Minnesota: Arts Count

The Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB) is conducting a census to find out the number of individuals and organizations in the state who are engaged in creative expression. The MN Arts Count, launched in March, is designed to measure both personal and professional involvement in the arts. The survey includes questions about arts participation, employment and various ways in which cultural organizations or creative businesses help to facilitate or promote the arts.

This survey is the first attempt to count the total number of Minnesotans who actively take part in the arts. After the passage of the state’s Legacy Amendment in 2008, the Minnesota legislature directed MSAB, in cooperation with the state’s 11 regional arts councils, to conduct such a census. The survey will help MSAB to quantify the size of the state’s creative sector and measure the importance of the arts to the state.

As an added participation incentive, the respondent who can most accurately guess the total number of Minnesotans who participate in various forms of creative expression will receive a $750 Visa gift card. Two runners-up will receive $150 gift cards. Contact information volunteered by survey participants will be used to build a database of Minnesota organizations, groups and businesses that participate in and support various forms of the arts and creative expression. For more information, follow MN Arts Count on Facebook or Twitter, see the census project’s FAQ, or contact MSAB Communications and Government Relations Director Brian Strub.