Arts and cultural organizations are key to Massachusetts’ economic health:
- In Massachusetts, cultural nonprofits support more than 73,000 full time jobs, generate over $2.3B in total spending, and bring in nearly $100M in state tax revenues.
- Every dollar spent by an arts and cultural organization generates $2.30 in sales for nearby businesses.
- In 2018, there were more than 21 million attendees for art and cultural events in the Greater Boston area, which is more than four times that for all major Boston sporting events combined.
The arts and cultural sector is key to local economies throughout the state:
- In Lowell, arts and cultural nonprofits support 500 full time jobs, generate over $12M in total spending, and bring in $478,000 in local tax revenue and $469,000 in state tax revenue.
- In Springfield, arts and cultural nonprofits support 1,857 full time jobs, generate nearly $50M in total spending, and bring in $2.2 in local tax revenue and $2.2 in state tax revenue.
- In Worcester, arts and cultural nonprofits support 4,062 full time jobs, generate over $125M in total spending, and bring in $4.4M in local tax revenue and $5.4M in state tax revenue.
- In Boston, arts and cultural nonprofits support 45,889 full time jobs, generate over $1.3B in total spending, and bring in $34.9M in local tax revenue and $52.4M in state tax revenue.
Since March 2020 and the pandemic-related closure of arts and cultural venues in Massachusetts…
- Cultural nonprofit organizations have reported $588.3 million in pandemic-related losses.
- Individual creative workers in Massachusetts lost over $30 million during that same time
Without bold, comprehensive public funding to stabilize the cultural sector through full reopening, Massachusetts will not have the vibrant arts and cultural community it counts on as an economic engine.
