neighborhoods and rural communities, it’s not
uncommon to find an actor on the local planning committee,
a photographer documenting a neighborhood streetscape or
a local composer leading the community choir. This happens
because, contrary to the stereotype, artists, by and large, are
not loners, and tend to be highly involved in civic life(7). In
recent years, artists in increasing numbers have been exploring
new ways to apply their creative capacities as community
leaders. This impulse is emerging at a time when investments
in “creative placemaking” are on the rise across the country.
However, in Minnesota, this is not a new thing. Over the past
two decades the state has established itself as a national
leader in the growing, arts-based community development
movement. The work of community-committed arts organizations
such as Intermedia Arts, Juxtaposition Arts, Pangea World
Theater, Pillsbury House + Theater, and Springboard for the
Arts have established Minnesota as a center for professional
development, program innovation and research in support of
artists working to help build healthier, more productive and
equitable communities. Along with partners like the Local
Initiatives Support Corporation, Hope Community, Pillsbury
United Communities and the South West Minnesota Housing
Partnership, these organizations have helped establish a network
of cross-sector creative leaders that are tackling critical issues in
education, community development, public safety, healthcare,
housing, transportation, racial justice and human services across
the state.
ARTISTS OPEN NEW DOORS
We live in an age of increasing uncertainty where the
unforeseen and unpredictable have become the new status
quo. Put another way, life is becoming less symphonic and
a lot and more like jazz. Many civic leaders have argued
meeting the challenges of the “age of uncertainty” will require
strengthening the creative thinking and adaptive learning
capacities of our future citizens, our institutions and the
systems that connect them.(8)
In Minnesota this way of thinking has found receptive partners
in city governments and local nonprofits, where they are
integrating artists into their everyday work with the aim of
stimulating new ideas and innovation. It has also manifested
through the thousands of artists who are teaching in the state’s
schools. Less conspicuous, but no less important, are the
artists whose work bears witness to both the remarkable and
the troubling aspects of everyday life. Some people think these
are unusual roles for artists. But they are not. Artists have been
helping us make sense and meaning in the world for thousands
of years—listening and synthesizing, telling our stories,
exploring the mysteries and articulating our dreams. As we take
stock of artists’ contributions, it’s important to remember this
has always been their number one job.
WHILE THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE CULTURAL
ECONOMY IS CLEAR, THERE ARE MANY OTHER
WAYS THAT ARTISTS HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON
THEIR COMMUNITIES:
18 WHAT ARTISTS GIVE TO COMMUNITIES AND WHAT ARTISTS NEED TO SUCCEED
2017 Creative MN Report creativeMN.org
Not surprisingly, audiences were
identified as an important creative
spark but more in terms of relationship
building (i.e. “engaging,” “making
connection with,” “transforming”) than
either reward or acclaim.
Audience
AUDIENCES AS
A CREATIVE
STIMULUS
A number of artists cited the thrill
of studying and learning about new
areas of knowledge such as history,
science, spiritual or community
issues. Tangentially, freedom was
also mentioned as a treasured state
of mind associated with unfettered
learning and the creative process.
DISCOVERING
NEW IDEAS AND
SOLUTIONS
Many artists pointed to their
work with colleagues as a driving
force for their work. Many cited
interdisciplinary and cross-sector
work as an exciting facet of their
careers. Others described teaching
and mentoring as an important part
of their creative development.
WORKING WITH
AND TEACHING
OTHERS
THE ARTIST ECONOMY IN MINNESOTA
Another way to consider the dynamics of the artist ecosystem is to examine the economy that helps sustain it. Many artists
correlate the amount and continuity of the time they are paid with the quality of the work they produce. Despite Minnesota’s
reputation as a strong “arts community,” a minority of the artists surveyed by Creative Minnesota (24 percent) say they make
their living primarily through their art. Thirty-four percent are retired, student or hobby artists, whose motivations are not
monetary. From the data on artists’ livelihoods, we can see that most working artists function within a patchwork economy that
may include multiple and overlapping elements of the following: (continued on next page)
Artists, like everyone else, need to make a living wage, but we
have found that they are often asked to, and often do, work as
volunteers or for less than a living wage.
Small or large, successful businesses are defined by their
ability to attract capital, produce products, grow markets and
ultimately generate profits. Money both fuels the work and
defines a successful outcome.
Given that the artist ecosystem is not particularly lucrative for
many artists, what drives them is clearly a more complicated
matter. According to a recent Minnesota State Arts Board
“Artists Thrive” survey, artists’ descriptions of what they need
to make a living and a life in the arts include both material
and social considerations.
THE IMPETUS FOR ART MAKING
Research shows that artists have a very wide range of
motivations for their art making.(9) (10) Here are some key
motivational forces that artists say sustain them in their
creative endeavors.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS IS THE DRIVING FORCE OF
ARTISTS’ WORK. WHILE ARTISTS’ DEFINITIONS OF
“CREATIVE PROCESS” VARY WIDELY, MOST CONTAIN
ASPECTS OF THE FOLLOWING:
Putting unique ideas,
concepts, sounds together
SYNTHESIS
Developing something new
from existing materials or
patterns
INNOVATION
Discovery through
experimentation and
invention
EXPLORATION
Crafting creative ideas into
something meaningful to
others
TRANSLATION
WHAT DO ARTISTS NEED TO THRIVE?
WHAT ARTISTS GIVE TO COMMUNITIES AND WHAT ARTISTS NEED TO SUCCEED
2017 Creative MN Report 19creativeMN.org
EARNED ARTISTIC INCOME
Sixty-four percent of the artists surveyed say they derive
some income from their art making. As a rule, visual artists
derive their art-related revenue from sales and commissions,
while performers generally receive payment for the time
they spend in working on a performance. Many artists who
are paid also work numerous unpaid hours and often donate
additional time.
OTHER JOBS
One of the most significant parts of the artist economy
are those “outside” jobs. Of these, teaching and arts
administration are the most prevalent. Many artists describe
their teaching as reasonably compatible with their creative
efforts. While most indicate they would rather be making
their own art, some saw their ancillary employment as a
healthy and vital stimulant for their creative work.
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FUNDING
Most of the state’s cultural funding goes to the state’s
arts organizations. As such, their precise impact on artists
is indirect and hard to discern, although obviously these
organizations employ many artists. Nevertheless, as the
principal delivery system for artists’ work and creative
development these organizations are a critical part of the
artist ecosystem. Creative worker and artist jobs increased
across the state as a result of the investments from the
Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. In addition
to foundation-supported artist fellowships, direct funding
for artists also comes from the State Arts Board and the
Regional Arts Councils. Some artists also reflected on the
“unique” and “generous” nature of Minnesota’s artist-
support system.
The Jerome, Bush and McKnight Foundation’s Artist
Fellowship programs have granted over $60 million in
fellowships over seven decades to thousands of individual
artists in the state. Another historically significant support for
Minnesota creators are the many artist service organizations
in the state that have provided hundreds of thousands of
hours of training and technical assistance in support of
artists’ careers over the past four decades. These substantial
investments have established Minnesota as a uniquely
fertile place for artists to plant roots and build careers and a
reputation as an artist magnet.
INFORMAL SUPPORT
A small but important source of support comes from the
“creative family” within which there are people who not
only share the artist’s passion and commitment but also
contribute financially. These partners, spouses, parents,
in-laws, collaborators and even investors constitute a hidden
aspect of the artist economy.
AN ECOSYSTEM OUT OF BALANCE
This diversity of income sources also points to another theme
that emerged from artists’ descriptions of their economic lives.
A number of artists indicated that the “stitched-together”
nature of their livelihoods made both their art-making and
everyday lives fairly unpredictable. The tenuousness of the
artist economy is further amplified for artists of color. The
2017 Creative MN survey shows that artists of color are making
18 percent less annually from their artistic pursuits and
22 percent less in total income than their white counterparts.
Artists of color are also 43 percent less likely to have health
insurance than white artists. Disturbing as these findings are,
they are not surprising. These differences correspond with
the patterns of inequity experienced by people of color in the
overall workforce and by culturally specific arts organizations
in the arts sector.(11) They also reinforce the perception from
artists of color interviewed for the McKnight Yes and No report
that felt that the infrastructure of white funders, leaders and
their affiliations provided a support structure that was not as
accessible to them. For many, “thriving” translates as simply
having the capacity to produce and present their own work. One
artist put it this way: “In order to thrive as an artist, space is
an invaluable resource … space that I have ownership stake in.
Owning dirt. That is essential to me thriving right now.”
CREATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE
Arts institutions, service organizations and commercial venues,
working interdependently within the cultural sector play
multiple roles in artists’ lives. These organizations provide the
resources artists depend on for producing and presenting their
work. But they have many other functions as well, ranging from
hiring and training many artists and testing new creative ideas,
to raising funds and cultivating audiences.
WORKSPACE
Most artists need a workspace to invent and design, to
fabricate and render, to rehearse and perform. There was
agreement across all disciplines that the quality of their work is
significantly influenced by the space in which it is created.
PRESENTING AND PRODUCING ORGANIZATIONS
These organizations facilitate the transfer of artwork from
creators to interpreters. They also provide the exhibition and
presenting spaces that serve as the bridge between artists
and local audiences. These venues were also identified as
incubators for artistic development.
ARTS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS
Minnesota’s discipline-specific arts service organizations
constitute a unique and important subset of the artist
ecosystem. They were not only valued because of their financial
20 WHAT ARTISTS GIVE TO COMMUNITIES AND WHAT ARTISTS NEED TO SUCCEED
2017 Creative MN Report creativeMN.org
and technical support, but also as an important hub in the
creative social networks that artists depend on for feedback,
advice, encouragement and referrals.
AUDIENCE
One artist said, “without an audience you are not in
the game.” That said, for most of our respondents, arts
participation was much more about building relationships
than it was “butts in seats.” Many described the need for
“dynamic,” “respectful,” even “collaborative” relationships
with audiences often referencing their essential role in the
completion of the creative process.
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
CONDITIONS
Many artists say that this complex web of relationships,
resources and conditions is the most stable and resilient part
of their support system.
TIME TO WORK
If artists had one thing they could get more of, it is time—
time for making work, for practice, for research and most
precious of all, time for reflection. As in any profession, time
is money, and the ability to have time to make art can be
dependent upon financial resources.
OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN
Access to other artists, mentors and masters was described
as an essential component of the lifelong learning that fuels
artistic development. Learning from masters and critical input
from colleagues were both mentioned. Artist residencies
and universities were often mentioned as offering valuable
opportunities for intense learning and exploration.
CRITICAL RESPONSE
Artists want feedback from peers, audiences, mentors and
critics so that they can learn and improve their practice.
BALANCE AND PREDICTABILITY
Given all the moving parts, artists’ lives are fairly
unpredictable. As such, they place a high value on
relationships, resources and time commitments that are
regular and dependable.
FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Parents, spouses, partners, children, in-laws, brothers and
sisters were recognized for providing everything from help with
hanging art and learning lines to financial and moral support.
Many artists described this intimate circle as a primary source
of creative, financial and moral support.
COLLEAGUES AND PEERS
Beyond the circle of family and friends there is the
professional network of colleagues, teachers, technicians and
advisors that artists depend on to make and present their
work. For each artistic discipline there is a critical mass of
technical and creative expertise that defines scope and depth
of an artistic discipline in a given place.
This study also tells an interesting story. Clearly, Minnesota did
not become an artist hot spot by accident. Like its business and
civic achievements, Minnesota’s vigorous artist community is a
product of the hard work of many people. In the middle of the
last century community leaders recognized that for Minnesota
to thrive, its creativity needed to be more than a source of
entertainment and decoration. They understood that it was a
natural resource that when combined with Minnesota’s grit and
persistence would create a necessary and powerful community
asset. To accomplish this they knew they would have to make
significant and sustained public and private investments.
WHAT NEXT?
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT MINNESOTA’S
ROBUST ARTIST COMMUNITY HAS MORE
THAN NUMBERS GOING FOR IT.
The state’s artists and creative workers are a potent and dynamic
civic resource. They drive the creative economy and kindle
discovery and invention in the community at large. They are
not only an attraction for other creative people, their presence
and activity also helps make Minnesota a place people want
to call “home.” This report offers a valuable snapshot of
this remarkable asset—an ecosystem comprised of creators
working individually, and together, as entrepreneurs, as
workers, as citizens and community leaders—a creative
network with evident strengths, as well as vulnerabilities
and inequities.
The question now is whether the product of this
historic commitment will be taken for granted going forward?
Will the insights gained from this report give rise to new ideas
for strengthening and sustaining the state’s artist ecosystem in
the 21st Century? Given the obvious benefits, that would seem
to be both a practical and inspired path to follow.”
- Bill Cleveland
Center for the Arts and Community
WHAT ARTISTS GIVE TO COMMUNITIES AND WHAT ARTISTS NEED TO SUCCEED
2017 Creative MN Report 21creativeMN.org
STRONGEST NEEDS FOR ALL MINNESOTA ARTISTS:
FROM THE MINNESOTA STATE ARTS BOARD “ARTISTS THRIVE” SURVEY(12)
GREATER MINNESOTA
ARTISTS
More access to markets and
audiences, more reliable
access to work spaces and
equipment, greater access to
fellow artists for peer learning.
METRO ARTISTS
Opportunities to focus on their
art, opportunities to share and
collaborate with other artists
rather than compete.
EMERGING
ARTISTS
Access to markets, adequate
work space and equipment,
a variety of learning
opportunities and professional
skills and mentors.
YOUNGER ARTISTS,
BORN 1981 OR LATER
Access to space, equipment
and materials, peer
connections and mentors.
ARTISTS IDENTIFYING
AS PEOPLE OF COLOR
Education for “gatekeepers”
and others in the sector about
their work, and particularly its
cultural context, community
respect for the value (both the
cost and expertise) of their
work, better access to space,
technology and materials.
ARTISTS IDENTIFYING
AS WHITE
Connection and networking.
ARTISTS WHO EARN
SOME OR MOST
INCOME FROM THEIR
ART
Opportunities to share their
expertise (to be mentors,
teachers), access to markets
and audiences and to be
compensated fairly, access to
the space and equipment that
they need.
STRONGEST NEEDS FOR:
Artists desire spaces
and tools of their own
in order to do their
work – but not in
solitude.
Space
SPACE TO WORK
Artists remain ambitious
about developing
paying audiences and
generating income from
their work, but their
identities as artists
and the non-monetary
value they derive from
their practice are strong
regardless of earnings.
Earn
EARN
Artists have
strong interest in
opportunities to form
connections and serve
communities.
Learn
CONNECT
Artists embrace and
are seeking more
learning experiences;
experienced artists
would like to pass on
their skills; younger
artists are looking for
mentors.
Connect
LEARN
Artists desire to reach
wider audiences and
markets.
Audience
AUDIENCE
SECTIONIVPUBLIC OPINION POLLING
ABOUT THE ARTS AND
PARTICIPATION
US(2) 68% YES US(2) 49% YES
“… attended an arts event in the last year, like going to
the theater, museum, zoo or a musical performance.”
“… personally involved in artistic activities such as
painting, singing in a choir, making crafts, writing poetry,
or playing music.”
IN THE PAST YEAR, HAVE YOU
OR ANYONE ELSE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD...
ARE YOU INVOLVED IN THE ARTS BY DOING ANY
CREATIVE ACTIVITY IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE?
MN(1) 76% YES MN(1) 63% YES
“… attended an arts activity at a theater, auditorium,
concert hall, museum, gallery, or similar location.”
“People are involved in the arts in many ways as part of
their everyday lives, such as singing in a church choir,
woodworking, needlepoint, dancing, going to a play or
a museum, creating music or videos, writing poetry, or
painting.”
MINNESOTANS ATTEND AND PARTICIPATE
IN THE ARTS TO A HIGHER DEGREE THAN
OTHER AMERICANS
SEVERAL POLLS HAVE
SHOWN THAT: MN US
MINNESOTANS
PLACE A HIGH VALUE
ON CREATIVITY
91% believe that people who create art are contributing
something important to the communities where they live.(1)
90% believe that arts and cultural activities help to make
Minnesota an attractive place to live and work.(1)
90% agree that creative activities and the arts are
contributing to Minnesota’s quality of life.(1)
82% think it’s important to have the opportunity to express
themselves creatively or to experience the creativity of others
every day.(3)
78% agree that creativity is important to them personally.(3)
70% agree that the arts and culture are an important
sector of our economy.(3)
PUBLIC OPINION POLLING ABOUT THE ARTS AND PARTICIPATION
2017 Creative MN Report 23creativeMN.org
“We believe the arts should be taught in grades K-12.” Ninety
percent believe students should receive an education in the
arts in elementary school, middle school and high school.
Eighty-two percent say the arts should also be taught outside
of the classroom in the community.
“The arts unify our communities.” The personal benefits of
the arts extend beyond the individual and to the community.
Sixty-seven percent of Americans believe “the arts unify
our communities regardless of age, race and ethnicity” and
62 percent agree that the arts “helps me understand other
cultures better.”
WHAT AMERICANS BELIEVE
ABOUT THE ARTS(2)
“The arts provide meaning to our lives.” Sixty-three percent
of Americans believe the arts “lift me up beyond everyday
experiences,” 64 percent feel the arts give them “pure
pleasure to experience and participate in” and 73 percent say
the arts are a “positive experience in a troubled world.”
“We will support candidates who want to increase arts
funding.” Americans are more than twice as likely to vote in
favor of a candidate who increases arts spending nationally
than to vote against them.
“We believe the arts are part of a well-rounded education.”
Nine in ten American adults (88 percent) agree that the arts
are part of a well-rounded education.
Creative Minnesota has partnered with Minnesota artists and
arts organizations, including many from diverse and rural
communities across the state, to develop a new Arts and
Culture Section of Minnesota Compass. (mncompass.org)
This new section will track arts opportunities and participation
throughout the state for all Minnesota residents. Minnesota
Compass is a social indicators project that measures progress
in our state, its seven regions, 87 counties and larger cities.
Compass tracks trends in topic areas such as education,
economy and workforce, health, housing, public safety and
a host of others. Creative Minnesota will continue to include
these indicators in future reports.
Our state benefits when all residents have opportunities to
attend arts and cultural activities, create and perform the
arts, and have arts in our schools. With input from their Arts
and Culture Advisory Group, Minnesota Compass selected the
following indicators to measure Minnesotans participation in
arts and cultural activities.
MINNESOTA COMPASS
INDICATORS(4) OF ARTS
OPPORTUNITY
creativeMN.org
MINNESOTA’S ARTS
ATTENDANCE IS HIGH(4)
More Minnesotans attend arts and culture events than the
national average:
*Includes working with pottery, ceramics or jewelry; doing any leatherwork,
metalwork or woodwork; doing any weaving, crocheting, quilting, needlepoint,
knitting or sewing; playing a musical instrument; doing any acting, performing or
practicing dance; performing or practicing singing; creating films or videos as an
artistic activity; taking photographs as an artistic activity; creating other visual art,
such as paintings, sculpture or graphic designs; doing any creative writing, such
as fiction, non-fiction, poetry or plays.
CREATING AND
PERFORMING ART(4)
More Minnesotans created or performed than the national
average:
Note that this comes from a public opinion survey. We hope to have data on
actual arts offerings in Minnesota schools for future reports.
FAMILIES WHOSE CHILDREN
PARTICIPATED IN ARTS EDUCATION AT
SCHOOL IN THE PAST YEAR(4)
More Minnesota parents report that their child participated in
arts learning in the classroom than the national average:
US 69%
MN 81%
TWIN CITIES
11-COUNTY METRO REGION 76%
HISTORICAL/CULTURE ATTENDANCE
Visited a park or monument for its historical, architectural or design value.
US 24%
MN 33%
TWIN CITIES
11-COUNTY METRO REGION 37%
VISUAL ARTS ATTENDANCE
Visited an art museum, a craft fair or visual arts festival.
US 34%
MN 41%
TWIN CITIES
11-COUNTY METRO REGION 45%
US 37%
MN 39%
TWIN CITIES
11-COUNTY METRO REGION 43%
PERFORMING ARTS ATTENDANCE
Attended live jazz, Latin, Spanish or salsa, opera, classical musical
performance, live musical, live non-musical, other types of live performance
and outdoor performing arts festival (excludes school performances).
35%US
45%MN
43%TWIN CITIES
11-COUNTY METRO REGION
PERCENT OF RESIDENTS (18+) WHO CREATED
OR PERFORMED ART IN THE LAST YEAR*
PERCENT OF RESIDENTS (18+) WHO ATTENDED A
LIVE ART AND CULTURE EVENT IN THE PAST YEAR
These indicators were calculated by Wilder Research as part of the Arts and Culture section at Minnesota Compass and use the National
Endowment for the Arts Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, Annual Arts Benchmarking Survey, and U.S. Census 2010-2014 American
Community Survey.
PERCENT OF PARENTS REPORTING THAT THEIR
CHILD WAS TAUGHT ART OR MUSIC IN SCHOOL
IN THE PAST YEAR
PUBLIC OPINION POLLING ABOUT THE ARTS AND PARTICIPATION
2017 Creative MN Report 25creativeMN.org
SECTIONVUPDATE OF ECONOMIC IMPACT
OF NONPROFIT ARTS AND
CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS
181TOTAL PARTICIPATING MUSEUMS
A robust nonprofit arts and
culture economy exists in every
county of Minnesota, from
the rolling hills of Lanesboro
to Grand Marais on Lake
Superior’s North Shore.
No matter where you live, artists and organizations are nearby
offering access to arts, history and culture and injecting
energy and color into their local economies.
Our understanding of the economic impact of the nonprofit
arts and culture sector in Minnesota has grown. New data
was collected from the field for the 2014 fiscal year. The
estimated economic impact of nonprofit arts and culture
organizations in Minnesota has increased by nearly $200M
since our previous study in 2015,(1) primarily from the
addition of over 300 organizations which did not participate
in the previous study. In addition to the added economic
impact of these new organizations, the economic impact of
the organizations that have participated in both studies has
increased by 1.25 percent in the last two years.
For a full list of the participating organizations in this year’s study, visit
creativemn.org.
OVERVIEW
OF THE FIELD
NONPROFIT AND ARTS ORGANIZATIONS
BY DISCIPLINE
PERFORMING ARTS 695
ARTS MULTIPURPOSE 262
HISTORY & HISTORICAL PRESERVATION 232
OTHER* 167
VISUAL ARTS & ARCHITECTURE 156
MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS 49
LITERARY ARTS 30
HUMANITIES 10
SPOTLIGHT: MUSEUMS
History/historic preservation 143
Art related museums 13
Humanities 3
Multi/interdisciplinary 8
Other (science, environment, children’s, zoo) 14
BY BUDGET SIZE
OVER $10M 17
$5-10M 7
$1-5M 80
$250K-$1M 161
$100K-$250K 194
$25K-$100K 411
UNDER $25K 731
TOTAL ORGANIZATIONS 1601
TOTAL ORGANIZATIONS 1601
TOTAL IN 2015 STUDY 1269
* “Other” includes science and children’s museums, zoos, and arts and culture
programs housed in non-arts nonprofits and local governments.
26 UPDATE OF ECONOMIC IMPACT OF NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS
2017 Creative MN Report creativeMN.org
IMPACT ON MINNESOTA’S ECONOMY
OF NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE
ORGANIZATIONS
1:
2:
4:
6/8:
9:10:
11:
7E:
7W:
5:
3:
$818.5 MILLIONTOTAL DIRECT EXPENDITURES
BY NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATIONS
$563.5 MILLIONTOTAL ARTS AND CULTURE RELATED SPENDING BY AUDIENCES
PERFORMING
ARTS
168GENRE WITH LARGEST INCREASE IN # OF ORGANIZATIONS:
ADDITIONAL ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDED:332$185 MILLION
ECONOMIC IMPACT INCREASE SINCE 2015 STUDY
$1.4 BILLIONTOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT
TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT OF NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS BY REGION
RAC 1: $2,405,027
RAC 2: $6,009,983
RAC 4: $11,010,430
RAC 5: $3,192,394
RAC 6/8: $6,576,413
RAC 3: $63,200,247
RAC 7E: $8,540,343
RAC 7W: $24,159,600
RAC 9: $22,574,466
RAC 10: $36,535,073
RAC 11: $1,197,765,305
UPDATE OF ECONOMIC IMPACT OF NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS
2017 Creative MN Report 27creativeMN.org
TOTAL FTE JOBS
SUPPORTED BY
NONPROFIT ARTS
AND CULTURE
ORGANIZATIONS,
BY REGION*
RAC 1: 55
RAC 2: 136
RAC 4: 355
RAC 5: 87
RAC 6/8: 210
RAC 3: 2,060
RAC 7E: 197
RAC 7W: 826
RAC 9: 709
RAC 10: 1187
RAC 11: 41,323
1:
2:
4:
6/8:
9:10:
11:
7E:
7W:
5:
3:
STATEWIDE 47,146
NONPROFIT ARTS
AND CULTURE IMPACT
ON EMPLOYMENT IN
MINNESOTA
*FTE Jobs Supported = Full-Time Equivalent labor employed in Minnesota that is supported by the spending of nonprofit arts and culture organizations and their audiences.
If the (nonprofit arts and culture) sector were
regarded as a single employer, it would be larger than
Mayo Clinic (the biggest employer in the state with 41,892
employees), 22 percent larger than the state of Minnesota
(with 38,538 employees) and 77 percent larger than Target
Corporation (at 26,694 employees).”(2)
- Arleta Little, Program Officer
McKnight Foundation
28 UPDATE OF ECONOMIC IMPACT OF NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS
2017 Creative MN Report creativeMN.org
$1.1 BILLIONRESIDENT HOUSEHOLD INCOME GENERATED BY NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS
PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN ARTS AND CULTURE IS A
CATALYST THAT INCREASES GOVERNMENT REVENUES
NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE
ORGANIZATIONS IMPACT ON GOVERNMENT
REVENUES
$23.2 MILLION
LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUES $115.4 MILLION
STATE GOVERNMENT REVENUES
$138.6 MILLIONTOTAL GOVERNMENT REVENUES
UPDATE OF ECONOMIC IMPACT OF NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS
2017 Creative MN Report 29creativeMN.org
ECONOMIC
IMPACT OF AUDIENCES ALONE
THE AVERAGE ATTENDEE
SPENDS $20.48 PER
PERSON EXCLUDING THE
COST OF THE TICKET.(1)
$563.5 MILLION
THIS IS AN INCREASE OF $63.5M SINCE THE 2015 STUDY.
TOTAL ATTENDANCE BY REGION
RAC 1: 90,392
RAC 2: 79,236
RAC 4: 245,852
RAC 5: 88,942
RAC 6/8: 139,551
RAC 3: 1,373,159
RAC 7E: 209,498
RAC 7W: 649,450
RAC 9: 737,517
RAC 10: 1,104,209
RAC 11: 17,138,619
1:
2:
4:
6/8:
9:10:
11:
7E:
7W:
5:
3:
MILLIONS OF STUDENTS SERVED
Minnesota’s 2015 population is 5.5 million,(3) so clearly people are attending multiple times.
STUDENT SCHOOL GROUP VISITS 29,318 OTHER GROUP VISITS 19,714
ATTENDANCE AT CLASSES WORKSHOPS AND READINGS 669,218
All ages
NUMBER OF WORKSHOPS AND READINGS 3,595
All ages
LARGE NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE
AUDIENCES ARE BEING SERVED IN EVERY
CORNER OF THE STATE
21,856,425TOTAL ATTENDEES
3,839,430Children 18 and younger, including student shows. There are 929,230 K-12
students in Minnesota,(4) so many students are being served multiple times.
TOTAL STUDENTS SERVED
30 UPDATE OF ECONOMIC IMPACT OF NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS
2017 Creative MN Report creativeMN.org
While not all other states have been studied, Minnesota is
repeatedly shown to have a more robust arts and culture
economy than states with which we compete.
Minnesota has a higher per capita economic impact from our
nonprofit arts and culture organizations than any other state
studied by Americans for the Arts as part of Arts and Economic
Prosperity IV in 2013.(5) The arts and culture draw new talent to
our state and clearly set Minnesota apart.
MINNESOTA’S ARTS ECONOMY
OUTSHINES ALL SURROUNDING
STATES AS WELL AS MANY OF OUR
COMPETITORS
MINNESOTA $1,381,969,282 5,381,000 $256.82
(2014 DATA)
SOUTH DAKOTA $96,660,370 812,383 $118.98
DELAWARE $142,329,627 885,122 $160.80
HAWAII $159,605,567 1,295,178 $123.23
NEW HAMPSHIRE $114,082,228 1,324,575 $86.13
NEBRASKA $174,389,532 1,796,619 $97.07
CONNECTICUT $652,960,811 3,518,288 $185.59
WISCONSIN $535,168,486 5,654,774 $94.64
NORTH CAROLINA $1,241,874,488 9,380,884 $132.38
PENNSYLVANIA $2,545,382,269 12,604,767 $201.94
ILLINOIS $2,752,725,266 12,910,409 $213.22
STATE
most recently
available study
ECONOMIC
IMPACT
2010 Data
POPULATION
2010 Data
ECONOMIC
IMPACT
PER CAPITA
Minnesota has twice the nonprofit arts and culture
economy of Wisconsin, even though our two states have about
the same population. Minnesota has ten and a half times the
arts and culture economy of Kansas, and twelve and a half
times the arts economy of South Dakota. If you are a young
creative person in the Midwest, you should be packing your
bags and moving to Minnesota.”
- Sheila Smith, Executive Director
Minnesota Citizens for the Arts
UPDATE OF ECONOMIC IMPACT OF NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS
2017 Creative MN Report 31creativeMN.org
CITY AND COUNTY ECONOMIC
IMPACT STUDIES FINDINGS(6)
COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE STATE
ARE BENEFITING FROM THE
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF NONPROFIT
ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS
In October 2015, 17 cities and counties joined
Creative Minnesota to produce economic impact studies
of their local nonprofit arts and culture organizations. Data
came from the Creative Minnesota regional studies released
February, 2015, in addition to new locally collected data.
The size of the nonprofit arts and culture economy in most cities
roughly aligned with the size of the population, however several
cities, Grand Rapids, Cook County and Fergus Falls in particular,
had a dramatically higher attendance and economic impact
than expected. The Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, home to
Minnesota’s largest world class arts and culture organizations
such as the Walker Art Center, Ordway Center for Performing
Arts and the Minnesota History Center as well as hundreds of
mid-sized and small organizations, not surprisingly led in total
economic impact. However, a robust arts and culture economy
was found in every city studied across the state.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
1
2
8
3
4
10
14
6
16
13
12
11
9
5
17
7
15
7,832,644
7,038,796
91,367
835,898
327,947
82,880
27,363
118,920
10,185
33,000
71,273
41,094
42,384
86,381
2,478
77,964
21,150
1
2
6
3
4
8
14
5
16
13
10
12
11
7
17
9
15
2
1
17
5
8
13
14
9
15
12
11
10
7
4
16
3
6
City of Minneapolis
City of St. Paul
Maple Grove and NW Suburbs
City of Duluth
City of St Cloud
County of Chisago
City of St. Louis Park
City of Winona
County of Mille Lacs
White Bear
Center for the Arts**
City of Northfield
City of Red Wing
City of Fergus Falls
City of Grand Rapids
City of Virginia
County of Cook
City of Pine City
*2010 Census. **Includes only one organization, so not really comparable to the other local studies. Population listed is for the City of White Bear Lake. Not all
cities in Minnesota were studied, only those that opted in to the project. See CreativeMN.org for full studies.
CITY
STUDY AREA RANK IN POPULATION
382,578
285,068
284,683
86,265
65,842
53,887
45,250
27,592
26,097
23,797
20,007
16,459
13,138
10,869
8,712
5,176
3,127
POPULATION*
RANK IN ECONOMIC IMPACT
ANNUAL NUMBER OF ATTENDEES
RANK IN NUMBER OF ATTENDEES
$1413
$1673
$14
$418
$189
$53
$34
$171
$32
$71
$109
$135
$225
$467
$21
$889
$316
ECONOMIC IMPACT PER CAPITA
RANK IN ECONOMIC IMPACT PER CAPITA
TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT
$540,679,591
$476,872,921
$4,021,808
$36,026,369
$12,434,341
$2,855,764
$1,517,141
$4,729,059
$845,962
$1,690,026
$2,171,993
$2,228,641
$2,955,589
$5,079,985
$179,998
$4,603,026
$986,727
32 UPDATE OF ECONOMIC IMPACT OF NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS
2017 Creative MN Report creativeMN.org
SECTIONVI
SECTION 1: ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS ARE
EVERYWHERE
Developed in collaboration with the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs
(CURA) at the University of Minnesota. March 2016.
1. Economic Modeling Specialists International. Descriptive names of
Industries (NAICS codes) and Occupations (SOC codes) have been truncated.
The information includes both for-profit and non-profit industries. Access to
this data source provided by the City of Minneapolis Office of Cultural Affairs
and the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) at the University of
Minnesota. Due to rounding some percent values may not equal 100%.
SOC Codes (40) 11-2011,11-2031,13-1011,17-1011,17-1012,21-2021,25-4012,25-4021,27-1011,27-
1012,27-1013, 27-1014, 27-1021, 27-1022, 27-1023, 27-1024, 27-1025, 27-1026, 27-1027, 27-2011,
27-2012, 27-2031, 27-2032, 27-2041, 27-2042, 27-3011, 27-3031, 27-3041, 27-3042, 27-3043, 27-
3099, 27-4011, 27-4012, 27-4014, 27-4021, 27-4031, 27-4032, 27-4099, 39-5091, 49-9063
NAICS Codes (72) 238150, 323111, 323113, 323117, 323120, 327110, 327212, 332323, 337212,
339910, 339992, 423940, 424920, 443142, 448310, 451130, 451140, 451211, 453110, 453310,
453920, 511110, 511120, 511130, 511191, 511199, 511210, 512110, 512120, 512131, 512191,
512199, 512210, 512220, 512230, 512240, 512290, 515111, 515112, 515120, 515210, 519110,
519120, 519130, 541310, 541320, 541340, 541410, 541420, 541430, 541490, 541810, 541850,
541860, 541890, 541921, 541922, 611610, 711110, 711120, 711130, 711190, 711310, 711320,
711410, 711510, 712110, 712120, 811420, 812921, 812922, 813410
Class of worker: Economic Modeling Specialists International: Extended
Proprietors, Non-QCEW employees, QCEW Employees, Self-Employed.
2. “Artists and Arts Workers in the United States” from the Quarterly Census of
Employment and Wages (2010)
3. Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP). Surveys are conducted on
behalf of participating colleges and universities to learn about the lives and
careers of their arts graduates. Throughout this study, “art” and “artist” refer to
a range of creative activity, including performance, design, architecture, creative
writing, music composition, choreography, film, illustration and fine art. 286
schools participated nationwide and 92,113 arts alumni completed the survey
nationally 2011-2013. Participating MN Schools included the College of Visual
Arts, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, St. Cloud State University, St.
Olaf College, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. For more information about
SNAAP: snaap.indiana.edu/snaapshot/.
4. MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) Population Data from US Census
2015: http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.
xhtml?src=bkmk
SECTION II: ECONOMIC IMPACT AND DEMOGRAPHICS OF
ARTISTS AND CREATIVE WORKERS
Developed in collaboration with Americans for the Arts’ Arts and Economic
Prosperity project.
1. The source for this section is an “Artists and Creative Workers Survey”
conducted by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and 194 organizational partners
between March 1 and July 31, 2016. The 194 partners compiled a master
list of known artists in Minnesota, which was de-duped from 40,000 entries
to 28,000 in the final list that was used. A link to an online survey was sent
to artists for whom we had an email address. A postcard was mailed to artists
for whom we had a mailing address. The link was provided to other artists via
Minnesota Citizens for the Arts newsletter and other partner communications to
their members. Survey questions were posted and completed online. Only the
2153 completed surveys were included in the analysis, with 2411 incomplete
surveys omitted from the final results. Americans for the Arts hosted the survey
on its secure server, analyzed the results, and provided the description of
methodology that begins below with “Defining Economic Impact.”
Studies of this kind don’t generally work because artists tend to be reluctant,
like most people, to divulge personal financial information. This study
was constructed in order to get across that barrier. The lead organizations
conducting the study partnered with trusted artists service organizations from
across the state that have close relationships with their artists and which urged
them to participate. We also used a secure server provided by Americans for the
Arts so that only the economists hired to do the data analysis saw the individual
responses. The survey was short to make it more likely that the artists would
complete it. Thus the response rate was 7.7 percent, a rate typical of this type
of study.
The survey requested detailed information about the artist’s 2014 artistic
expenditures, as well as information about artistic income, artistic discipline
and artists quality of life indicators (the survey instrument is posted on
CreativeMN.org). To ease the reporting burden on survey respondents, the
expenditure section of the survey mirrored exactly the IRS Schedule C used to
report business expenditures.
The economic impact analysis in this report utilizes the survey data collected
from full-time and part-time artists/creative workers only, because the universe
of 104,148 Minnesota artists and creative workers excludes hobby artists and
retired/student artists. An average artistic expenditure was calculated separately
for full-time and part-time survey respondents in each of Minnesota’s 11 arts
regions, and those averages were then multiplied by the universe of artists
and creative workers who reside in each region. The regional totals were then
summed to calculate the statewide findings.
Total number of Minnesota artists was found through Economic Modeling
Specialists International data, as detailed above in the notes for Section I.
DEFINING ECONOMIC IMPACT
Each time a dollar changes hands, there is an economic impact. Direct
economic impact is a measure of the economic effect of the initial expenditure
within the community. However, when people and businesses receive money,
they re-spend much of that money locally. Indirect and induced economic
impact measures this re-spending on jobs, household income and local and
state government. Consider this example:
When a Minnesota creative worker purchases $200 of supplies from the local
art supplies store, the store owner uses some of the money to pay the sales
clerk (that is a direct economic impact). The sales clerk then re-spends some
of the money for groceries; the grocery store in turn uses some of the money
to pay the cashier; the cashier uses some of the money to pay his utility bill;
and so on (these are indirect and induced economic impacts).
Thus, the original $200 from the artist has been “re-spent” several times. The
local expenditures will continue to have an economic impact on Minnesota’s
economy until the money eventually “leaks out” of the state (i.e., is spent with
merchants or individuals located outside Minnesota). The total economic impact
is the combination of the direct, indirect and induced impacts.
Using this study’s methodology, economic impact is defined as employment,
resident household income and government revenue that is supported or
generated by the dollars spent in Minnesota by individual artists and creative
workers who reside in Minnesota.
• Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Jobs describes the total amount of labor
employed within the State of Minnesota that is supported by the artistic
spending of individual artists and creative workers. Economists measure FTE
jobs, rather than the total number of employees, because it is a more accurate
measure that accounts for both full-time and part-time employment. They
include jobs in all industrial sectors that are supported each time the money
from the original artistic expenditure is “re-spent” within Minnesota.
• Resident Household Income (also called Personal Income) includes salaries,
wages and entrepreneurial income paid to Minnesota residents. It is the money
that residents earn and use to pay for food, housing, other living expenses and
disposable income. This is the income paid on behalf of the full-time equivalent
jobs supported by artistic expenditures.
• Revenue to State and Local Government includes all funds collected by
Minnesota’s city, county, and state governments, schools, and special districts.
It’s not exclusively tax revenue (e.g., income tax, sales tax, property tax); it also
includes license fees, utility fees, filing fees, etc.
SOURCES, DEFINITIONS
AND METHODOLOGY
SOURCES, DEFINITIONS AND METHODOLOGY
2017 Creative MN Report 33creativeMN.org
STUDYING ECONOMIC IMPACT USING INPUT-OUTPUT ANALYSIS
To derive the most reliable economic impact data, the study economists
used the method of input-output analysis to measure the impact of artistic
expenditures by the Minnesota’s individual artists and creative workers. This
method is a standard procedure for demonstrating the impact of expenditures
on communities (and has also been the basis for two Nobel Prize awards
in economics). It is well suited for this study because the models can be
customized specifically to the unique economic factors of each of Minnesota’s
11 arts regions to measure the industry directly as well as indirectly through
the additional ancillary commerce that the industry creates. An input-output
model is a system of mathematical equations that combines statistical methods
and economic theory. It traces how many times a dollar is “re-spent” within
the economy of the region of study, and the economic impact of each of those
rounds of spending.
The models for each of Minnesota’s 11 arts regions were customized by using
detailed data on employment, incomes, and government revenues provided by
the U.S. Department of Commerce (e.g., County Business Patterns, Regional
Economic Information System, Survey of State and Local Finance), local tax
data (sales taxes, property taxes, income tax, other local option taxes, and
applicable fees), as well as the survey data collected from the 2,139 responding
individual artists and creative workers.
THE INPUT-OUTPUT PROCESS
The input-output model is based on a table of 533 finely detailed industries
showing local sales and purchases. The local and state economy of each
community is researched so the table can be customized for each community.
The basic purchase patterns for local industries are derived from a similar
table for the U.S. economy for 2011 (the latest detailed data available from
the U.S. Department of Commerce). The table is first reduced to reflect the
unique size and industry mix of the local economy, based on data from County
Business Patterns and the Regional Economic Information System of the U.S.
Department of Commerce. It is then adjusted so that only transactions with local
businesses are recorded in the inter-industry part of the table. This technique
compares supply and demand, and estimates the additional imports or exports
required to make total supply equal total demand. The resulting table shows the
detailed sales and purchase patterns of the local industries. The 533-industry
table is then aggregated to reflect the general activities of 32 industries plus
local households (a total of 33 industries). To trace changes in the economy,
each column is converted to show the direct requirements per dollar of gross
output for each sector. This direct-requirements table represents the “recipe”
for producing the output of each industry in the economy.
The economic impact figures for the study were computed using what is
called an “iterative” procedure. This process uses the sum of a power series to
approximate the solution to the economic model. This is what the process looks
like in matrix algebra:
T = IX + AX + A2X + A3X + ... + AnX
T is the solution, a column vector of changes in each industry’s outputs caused
by the changes represented in the column vector X. A is the 33 by 33 direct-
requirements matrix. This equation is used to trace the direct expenditures
attributable to individual artists. A multiplier effect table is produced that
displays the results of this equation. The total column is T. The initial
expenditure to be traced is IX (I is the identity matrix, which is operationally
equivalent to the number 1 in ordinary algebra). Round 1 is AX, the result of
multiplying the matrix A by the vector X (the outputs required of each supplier
to produce the goods and services purchased in the initial change under study).
Round 2 is A2X, which is the result of multiplying the matrix A by Round 1 (it
answers the same question applied to Round 1: “What are the outputs required
of each supplier to produce the goods and services purchased in Round 1 of
this chain of events?”). Each of columns 1 through 12 in the multiplier effects
table represents one of the elements in the continuing but diminishing chain
of expenditures on the right side of the equation. Their sum, T, represents the
total production required in the local economy in response to arts activities.
Calculation of the total impact of expenditures by individual artists on the
outputs of other industries (T) can now be converted to impacts on the final
incomes to local residents by multiplying the outputs produced by the ratios of
household income to output and employment to output. Thus, the employment
impact of changes in outputs due to arts expenditures is calculated by
multiplying elements in the column of total outputs by the ratio of employment
to output for the 32 industries in the region. Changes in household incomes,
local government revenues, and state government revenues due to nonprofit arts
expenditures are similarly transformed. The same process is also used to show
the direct impact on incomes and revenues associated with the column of direct
local expenditures.
PARTNERS: Thank you to the 194 Artists and Creative Workers Survey Partner
Organizations: AIGA Minnesota, Alexandria Area Art Assn., American Composers
Forum, American Craft Council, American Swedish Institute, Americans for the
Arts, Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Arrowhead Regional Arts
Council, ArtiCulture, Artistry, Arts Center of St. Peter, Artspace Projects,
ArtStart, Austin Area Commission for the Arts, Bagley Area Arts Collaborative,
Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts, Big Stone Arts Council, Black Storytellers
Alliance, Blue Earth Valley Concert Association, Bush Foundation, Cantus,
Carlyle Brown and Co., Central Minnesota Arts Board, Children’s Theatre
Company, City of Eagan Parks and Recreation, City of Rochester Music
Department/Riverside Concerts, Coffee House Press, Commonweal Theatre
Co., COMPAS, Corvus North Consulting, Cowles Center, Creative Enterprise
Zone, Crossing Borders Studio Art Tour, Curio Dance, Dreamery Rural Arts
Initiative, Duluth Art Institute, Eagan Art Festival, East Central Regional Arts
Council, East Side Arts Council, Ethnic Dance Theater, Excelsior Art on the
Lake, Fired Up, Inc., Five Wings Arts Council, FORECAST Public Artworks,
Forum of Regional Arts Councils of Minnesota, Franconia Sculpture Park, Frank
Theatre, Free Arts Minnesota, Full Circle Theater, Gallery 96 Art Center, Givens
Foundation for African American Literature, Grand Marais Art Colony, Graywolf
Press, Great River Shakespeare Festival Winona, GREAT Theater, Green T
Productions, Guthrie Theater, Hennepin Theatre Trust, Highpoint Center
for Printmaking, Historic Holmes Theare/DLCCC, Hutchinson Center for the
Arts, Ideas that Kick, IFP Minneapolis-St. Paul, Illusion Theatre and School,
In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, Intermedia Arts, Ivey
Awards, Jackpine Writers, Jerome Foundation, Juxtaposition Arts, Katha Dance
Theater, Keepers of the Sacred Tradition of Pipemakers, Lake Regional Arts
Council, Lakes Area Music Festival, Lake Wobegon® Brass Band, Lanesboro
Arts, Loft Literary Center, MacRostie Art Center, MacPhail Center for Music,
MaMa MOsAIC, Mankato Area Youth Symphony Orchestra, Mardag Foundation,
McKnight Foundation and McKnight Artist Fellowships, Mentoring Peace Through
Art, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
Association, Million Artist Movement, Milkweed Editions, Minneapolis College
of Art and Design, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota Alliance of Community
Theaters, Minnesota Alliance of Museums, Minnesota Brass, Minnesota Center
for Book Arts, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA), Minnesota Chinese Opera,
Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts, Minnesota Dance Theatre and the Dance
Institute, Minnesota Fringe Festival, Minnesota Jewelry Artists Guild, Minnesota
Historical Society, Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company, Minnesota Museum of
American Art, Minnesota Music Coalition, Minnesota Opera Company, Minnesota
Orchestra, Minnesota Playlist, Minnesota Quilters, Inc., Minnesota State Arts
Board, Minnesota Theater Alliance, Minnetonka Center for the Arts, mnartists.
org, MN Original – TPT – Twin Cities PBS, Mu Performing Arts, Neighborhood
Development Alliance, NEMAA, Northern Clay Center, Northern Light Opera
Company, Northern Lights.mn, Northfield Arts Guild, North House Folk School,
Northwest Minnesota Regional Arts Council, Obsidian Arts, Oromo Culture
Institute/Community of Minnesota, O’Shaugnessy Auditorium/St. Catherine’s
University, Owatonna Art Center, Paradise Center for the Arts, Paramount
Arts Resource Trust, Park Rapids Lakes Area Arts Council, Perspectives, Inc.,
Pillsbury House Theatre, Playwright’s Center, Prairie Lakes Regional Arts
Council, Prairie Renaissance Cultural Alliance, Public Art St. Paul, Public
Functionary, Ragamala Dance Company, Red Eye Theater, Red Wing Arts
Association, Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Region 2 Arts Council, Rochester Art
Center, Region Five Development Commission, Rochester Civic Music/Riverside
Concerts, Rochester Symphony Orchestra and Chorale, Rock Bend Folk Festival,
Rose Ensemble, Rhythmically Speaking, St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour, St.
Paul Almanac, St. Paul Art Collective/St. Paul Art Crawl, St. Paul Chamber
Orchestra, St. Paul Conservatory of Music, Schubert Club, The Soap Factory,
Sol Inspirations, Soo Visual Art Center, Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council,
Southwest Minnesota Arts Council, Springboard for the Arts, Stages Theatre Co.,
Target, TB Sheldon Theatre, Ten Thousand Things, Textile Center of MN, TruArt
Speaks, Tru Ruts Endeavors, The Crossing Arts Alliance, The Film Society of
Minneapolis/St. Paul, The Singers – Minnesota Choral Artists, Theatre in the
Round Players, Theatre L’Homme Dieu, Twin Cities Actors Equity Association
Liaison Committee, Twin Cities Makers, Upstream Arts, Visit Cook County, Visual
Arts Minnesota, VocalEssence, Voice of Culture Drum and Dance, Voyagers Art
Club, VSA Minnesota, Walker Art Center, Walker West Music Academy, West
Broadway Business and Area Coalition, White Bear Center for the Arts, Willmar
Area Arts Council, Yellow Tree Theatre, Youth Performance Company, Zeitgeist
Arts (Statewide Organizations in Bold. List as of 5.17.16).
2. Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) Unequal Canvas: Inequalities
in Artistic Training and Careers, 2013, pages 15-16.
3. Age cohort delineation from the U.S. Census.
4. From Compass sources, see Section IV, #4.
5. Volunteering statistics from VolunteeringinAmerica.com.
6. Other artist demographics from Wilder Research analysis of Integrated Public
Use Microdata Series from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community
Survey, 2010-2014 as part of forthcoming Arts and Culture section of
Minnesota Compass.
34 SOURCES, DEFINITIONS AND METHODOLOGY
2017 Creative MN Report creativeMN.org
SECTION III. WHAT ARTISTS GIVE TO COMMUNITIES AND
WHAT ARTISTS NEED TO SUCCEED
Principally written by Bill Cleveland, Center for the Study of Art and Community.
1. Given that artists have a self-employment rate three times that of the overall
US workforce (34% versus 10%) the number of artists in the state could be
higher.
2. “Cultivating Natural Cultural Districts,” Susan Seifert and Mark Stern, from
the University of Pennsylvania’s Social Impact of the Arts Project.
3. The Minneapolis Creative Index 2015, City of Minneapolis, MN, 2015.
The Cultural Vitality Index used in this report uses state employment data and
measures 36 selected occupational categories that are highly correlated with
measured skill sets in thinking creatively, originality, and fine arts knowledge
as measured by the Employment and Training Administration’s “O*NET”
occupational network database.
4. “The Minneapolis Creative Index” 2015, page 14.
5. Cultivating Natural Cultural Districts,” Susan Seifert and Mark Stern, from
the University of Pennsylvania’s Social Impact of the Arts Project
6. Currid, E, How Art and Culture Happen In New York: Implications for Urban
Economic Development, Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 73.
No. 4, Autumn 2007
7. Artists Count, a study conducted by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts in
2007, found that Minnesota artists volunteer and vote at higher levels than the
general public both in Minnesota and nationwide. http://artsmn.org/wp-content/
uploads/2015/10/interioronlyfinal.pdf
8. Heifetz, Ronald A., Grashow, Alexander, and Linsky, Marty. The Practice of
Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the
World. Harvard Business Review Press, 2009.
9. Cleveland, W, What Artists Say: A Study of McKnight Supported Artists,
2013, Center for the Study of Art & Community
10. Yes, and No: Conversations about Thriving with Artists of Color from the Twin
Cities, Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, 2015
11. Sidford, H., Fusing Arts, Culture, and Social Change, Center for Responsible
Philanthropy, 2012, Sidford reports that only 10 percent of arts grants explicitly
benefit underserved communities, including lower-income populations,
communities of color.
12. Minnesota State Arts Board, “Artists Thrive: A Statewide Needs
Assessment,” 2015.
SECTION IV. PUBLIC OPINION POLLING ABOUT THE ARTS
1. Minnesota Center for Survey Research, 2014 Minnesota State Survey
and 2015 Minnesota State Survey. This annual omnibus survey reaches
approximately 800 households per year to complete computer assisted telephone
interviews; respondents are randomly selected using a dual frame sample of both
landline telephone and cell phone numbers assigned to Minnesota area codes.
2. USA polling data: Americans for the Arts, Americans Speak Out About the
Arts, 2016.
3. Arts Midwest, Creating Connection project. Lake Research Partners designed
and administered their online survey October 9-20, 2014. The sample included
400 adults. The sample for the survey was drawn from an online panel. The data
were weighed slightly by education, race, age and party identification to reflect
the attributes of the actual population. Margin of error +/-4.9%.
4. Minnesota Compass is a social indicators project that measures progress in
our state, its seven regions, 87 counties and larger cities. Compass tracks trends
in topic areas such as education, economy, and workforce, health housing,
public safety, and a host of others. Compass gives everyone in our state—
policymakers, business and community leaders, and concerned individuals who
live and work here-a common foundation to identify, understand, and act on
issues that affect our communities. Minnesota Compass compiled indicators
using the following data sources for their Arts and Culture section.
Data Sources:
• The Annual Arts Benchmarking Survey and Survey of Public Participation in
the Arts, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, www.arts.gov, and
conducted through the Current Population Survey, a program by the U.S. Census
Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For more information on the survey
and questionnaire items, please refer to: https://www.arts.gov/publications/
additional-materials-related-to-2012-sppa, http://www.nber.org/data/current-
population-survey-data.html, http://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/
techdocs/cpsfeb14.pdf, https://www.arts.gov/artistic-fields/research-analysis/arts-
data-profiles/arts-data-profile-10/background
• Integrated Public Use Microdata Series from the U.S. Census Bureau,
American Community Survey, 2010-2014. Data from these sources are
estimates of national population-based surveys. For more information please
refer to: http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/.
Data Notes: ACS five-year estimates are based on data collected over five years,
and therefore describe average characteristics for that five-year time period.
Art and culture attendance data used the following definitions of visual and
performing arts and historical culture:
• Visual art: Visited an art museum, a craft fair or visual arts festival
• Performing art (excludes school performances): Live performances of jazz,
Latin, Spanish, or Salsa, opera, classical music, musical play, non-musical
play, dance performances (ballet and all other) other types of live performance,
outdoor performing arts festival, and other types of live performances, not
included above, identified by respondents
• Historical: Visited a park or monument for its historical, architectural or
design value
For more information about the data including methodologies or margins of error,
please contact mncompass@wilder.org.
SECTION V. UPDATE OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF
NONPROFIT ARTS & CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS
This section is based on Creative Minnesota 2017 analysis of newly collected
data on the nonprofit arts and culture sector as described below. Go to
CreativeMN.org to see the full list of 1601 participating organizations.
WHAT WAS STUDIED?
The Creative Minnesota team identified eligible public and nonprofit
organizations that applied for funds to conduct arts and cultural programming, or
fit the description of a nonprofit arts and culture organization located in the state
of Minnesota in 2014, which included a total of 1601 organizations. For-profit
arts organizations and individual artists were excluded. For this update only data
on physical address, annual expense budget, and annual audience served at
physical events was collected for all participating organizations.
HOW WERE DATA GATHERED?
Multiple sources were used in order to reach the widest possible range of
organizations. For all of the data sources other than DataArts’ Cultural Data
Profiles, data collection was limited to the organization’s address, annual
expense budget, and attendance at physical events. The numbers cited of
participating organizations per data source is after de-duping.
• 435 organizations, 27% of total: The most detailed data set was compiled
from Cultural Data Project profiles from DataArts completed by organizations
who were selected grantees of one or more of the sixteen Minnesota arts grant
makers (and two national grant makers) who require or accept these profiles from
their grantees.
WHAT IS DATA ARTS?
The data used for this report was provided (in part) by DataArts, an
organization created to strengthen arts and culture by documenting and
disseminating information on the arts and culture sector. Any interpretation
of the data is the view of Creative Minnesota, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts
and Americans for the Arts and does not reflect the views of DataArts. For
more information on DataArts, visit culturaldata.org.
• 762 organizations, 48% of total: Basic data about 2014 grantees of the
Minnesota State Arts Board and Minnesota’s eleven Regional Arts Councils was
supplied by these funding agencies.
• 176 organizations, 11% of total: Additional information was collected from
organizations participating in the City and County studies conducted by Creative
Minnesota in 2015.
• 159 organizations, 10% of total: Basic data about 2014 Legacy grantees of
The Minnesota Historical Society was supplied by this agency.
• 43 organizations, 3% of total: Data was compiled from direct phoning and
emails to large nonprofit arts and culture organizations whose data was not yet
collected through the other methods, including science and children’s museums
and public broadcasting organizations.
• 26 organizations, 2% of total: The Minnesota Museum Alliance provided data
on their members collected in an online survey. This information also included
organizations’ names, locations, arts and culture-related budgets and audience
served.
SOURCES, DEFINITIONS AND METHODOLOGY
2017 Creative MN Report 35creativeMN.org
SECTIONVII
HOW WAS THE DATA ANALYZED?
Creative Minnesota conducted economic impact studies of the arts and culture
sector in the state in 2015. For that project, in depth economic modeling
was conducted of the eleven regions of the state and provided to the Creative
Minnesota project by Americans for the Arts’ Arts and Economic Prosperity
studies. That project produced formulas which allow us to determine the
economic impact per $100,000 of nonprofit arts and culture organizational
spending, as well as the economic impact per audience attendee. Once the
data on the FY2014 budgets and attendance of the 1601 organizations had
been collated and de-duped by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, the total annual
expense budgets and total attendees were added up for each region. Using
the formulas provided in the 2015 studies, results were found for each region.
These figures were added together to find the statewide totals.
LIMITATIONS
Limitations are the conditions or characteristics of a study that constrain how
we may interpret the results. All studies have such constraints, and articulate
them in order to avoid making claims that are unsupported by data.
Because this study was neither a complete census nor a random sample of the
arts and cultural nonprofit sector, these findings may not be representative of
the sector as a whole.
Because some findings reported here (particularly those drawn from CDP
profiles) were addressed by only a smaller sub-set of respondents, it would be
inappropriate to claim these findings reflect the sector as a whole. Rather, that
sub-set of findings reflect the responding institutions, and they may suggest an
even stronger overall sector that is yet to be fully documented.
The limitations of non-census, non-representative sampling arise in two different
ways:
First, the data collected document only those organizations or artists that took
part in the study, rather than the sector as a whole. It is thus possible that this
study under-reports findings that represent aggregate totals (e.g., total students
served, total revenue and expenses).
Second, because the data collected reflect only some organizations or artists,
it is impossible to know whether proportional findings (e.g., average spending
per audience member, the percentages of public vs. private funding in
aggregate, etc.) reflect the sector as a whole. These findings could either over-
or under-represent actual overall conditions, and may have differed had other
organizations participated in the study.
1. Creative Minnesota: The Impact and Health of the Nonprofit Arts and Culture
Sector, 2015. CreativeMN.org
2. She is quoting from the Minnesota Department of Employment and
Economic Development, 2015, for the number of jobs per employer.
3. U.S. Census for total number of Minnesota residents.
4. Minnesota Department of Education for total number of K-12 students in
Minnesota. http://w20.education.state.mn.us/MDEAnalytics/Summary.jsp
5. Americans for the Arts: Arts and Economic Prosperity IV, 2013
www.AmericansfortheArts.org
6. Creative Minnesota: City and County Studies 2015 can be found at
CreativeMN.org
CREATIVE MINNESOTA TEAM
CHAIR AND PROJECT MANAGER:
Sheila Smith*, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts
MEMBERS:
Sheila Brommel, Minnesota Historical Society
Sharon DeMark*, Minnesota Philanthropy Partners
David Glenn, Artist
Tish Jones, Artist
Gulgun Kayim, City of Minneapolis
Kate Lawson*, Target
Arleta Little*, McKnight Foundation
Oskar Ly, Artist
Greg Nielsen, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council
Eleanor Savage*, Jerome Foundation
Joanna Schnedler, Minnesota Theater Alliance
Beth Schoeppler, The Loft Literary Center
Dameun Strange, Bush Foundation
Carl Swanson, Springboard for the Arts
Sheila Terryll, Wiser Wolf
Jill Underwood, Children’s Theatre Company
Renae Youngs, Minnesota State Arts Board
IN ADDITION, WE’D LIKE TO THANK PAST MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE:
Molly Chase, Springboard for the Arts
Leah Cooper, Minnesota Theater Alliance
Kate Duffy, Children’s Theatre Company
Rachel Engh, City of Minneapolis
Cindy Gehrig, Jerome Foundation
Beth Schoeppler, The Loft
*MEMBERS OF THE MINNESOTA CDP TASK FORCE
Arleta Little*, McKnight Foundation, Co-Chair
Sue Gens, Minnesota State Arts Board, Co-Chair
Mary Ann Aufderheide, Vocalessence
Kate Barr, Nonprofit Assistance Fund
Andrea Kajer, Minnesota Historical Society
Erica Orton and Erik Takeshita, Bush Foundation
Joe Spencer, City of St. Paul
Mark Turner, Five Wings Arts Council
WRITTEN BY
Sheila Smith, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, and
Bill Cleveland, Center for the Study of Art and Community
CONCEPT AND DESIGN
Ideas that Kick, Minneapolis
STAFF SUPPORT
Mark Albers, Ian Vaver, Anna Buchholz, Jeff Zhang, Tara Schafle,
Ingrid Dehler-Seter, Toan Doan at Minnesota Citizens for the Arts
Kim Hocker at the Minnesota State Arts Board
Haila Nazem at the City of Minneapolis
CURA
Sections I and II were supported [in part] through student research assistance
provided by Sunghun Lim and overseen by Jeff Mattson of the Community
Assistantship Program, a program of the University of Minnesota’s Center for
Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA).
CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS
Thank you to Gulgun Kayim and the City of Minneapolis for access to the data
provided by Economic Modeling Specialists International.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
36 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
2017 Creative MN Report creativeMN.org
THANK YOU TO OUR
SPONSORING PARTNERS
PHOTO CREDITS
Front Cover (in order of appearance left to right): In the Heart of the Beast, Bruce Silcox; Minnesota Opera, Dan Norman; Walker West Music Academy, Helios
Photography; COMPAS, Dan Norman.
Inside Cover: COMPAS, Dan Norman; Page 2: RAC 3 image credit: In the Heart of the Beast, Max Haynes; RAC 4 image credit: Stages Theatre Company, Bruce
Challgren; RAC 10: Walker West Music Academy, Helios Photography; Page 4: In the Heart of the Beast, Bruce Silcox; Page 8: Park Square Theater, Snow Queen
production, Petronella Ytsma; Page 11 (in order of appearance left to right): Park Square Theater, Nina Simone production, Petronella Ytsma; Ragamala Dance
Company, Ed Bock; Ten Thousand Things Theater, Paula Keller; Page 12 (in order of appearance left to right): The Southern Theater, Dan Norman; Ten Thousand
Things Theater, Paula Keller; Page 14 In the Heart of the Beast, Max Haynes; Page 16 (in order of appearance left to right): Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts,
Jamie Schwaba; Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts, Eide Photography; Page 22: Minnesota Opera, Dan Norman; Page 24: COMPAS, Dan Norman; Page 25 (in
order of appearance left to right): COMPAS, With Permission; COMPAS, Dan Norman; Page 28 (in order of appearance left to right): Ten Thousand Things Theater,
Paula Keller; In the Heart of the Beast, Max Haynes; Page 29: Stages Theatre Company, Bruce Challgren; Page 31: COMPAS, Dan Norman;
Back Cover: Credit: COMPAS; Photo by Dan Norman
The McKnight Foundation arts program is founded on the belief that
Minnesota thrives when its artists thrive. The McKnight Foundation
supports working artists to create and contribute to vibrant communities.
This activity is made possible in part by a grant
provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board through an
appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
2017 Creative MN Report 37creativeMN.org
Minnesota Citizens for the Arts
661 LaSalle Street #220
St. Paul, MN 55114
651-251-0868
staff@artsmn.org
creativeMN.org