If you’ve wondered about the number and distribution of arts organizations in your state, or wondered if your elected representatives ever wondered such things, there’s a wealth of insight now available from Americans for the Arts. Their effort to map the cultural industries across every state legislative district in the country is now on-line and ready for download.
Americans for the Arts took data from Dun & Bradstreet business and employment data, and created scatter maps and summary tables for each district. So, a quick look at the map for my senator’s district (ie, the whole state) shows 8615 arts-related businesses employing 43,383 people.
There are a few kinks in the system, of course. First, Dun & Bradstreet is a creature of the commercial world, and their data on nonprofit businesses is incomplete (so, AFTA is encouraging arts organizations to sign up and be counted).
Second, everybody seems to have a different definition of the ”creative industries.” Americans for the Arts takes the slightly conservative road, focusing on ”businesses involved in the production or distribution of the arts,” which they define as ”arts-centric businesses that range from nonprofit museums, symphonies, and theaters to for-profit film, architecture, and advertising companies.” Other efforts draw a wider circle, such as the Creative Clusters initiative in the UK, which defines the group as ”those activities which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property.” And, of course, Richard Florida includes anyone that ever had an original thought.
Still, the Creative Industries map is one more useful sheet of paper to bring with you when you meet with your elected officials (you DO meet with your elected officials, don’t you?). Every little color chart helps, if only to show that you have color chart capacities.
