City of Bloomington’s BEAD and Ivy Tech Community College Join the Americans for the Arts’ National Economic Impact Study

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 25, 2011

For more information, please contact:
Miah Michaelsen, Assistant Economic Development Director for the Arts, 812-349-3534, [mailto:michaelm@bloomington.in.gov]
Jared Schlemmer, Communications Director, City of Bloomington, 349.3406, [mailto:schlemmj@bloomington.in.gov]

Bloomington, IN-- The City of Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District (BEAD) and Ivy Tech Community College have joined the Arts & Economic Prosperity IV™ research study.

Americans for the Arts, a leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts, will lead the study and evaluate the impact that spending by nonprofit arts organizations and their audiences have on their local economies. As one of 200 study partners across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, BEAD, with the assistance of Ivy Tech Community College, will facilitate the gathering of detailed event attendance and economic data from nonprofit arts and culture organizations located throughout Bloomington. In addition, BEAD will collaborate with other local arts organizations to collect surveys from at least 800 arts and culture attendees in Bloomington during 2011. Customized findings for Bloomington will demonstrate the economic impact of spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations and their audiences. Specifically, the study will assess:

• The total dollars spent by Bloomington's nonprofit arts and culture organizations;
• The total dollars spent by audiences as a direct result of their attendance at arts and culture events in Bloomington;
• The number of full-time equivalent jobs supported by arts spending;
• The amount of resident, household income-including salaries and wages-generated by arts spending; and
• The amount of local and state government tax revenues generated by arts spending.\

"We look forward to working with our arts and cultural partners in gathering the data to update what was a landmark study linking arts and economic development in Bloomington, and we're so appreciative to have Ivy Tech Community College on board as a partner in our efforts," said Miah Michaelsen, Assistant Economic Development Director for the City of Bloomington.

According to the most recent national study by Americans for the Arts, the national nonprofit arts industry generated 5.7 million jobs and $166.2 billion in total economic activity during 2005, resulting in $29.6 billion in federal, state and local government revenues. The $166.2 billion total included $63.1 billion in spending by arts organizations and $103.1 billion in event-related spending by their audiences on items such as meals, local transportation and overnight lodging. Complete details about the 2005 study are available at [www.AmericansForTheArts.org/EconomicImpact|www.AmericansForTheArts.org/EconomicImpact].

"Arts & Economic Prosperity IV will allow us to evaluate the impact the recession has had on employment and government revenues that are generated by the nonprofit arts industry," said Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts.

This is the second time the City of Bloomington has participated in an Arts & Economic Prosperity study. Results from the 2002 study conducted and facilitated by the Bloomington Area Arts Council indicated that the nonprofit arts are a significant industry in Bloomington-one that generated $44.5 million in local economic activity. This spending-$35.6 million by nonprofit arts organizations and an additional $8.9 million in event-related spending by their audiences-supported 1,567 full-time jobs, generated $32.2 million in household income to local residents, and delivered $3.5 million in local and state government revenue.

Americans for the Arts' Arts & Economic Prosperity IV study is supported by The Ruth Lilly Fund of Americans for the Arts. In addition, Americans for the Arts' local and statewide project partners are contributing both time and financial support to the study. For more information, contact Michaelsen at 349-3534 or [mailto:michaelm@bloomington.in.gov].

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