Some good resources to help you make the case for the arts:
• ArtsAdvocacy101.pdf
• Embracingcause.pdf
• Theperformingartsalliance.org

Recently the National Endowment for the Arts published an executive summary of their fifteen year research, Artists in the Workforce.

Some of the key findings in this report are:

1.	Nearly 2 million Americans identify their primary occupation as artist
2.	Designers are the single largest group of so identified artists followed by performing artists (actors, dancers, musicians)
3.	Writers are among the fastest growing artist group
4.	Artists make up about 1.4% of the labor force
5.	Artists remain highly concentrated in urban areas
6.	Nearly 20% of all artists in the USA live in LA, NYC, Chicago, Washington, DC and Boston
7.	Nashville has the highest percentage of musicians in the workforce
8.	LA, of course, has the highest percentage of actors
9.	Santa Fe has the highest percentage of fine artists
10.	The artists labor force is more diverse than ever
11.	Artists are generally more educated than the workforce as a whole
12.	Artists generally earn less than workers with similar levels of education
13.	Colorado is ranked fifth (yes 5th!) among states with the highest number of artists per 10,000 people –New York is number one
14.	Colorado ranks high in the percentage of architects, fine artists, designers, performers, musicians, and writers among the populace

Dana Gioia, Chairman of the NEA writes in the report that “There is no way to understand the new American economy without recognizing the role of its two million creative workers.” I would add that there is no way to understand the dynamics of the 21st century economy in our region of the country without the role of the College of Performing and Visual Arts and your work in preparing the future creative work force.

The Americans for the Arts Creative Industries report offers a research-based approach to understanding the scope and economic importance of the arts in Colorado Congressional District 4. The creative industries are composed of arts-centric businesses that range from nonprofit museums, symphonies, and theaters to for-profit film, architecture, and advertising companies. The creative industries are the high-octane fuel that drives the “information economy,” the fastest growing segment of the nation’s economy. Read the report!