Future of Arts and Culture Project: Research for Change & Tools for Advocacy
Arts, heritage and history are the heart of the Snohomish County identity. Pre-pandemic, area neighborhoods, downtowns, venues, and parks were awash with the sights and sounds of arts and culture provided by the county’s small (owner-operated) creator and producer businesses.
During the pandemic, a disproportionate number of these businesses closed, leaving social, educational and economic gaps in county communities. Without sustained public support, these expensive gaps will continue to worsen over time.
Early initiatives of the Arts Commission’s Future of Arts and Culture Project are to power advocacy with research. A first step Arts and Culture Industry Segment Assessment reports that arts and culture are perpetuated in Snohomish County by an estimated 98 percent majority of small owner-operated creative enterprises, representing an economically beneficial sub-section (segment) of the Washington State Creative Sector.
The assessment analyzes profitability of the segment to spur dialogue and reduce skepticism about the ROI of public sector funding support. Research demonstrates how the segment outperforms the county’s largest industry, manufacturing in several categories, and sets performance baselines, and key metrics to monitor over time.
The Industry Segment Recovery Dashboard is a companion to the assessment that documents quarterly changes in the segment, including numbers of businesses and jobs added or lost, changes to wages and performance rankings of the county against peers. Goals for the dashboard are to provide policy and decision makers, business owners, chambers, arts commissions, grant writers and residents secure funding and show how the investments in arts and culture do fill social, educational and economic gaps county communities.
Welcome to the Future of Arts and Culture Project, Because Recovery is Resilience
FAQ’s About the dashboard (click arrows at bottom left to set screen to full-size)
Q: If there are 50 employment codes why are only 26 showing on the dashboard?
Q: Are there other industry segment definitions?