The arts and Culture Contribution to Economic Resiliency

2024 Arts and Culture Contribution to Economic Recovery Report

2024 research commissioned by NASAA demonstrates further evidence that arts and creative industries promote growth during economic downturns. Using data from 2001 to 2021, the study, conducted by Douglas S. Noonan of Indiana University Indianapolis, shows that arts and creative industries offer a powerful strategy for states and localities to reignite economic growth and diversify and stimulate economies. The 2024 research is a follow-up to research conducted in 2021, using economic data during the pandemic, also found on this page.

2024 Key Findings: Arts and Creativity Drive Economies and Build Resilience

Highlights from a follow-up empirical study exploring arts economic data from years 2001-2021, authored by Douglas S. Noonan, professor at Indiana University Indianapolis. Findings cover how the arts economy fares through economic downturns and its influence on economic trends.

2024 Technical Report: The Arts and Culture Sector’s Contributions to Economic Recovery and Resiliency in the United States: 2001-2021 Update

A companion report that describes the statistical methods used to conduct the 2024 analysis

2021 ARTS AND CULTURE CONTRIBUTIONS TO ECONOMIC RECOVERY REPORT

In 2021, NASAA commissioned research to better understand the role of the arts sector in economic recovery from Indiana University Indianapolis. This study serves as the initial report and analyzes economic data from 2001-2017. (A follow-up study using additional years, 2017-2021, to explore the effects of the pandemic, can be found above.)

Highlights from an empirical study by Douglas S. Noonan, professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, that explores how the arts economy fares through economic downturns and its influence on economic trends

A companion report that describes the statistical methods used to conduct this analysis and shows the relationships observed between the arts, gross state products, employment and compensation trends

Articles Highlighting 2021 Indiana University Research

Two articles highlight the 2021 Indianna University research and provide a perspective that is particularly informative to elected officials, policymakers and community leaders:

To Accelerate Our Economic Recovery, Look to the Arts, by former New Orleans Mayor and former Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu and NASAA President and CEO Pam Breaux, appeared in Governing in May 2021. It tells the story of how the creative sector catalyzed economic recovery in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.

Creativity Sparks Economic Renewal, by Montana Arts Council Chair and Bozeman Mayor Cyndy Andrus, was posted by the National League of Cities in September 2021. This article outlines how the arts contribute to the economies of growing micropolitan areas.

CREATIVE ECONOMIES AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Salient themes from a suite of case studies conducted by the Western States Arts Federation illustrating how the arts have contributed to economic turnarounds in distressed communities

Offering complete case studies and economic data compiled through Creative Vitality Suite®, this report examines communities in Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia, revealing how the arts are a springboard for local economic growth.