Friday, June 8, 2007

Economic impact of the arts in Portland!

Kimberly Marlowe Hartnett in Crosscut reports that $318 million of economic activity are generated by the arts in Portland. She found this tally in a study recently released by Americans for the Arts, a non profit organization dedicated to "advancing the arts in America."

To quote Hartnett's article:

"The study this week by Americans for the Arts found that the arts in metro Seattle generate $330 million of economic activity a year. Well, if that's a bunch of hooey, Portland's hooey is every bit as impressive, maybe more so considering it's a smaller place: $318 million a year changes hands in Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties courtesy of paintings, performances, and other pastimes. And that doesn't include tickets, money spent on dress and painful shoes, bohemian-black separates, or parking citations."

There's more information in Hartnett's article - with links to the study and to the local groups that are trumpeting this info. Those of us involved in the arts know how valuable the arts are! Now we've got some data to back it up. And it's interesting to note that we are on the level with Seattle, which I thought spends a heck of a lot more on arts than we do.

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