The Arts in the Kentucky Economy - An Economic Impact Analysis

The arts are generally accepted to be a defining element in the cultural identity of a state. Kentucky's unique heritage is composed of a variety of artistic endeavors from the development of contemporary artists to traditional arts such as bluegrass music and folk art. These activities, whether occurring in urban orchestras, local organizations, regional performing arts centers, or the studios of individual artists, also contribute to the economy in many communities. Indeed, when viewed as a whole, these activities also form a substantial industry in the state. The following presents a proposal by the University of Kentucky Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) for examining the economic impact of the arts industry on Kentucky. In addition to providing a comprehensive overview of the economic impact of the arts in Kentucky, this project is also designed to allow for the periodic updating necessary to track changes in the size of the industry over time. The ability to track the size and structure of the art industry is essential for effective policy implementation. It not only provides a baseline measure to track the movement of the industry, but also provides valuable insight into characteristics unique to the industry itself. This proposal will provide a brief and very general overview describing a wide breadth of artistic endeavors, from the performing arts to commercial arts such as architecture and publishing. However, for purposes of impact analysis, this study will primarily focus on specific areas including non-profit groups and service organizations and other areas, both non-profit and for-profit, including the visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, media arts, and crafts. As many of these areas will naturally overlap, special care will be taken to clearly define the various activities. In order to study these specific areas in detail, CBER proposes a series of surveys as discussed below and designed to capture the data necessary to perform the impact study as well as to provide a basis for future collection and maintenance of data. It is also understood that data collection to measure the growth of the Kentucky Artisan Center is underway. This study will incorporate this data such that previous and ongoing efforts will not be duplicated, and so that future efforts may be integrated into overall data collection.