Minneapolis arts economy ranks sixth in nation

adamsfelt

Starving and aspiring artists rejoice: You may actually have a secure career ahead. A recent report examining the creative index of major cities ranks Minneapolis's arts economy sixth in the nation. We're in good company too, as major cities Washington, D.C.; New York; Los Angeles; San Francisco; and Boston topped the list.

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To determine rankings, the report analyzed job opportunities in the industry, consumer spending, and arts organization revenue. Results suggest that despite hard financial times, the arts sector Minneapolis and its metro area is indeed thriving and make important contributions to the local economy.

According to the City of Minneapolis's website:

This index examines aspects of the creative economy that have never been measured before in Minneapolis. The data measures the Minneapolis creative economy down to the ZIP code level of detail, and it compares the concentration of Minneapolis creative jobs to the national average for those fields (for instance, the concentration of photographers or dancers, etc.).

Information and statistics gleaned from the report will certainly be helpful in the coming months and years, as the City Council is currently re-evaluating how to make areas of the city even more art-friendly, including plans to restructure downtown Hennepin Avenue into an arts-driven area, as well as re-evaluating possible arts and culture opportunities for the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Some other cool facts:

The nonprofit and for-profit creative sector pumps an annual average of $700 million into the Minneapolis economy. It is a significant piece of Minneapolis employment that employs nearly 20,000 workers, making up 5 percent of all jobs in Minneapolis proper. Retail sales in the Minneapolis creative economy are roughly 70 percent of the size of retail in the Minneapolis sports economy. Nonprofit arts and culture attendees are known to create an average ripple effect of $20.40 per person in event-related purchases such as restaurants and parking.

You can read the full report, which fittingly boasts lots of colorful graphs, and is artsy in its own right, here.