Press release from the Indiana Arts Commission:
Indiana’s arts-related employment fell sharply in 2009
(Indianapolis – April 13, 2010) – The Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) announced today that the number of arts-related businesses and the number of Hoosiers they employ dropped in 2009 to a four-year low.
According to the Creative Industries report released by Americans for the Arts (AFTA), a total of 9,950 arts-related businesses were surveyed in Indiana last year, a decrease of 335 from 2008.
The creative industries surveyed represent arts-centric businesses which include nonprofit museums, symphonies and theaters as well as for-profit film, architecture and advertising agencies.
“In spite of the national economic downturn and the decline in manufacturing, the number of arts-related businesses in our state experienced moderate growth every year since 2005, but that changed in 2009,” said IAC Executive Director Lewis C. Ricci.
Creative industries employment in Indiana declined for the second consecutive year. The number of Hoosiers employed full-time in arts-related businesses totaled 48,887 last year, a decrease of 1,972 jobs. This follows a loss of 3,065 arts-related jobs between 2007 and 2008.
“From 2005 to 2007, creative industry employment increased by more than 6,000 jobs,” Ricci observed. “Yet in just two years time almost 5,000 Hoosiers have lost their arts-related jobs and the salaries that went with them. From graphic designers and performance artists, to artistic directors and arts administrators, there are significantly fewer Hoosiers working in arts related jobs now than in 2006.”
Nationally, creative industry businesses total 668,267, or 4% of all U.S. businesses, and they employ 2.9 million people (2.1% of all employees) nationwide.
The national arts research project combines Dun & Bradstreet data (as of January 2010) and geo-economic analysis to map the location of arts-related businesses in six major creative industries: museums/collections; performing arts; visual/photographic arts; film/radio/television; design/publishing; and art schools/services.
Located in Washington, D.C., Americans for the Arts is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. For more information about AFTA, visit: www.AmericansForTheArts.org.
On behalf of the people of Indiana, the Indiana Arts Commission advocates engagement with the arts to enrich the quality of individual and community life.