The Connection Between the Arts and Economic Prosperity
- Elisabeth Gasparka
- Mar 18, 2024
- 1 min read
“When we invest in the arts, those dollars aren’t just disappearing down some black hole of goodness. It’s giving back to the community and government to help pay for its needed services. There’s undercapitalization happening here. It’s just hard to imagine how much more arts and culture activity and impact and benefit to local businesses would be happening with greater investment.” - Randy Cohen, Americans for the Arts.
In this episode of Creative MKE, Elisabeth and Adam speak with Randy Cohen from Americans for the Arts about the Arts and Economic Prosperity 6 Study. Last year, Imagine MKE collaborated with Americans for the Arts to conduct this audience intercept survey in Milwaukee to learn about their induced and direct spending in relationship to arts and culture nonprofit events.
Additionally, another survey was shared with hundreds of arts nonprofit organizations—large and small—to learn about their own economic activity, including employment figures. Nearly 100 arts orgs participated, and the results showed Milwaukee to be massively benefiting from jobs, spending, and tax revenue generated through the work of art nonprofits.
The group discuss how this hallmark arts and economic study has changed over the years to become much more inclusive and to center diverse communities, the dire lack of investment for the arts in Milwaukee and in Wisconsin, and the qualitative and quantitive impact of the arts on individuals and communities.
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Full Interview Transcript (Click to Expand):
Else Gasparka:
Welcome to Creative MKE, a podcast production from Imagine MKE. I'm your host, Elizabeth Gaspark. Each episode we feature conversations with arts leaders in Milwaukee and beyond, who are impacting Milwaukee's arts culture, and creative industries. We explore the cultural assets that make our community so special, and opportunities to help Milwaukee become a more vibrant city for all. Join us as we delve into topics, including the urgent need for funding for the arts in Wisconsin and Milwaukee. How arts organizations and creative entrepreneurs are fueling our economy, public art projects, and much more. Today our guest is Randy Cohen. Randy Cohen is Vice President of Research at Americans for the Arts, the National Advocacy Organization for the Arts, where he's been empowering arts advocates since 1991. Cohen is known for balancing rigorous research methods with accessible and actionable results, and for providing new perspectives on the nonprofit arts sector. He recently published Arts and Economic Prosperity Six, the Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations and Their Audiences and Americans Speak out about the arts. In 2023, a national public opinion study about the arts. Randy led the development of the National Arts Index, the annual measure of the health and vitality of the arts in the US and the National Arts Policy Roundtable. An annual convening of leaders who focus on the advancement of American culture. Launched in partnership with Robert Redford and the Sundance Institute. He is the 2024 recipient of the Sydney Yates Advocacy Award for outstanding advocacy. On behalf of the performing arts in America, Randy has given speeches in all 50 states and regularly appears in the news media, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and on cspan, CNNC, NBC and NPR. Today we are delighted to welcome Randy Cohen to creative MKE. Hi, Randy.
Randy Cohen:
Hi, great to be here.
Else Gasparka:
So great to have you here. And joining me in the studio today is Imagine M K's executive director Adam Braatz.
Adam Braatz:
Thanks for having me as well, Randy. Good to see you. Thanks for, for joining us.
Randy Cohen:
Absolutely.
Else Gasparka:
So last year, imagine MKE was so proud to partner with Americans for the Arts on the Arts and economic prosperity study here in Milwaukee with the support of Milwaukee rep, UPA and first stage as well as many arts and culture nonprofits of all sizes. So, Randy, what is the a EP study and why does it matter?
Randy Cohen:
A EP six stands for Arts and Economic Prosperity, and it's an economic and social impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry in the United States. Milwaukee, I'm so happy to report, was one of 373 communities from across all 50 states and Puerto Rico looking at how arts and culture is good for the community.
Else Gasparka:
I think a lot of people have the conception that nonprofit arts organizations are really just working to survive, and they're working to sustain and continue to produce their programs for the good of the community. But what you're highlighting here is that there is a, a measurable economic impact from the work that these arts organizations are doing.
Randy Cohen:
Absolutely. This whole study is, is kind of a myth buster. You know, we all appreciate arts and culture and these organizations is wonderful community amenities, and they are, but the fact is, arts and culture organizations are also businesses and they employ people locally. They purchase goods and services from other businesses. You know, you go to those museums and the theaters, you know, what's that utility bill just keeping it warm right now? Right? They've got expenses like every other business in the community, and they employ more than just actors or arts educators. What we see is the tip of the iceberg arts organizations. They've got accountants and auditors. They've got plumbers and electricians, right? They've got security staff and marketing staff and, you know, box office staff. So they support a range of industries across the community. Few industries generate the kind of event related spending that the arts do. Think about the last time you went to an arts event, did you tiptoe out of the house and sneak into the theater and see the show and then run home before anybody saw you? Probably not, probably drove downtown, paid for parking, had dinner, saw the show, maybe went out for dessert afterwards. If you got little ones at home, you double the cost. Evening on babysitting. Lots of economic activity related to that arts event that adds another $142.8 million of activity to the local economy. So that's how we total all that up spending by the organization, spending by the audiences $334.6 million of economic activity.
Adam Braatz:
That's pretty incredible. And you said you've been doing this study for, for 30 some odd years, and we mentioned this is the sixth iteration of the arts and economic prosperity study. I'm sure over time it has evolved, and I know that in its most recent iteration, a focus was on diverse representation. Obviously Milwaukee being a very, very diverse community and diverse region that sort of representation is something that's really important to the people who, who live and work here. So can you talk a little bit more about the, the focus this year on diverse representation, why it was important, maybe any challenges that you faced in in approaching it in this way?
Randy Cohen:
Our analyses have shown that past, in our past iterations of the study, and we do it every five years, there's been an under representation of bipoc arts and culture organizations, or organizations serving communities of color. So we really transformed the entire study, the methodology, the approach, the language that was used, you know, added equity consultant to the research team. And a, you know, we added new staff with high competencies and, you know, DEI to really help us rethink everything, the surveys, the, the analysis and the a EP six equity task force to kind of test everything and be visionary about it. For example, we translated the surveys into 24 languages. That's so cool because part of what we heard is, well, it's about right out of the gate how you show up. We asked the communities to also focus as many surveys as they can in those bipoc communities and those, and to, at those organizations serving communities of color. And we also asked in this study some social impact questions. We've averaged about 80% of attendees said this arts and culture event is a source of pride and community identity. Similar percentages. I'd feel a sense of loss if this arts or cultural event were no longer available. I think one of the most interesting findings is over 80% said it's important to me that this arts and culture event and this venue be available for future generations. What that tells me is that arts and culture is not a one-time transactional kind of experience. It's part of our history, our heritage, who we are, where we've been, where we've come from, where we're going across the board, you know, similar percentages so that the findings were almost, you know, identical. Really only Fally different tells us that these bipoc organizations and organizations serving communities of color have the same economic and the same social impacts. So then that begs the question, why are those organizations not competing as well in government funding and in in philanthropy, Americas for the Arts, we did a, a survey of 550 grant making local arts agencies. It was before the pandemic, but thousands and thousands and thousands of grants. You know, we analyzed, and what we found is the 16% of the largest organizations by budget were pulling 75% of the money, usually not in that 16%, or those bipoc organizations and those arts and cultural organizations serving communities of color. And we've, they've seen other state states do that and foundations have done that analysis. So this is one of those situations where, you know, the research, it's, it's not the end of the conversation, it's the beginning of the conversation. We've gotta really sit down as a community and have a very inclusive conversation with everybody at the table and talk about what it means to have arts and culture be centered across our community and have everyone have the opportunity to participate and engage. And are we doing that?
Else Gasparka:
So Randy, we've, we've mentioned a few of the stats that came out of Milwaukee's study. $335 million in total industry expenditures, 4,550 jobs. How does Milwaukee's overall picture stack up compared to other communities in the state? And then nationally?
Randy Cohen:
Statewide, the nonprofit sector was a $933 million industry in 2022. And of course, all these numbers are for 2022. I think everything's grown in 2023. So Milwaukee is almost a third of that representation. Let me tell you a little bit about the audience intercept surveys and the audience spending analysis, because audience spending is really the value added aspect here in the economic sense, right? Arts organizations are businesses, and that's a story right there that has to be told. I mean, we take it for granted, but it's not an intuitive way for most people to think about the arts. They think about arts and cultures these wonderful community amenities and services, but the fact is they're also an industry unlike most industries, they generate that event related spending, right? And again, that's when we all, you know, dinner in a show. We usually attend an arts and an exhibition or a festival and, and we spend money doing other things. We surveyed 749 attendees at a whole range of arts and culture events across the city. So performances, exhibitions, but also even, you know, free open air festivals. The typical attendee spends $31 and 37 cents per person per event, not including the cost of admission. We also ask those folks for their zip code. 'cause We wanna find out, do you live in the county? So are you local? Are you from outside the county? 39% of attendees came from outside the county, and do they spend more? Of course, they do $37 and 76 cents per person per event, not including the cost of admission. Then we ask those folks, why are you here? You here on business? You hear visiting friends and family. Those are two common reasons people travel. 92% of those non-local attendees said, we came specifically for this arts event. So you can really see the pulling power that the arts have, right? 5% of those had a lodging cost. And by the way, we're talking 4.6 million attendees just at those 93 organizations. Those 5% of attendees with a lodging cost average, $131 per person per event. If you're a local business, you love the vibrant and rich arts and culture community that is Milwaukee. It's, again, it's been heads and beds and cheeks and seats and dairy ears and cafe chairs, right? You know, it's providing all kinds of good business for everybody. And I wanna hit that number again, 4.6 million attendees just at those 93 responding organizations. And we don't make estimates for those non-res respondents. It's a great art story. It's a great business story.
Else Gasparka:
That's so powerful. And, you know, as folks who are embedded very much in the arts and culture space in Milwaukee, of course we know that we have a very rich arts and culture sector here. But it's really validating and wonderful to have this data to really highlight that.
Adam Braatz:
It's crazy to think that it's, it's an an undershot really because it's only survey respondents. So conceivably there is more even happening out there. A lot of people are surprised that there is that much economic activity, that there are that many people employed, and that there is that much tax revenue generated from arts and culture related activity. Just like people are surprised to learn that Wisconsin ranks either 49th or 50th in per capita, public arts funding in Milwaukee is dead last in public arts funding if you stack it up against the largest municipalities in, in the country. True. Our public arts funding situation in Milwaukee and in the greater Milwaukee area is dire. And people are surprised to hear that because they're used to such a vibrant, active arts and culture scene. Is it surprising to you to hear that Milwaukee is so tragically underfunded, and is there anything else from this study that was maybe surprising or eye-opening for you this time around compared to older studies?
Randy Cohen:
It is surprising because the fact is local, state, and federal federal governments aren't getting a return on all of that arts investment, $57.8 million. What that tells us is that when we invest in the arts, those dollars aren't just disappearing down some black hole of goodness, right? It's giving back to the community and government to help pay for its needed services. So there's undercapitalization happening here, you know, it's just hard to imagine how much more arts and culture activity and impact and benefit to local businesses would be happening with greater investment. It's absolutely true. You know, we track this, what other cities are doing and how they're funding the arts, and Milwaukee is it's not keeping up in that way. Where that can show up is in city competitiveness. We live in a global innovation economy, you know, that's how you prosper in this, you know, business world now. And so Americans for the Arts, you know, we look at the nonprofit sector, but no less than the US Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Economic Analysis actually look at the economic impact of the arts as well. But they look at all of it, you know, so they do include Hollywood motion pictures and publishing and architecture and university drama departments and artists and import export the entire state of the US economy nationally in 2021, they put arts and culture in this country as a $1.02 trillion industry that has trillion with a t 4.4% of the nation's economy. And right there in Wisconsin, it's a $10.8 billion industry. That's billion with a B, which is 2.9% of the state's economy. Is that big? Is that a lot or a little? Well, that's 87,000 jobs. So there's a big arts and a strong arts footprint in the state. Here's the interesting thing. The Department of Commerce only does a couple dozen of these satellite accounts. It's called the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite account. Yeah, there's hundreds and hundreds of industries. They do it because to prosper in a global economy, there's an understanding that creativity drives innovation. The appreciation that arts and culture drives creativity. So if we wanna innovate, if we want to prosper in this global economy, we gotta be investing in the arts. We gotta be investing in the product. Because in addition to social wellbeing, education, quality of life benefits, it's really providing vital economic and, and commerce benefits.
Else Gasparka:
So Randy, you're bringing up an excellent point about how much opportunity there is now for the community in Milwaukee. You know, we've, we've had this rich arts and culture sector despite a lack of investment. At the same time, the city of Milwaukee has very ambitious plans for its future. The city released the 2040 plan to try to grow the population of downtown Milwaukee and try to attract and retain more diverse talent to this region. So it's, it's at this tipping point, right? Where we are saying what we want is to be a more competitive, a more vibrant community. But at this point, there hasn't been investment directed towards that. You know, we here at Imagine MKE are trying to beat the drum and spread the word about the economic impact of the arts and culture sector. So with all of this exciting information that was generated from this study, what can people and organizations do with this data to effectively advocate for the arts in our community and increased investment in the arts?
Randy Cohen:
You know, I think there's an opportunity for everybody to support the arts. I think government can be funding the arts. Government has a role in funding the arts. Clearly, it's a fundamental component of a healthy community. In fact, if you look on the back cover of your report, you'll find organizations like the US Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties the conference board, the national, which is the National Organization for Big Business are partners on this study because they too believe arts culture fundamental component of a healthy community. And two, they buy into the methodology and they buy into the results. You know, you can feel confident using this study. So yes, once a year, the funding appropriation comes around. But you know, every city big and small has advisory boards and commissions and committees, all the kinds of citizen engagement, right? You know, there's one for roads, there's one for signage, there's one for airports. You know, I travel around a lot. Everyone's building roundabouts these days on the, on the streets, which are actually, you know, designed to have sort of a vertical presence, you know, which is the public art opportunity there. And, and, you know, and the research shows that art in those roundabouts promotes traffic calming, which promotes greater public safety. It's important that artists or arts organization representation be part of all of those, because there's a lot of conversations happening in the community now, and the artists just make good decisions, better decisions. The thing is, if there's not somebody from the arts community in the room, when the conversation about roundabouts is happening, it may not get asked, and that may not be part of it. And we may not be creating the best street and roads opportunity there, you know, when there could be even be a safer opportunity. Yes, there's funding, but there's policy, there's decision making that's important. I think business businesses and they've, you know, they've stepped up in a lot of ways to fund the arts and do sponsorships, but when they hear a local government leader say, we can't afford the arts, I think we need them to step up and say, can we afford not to fund the arts? Because here's a lot what's on the business leader's mind. There's a research report by the conference board, it's called Ready to Innovate. The conference board is the national organization for big business in this country. Their research shows creativity is now among the top five applied skills business leaders are looking for. If you could take some creativity and apply that to your scientific, your engineering, your agriculture, your coding knowledge, those are the creative economy businesses we're all trying to attract. And, you know, that's how you prosper in this global economy. 72% of business leaders say creativity is of high importance in hiring. 85% of those folks say, can't find the people we're looking for. The business community also appreciates the value of arts and creativity, but they've gotta connect that part of their brain to their public policy, part of their brain and say, Hey, look, everyone's got a job here. You know, I would also just say the way that listeners right now can support the arts is make your personal donations, you know, when you make your donations, remember the arts and attend, just attend the arts. You know, that's, that's a great thing.
Else Gasparka:
I think you make a really great point, Randy, which highlights the fact that often it, it's the onus is on the artists themselves, or the arts administrators to educate the public about the impact of the arts. And unfortunately, that need is not going away. So I just wanna invite folks out there who, you know, work in the arts nonprofit sector to get ahold of this data. Reach out to imagine MKE. We're here, we're happy to share and discuss what this data means for your arts organization and how you can leverage it within your own grant writing your websites. Just trying to get this information out there and suffuse it into public knowledge.
Randy Cohen:
You know, and if you're unsure how to talk about economic impact, it's all right there in the report. Also, just remember our own personal experiences. You know, I've got a golden rule for advocacy. No numbers without a story. No stories without a number. Talk about the last time you went to an arts event and how maybe you spent $31 and 37 cents. If you're an arts organization, talk about all those people in the community you employ, because like you said, it's just not an intuitive way to think about the arts. The public gets it when we talk about it. And also remember young person with an education, rich in the arts is performing better academically, better grades, better test scores, lower dropout rates. When the arts are part of our healing better mental health, we get outta the hospital quicker. Fewer doctor visits. We're building a healthier Milwaukee through the arts. And the arts aren't just nice. They're necessary.
Adam Braatz:
Sometimes in talking about the creative economy or some of the economic outcomes of the arts, sometimes there's a resistance from artists and artisans and practitioners of the arts. There's a resistance to talk about it in economic terms. And we agree, obviously as artists and creatives ourselves, that the arts should stand on its own two feet and be valued for what it is. And some people feel that even mentioning creative economy, commoditizes and cheapens the artistic value of their craft. What would you say to an, an artist or an artisan who has resistance to these ideas or these figures, like you said, the data part of the story,
Randy Cohen:
Just because the arts are food for the soul and inspire us and connect us, you know, as a community and beautify, they can also have these other pragmatic benefits. Nothing wrong with that. So I would just say be able to talk about that as well. It has nothing to do with compromising your art form, the excellence, the lifetime commitment that you've put into your craft. Not at all. It's just like, Hey, good news. We're doing this as well. And some people need to hear that. I tell you, I talk to a lot of chambers of commerce, and they actually love all of this. I get in the room because of the economic impact conversation. But on the way out, they wanna talk about community wellbeing and beautifying a community. They wanna know more about how 72% of the American public says the arts create opportunity for shared experiences with people of different race, ethnicities, faith and ages, or how 63% of the population says the arts help unify communities. They wanna know about the research that says creative economy workers wanna live in a creative community where there's arts and culture and festivals and maker spaces because they're creative and innovative in the workplace. And their message is really clear. I want to go to a place where I can be creative and innovative. 'cause That's who I am. I don't see that there's any compromise whatsoever. It's just really under understanding. Like, wow, we're more amazing than we thought. We're like, art is like this secret weapon in the community.
Adam Braatz:
I like that, that, yeah, that's a good way to put it.
Else Gasparka:
I love your shout out to festivals and makerspaces too. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> walk's chockfull of those,
Randy Cohen:
You know during the pandemic, so many indicators were Dow, right? You know, 99% of organizations had to cancel and close nonprofit arts and culture organizations lost jobs at five times the rate of all nonprofits. Even the Department of Commerce called out the arts as one of the most devastated industries in the United States. But one indicator was crazy upward, and that was personal creation. People making art. You know, Amazon was writing these articles about, like this crazy spike in ukulele sales. Well, I'll tell you, I took up knitting during COVID. Okay? I'd always wanted to try it. You know, I, I always loved the clickety clack of the needles, grandmothers, ants, you know, after I watched everything on Hulu and Netflix, I didn't wanna get off the couch. But I gotta tell you, it was so satisfying. It was so meditative. And there was research that came out after the pandemic that showed people who had a half hour a day of some kind of creative expressive activity or experience. And it could be, you know, arts watching, making culinary gardening had improved mental health compared to those who didn't lower rates of anxiety, lower rates of depression, higher rates of life satisfaction. 37% of the American public said they tried some kind of new arts, music, craft, culinary during the pandemic. It's in us. It's part of our DNA. It's our, it's our part of our humanity.
Else Gasparka:
Well, Randy, this has been a wonderful conversation. Thank you so much for your time today.
Randy Cohen:
Thank you so much for having me.
Else Gasparka:
Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend, like subscribe or leave a rating and review. Follow Imagine MKE on socials to hear and see more Milwaukee arts stories, learn about arts events and opportunities, and to receive arts, advocacy, news and alerts. To get involved or learn more about the work of Imagine MKE, visit us on the web. Creative MKE is produced and edited by me, Elizabeth Gasparka, with support from Adam Bra atz. The Season's episodes were recorded in downtown Milwaukee and in Washington Heights, with support from the good folks at PodCamp Media and the Washington Park Media Center. Our show's music is by Bobby Drake. Additional audio support provided by Think Tank and Silver City Studios. Thank you to WUWM for the opportunity to broadcast creative MKE on the radio. And thanks to the Shepherd Express for their ongoing partnership. For more than 40 years, shepherd Express has proudly advocated for arts and culture in the Milwaukee area. You can hear more podcasts like this one at shepherd express com.
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Mentioned in the Show:
Learn more about the groundbreaking sixth iteration of the Arts and Economic Prosperity study.
Study conducted by Americans for the Arts and Imagine MKE.
Support for the AEP6 Study from: First Stage The Milwaukee Rep Theatre & United Performing Arts Fund - UPAF
