Arts and culture are essential cornerstones in crafting a sustainable, impactful, and meaningful economic development and tourism strategy for communities of all sizes. They breathe life into our towns and cities, enriching them with unique identities and vibrant atmospheres that attract residents, businesses, and visitors alike. By investing in the arts, communities foster a sense of place and belonging, making them more appealing to an educated workforce and the businesses that seek to employ them. The Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance's programs build vibrancy while driving tourism, drawing visitors eager to experience the authentic, diverse offerings that only arts and culture can provide. |
Integrating arts and culture into economic development and tourism strategies drives innovation, fosters collaboration, and supports community revitalization. Creative placemaking and cultural asset mapping leverage local resources, enhancing the visitor experience while preserving heritage.
By embracing these assets, communities can achieve sustainable growth, creating resilient and thriving environments for all. |
Every day, more than 100,000 nonprofit arts and culture organizations in the U.S. are making their communities better places to live and work by beautifying cities, fueling creativity, celebrating diversity, and bringing joy to residents. Like all nonprofits, these organizations have a public purpose: to make their cultural product broadly accessible so everyone can share in these benefits. And, like all nonprofits, they count on financial support from government and the private sector to deliver on that promise. We are in a time, however, when many leaders feel challenged to fund the arts. Shrinking budgets, mandates to prioritize jobs and economic growth, and pressing community development issues make for difficult decision making.
To those leaders, Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 brings a welcome message: when you invest in the arts and culture, you are investing in an industry that strengthens your economy and builds more livable communities. Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6) is an economic and social impact study of the nation’s nonprofit arts and culture industry. By every measure, the results are impressive. Nationally, the sector generated $151.7 billion of economic activity in 2022—$73.3 billion in spending by arts and culture organizations and an additional $78.4 billion in event-related expenditures by their audiences. What was the impact of this economic activity? It supported 2.6 million jobs, provided $101 billion in personal income to residents, and generated $29.1 billion in tax revenue to local, state, and federal governments. Investment in the nonprofit arts and culture industry builds the communities where people want to live and work. It is where entrepreneurs and creative economy businesses are launched and where nighttime economies flourish. When we prioritize diverse cultural expressions and traditions, it nurtures social connections, promotes community pride and identity, and boosts tourism by providing the authentic experiences that draw visitors to the community. If visitors have a positive experience, it may become a place to work—and ultimately one in which to live. Creating livable communities is economic development. |
Geographic Definition of RegionPima County in Arizona
Estimated Population 1,047,279 Total Spending by Arts and Culture Organizations $113,298,676 Total Spending by Arts Audiences $137,983,553 Total Spending by the entire Nonprofit Arts and Culture Industry $251,282,229 |