A two-part study from Arts Alliance Illinois, The Creative Economy of Chicago & Illinois: Impact and Assets, provided statistics this week about the importance of the state’s creative economy.
The creative economy — which ranges from arts education to festivals, fairs and conventions to music recording and publishing — supports 734,269 jobs in the state of Illinois, the report indicated. That figure represents 12.2% of all employment across Illinois and generates $148.1 billion in total output and $20.6 billion in tax revenue.
The report evaluates economic impact for the state, as well as within the city of Chicago.
Claire Rice, executive director of the Chicago-based statewide nonprofit Arts Alliance Illinois, expressed the importance of the data in a media briefing on Wednesday.
“These reports help quantify what many have long known: Creativity is a major driver of jobs, economic activity and community vitality across our city and our state,” Rice said.
The direct employment provided by the creative economy makes up 6.3% of employment across Illinois, according to the report, which makes it the state’s sixth largest industry in front of transportation, construction and finance and insurance.
Despite being larger than many other industries, Nora Daley, board chair of Illinois Arts Council, said that the creative economy isn’t always considered in investment talks.
“The fact that we're larger than many of the sectors that people are constantly talking about investing in… really provides us that leverage and opportunity to be at the table,” Daley said.
Another importance of the creative economy is the impact it has on tourism, Phil Clement, president and CEO of World Business Chicago, said.
“So, when we're attracting tourism, when we're amplifying our reputation, that industry has a different impact on our economy than others,” Clement said. “It's a more virtuous addition and so we need it at the table and we need it to be looked at as a leading — not a nice philanthropic thing to do after you're done with everything else — but actually something that is that the tip of the spear.”
Rice describes the report as "conservative." The revenue the state of Illinois makes from parking and tourism due to the creative arts isn’t calculated into the data compiled by research firm Sound Diplomacy. And some independent artists and gig workers that aid the creative industry were also absent from the calculations, Rice said.
“Individual creative worker impact is extremely hard to measure, and we've taken a crack at that, but it is an underestimation, we believe, of what the total impact is,” Rice said.
“The idea that this is more conservative and this is more general, it should spark a lot of anticipation to dig deeper to take it further,” Sam Thousand, an Arts Alliance Illinois board member, said.
Thousand is also a musician, curator and director that knows the importance of creative contributors in every capacity across the state.
“It's not just about the festivals and the premier performance spaces,” Thousand said. “It's also the galleries, it's the restaurants, it's even coffee shops and neighborhood spaces that are welcoming artists in the neighborhood to come and curate and create some meaningful experiences of culture exchange.”
The rest of the state matters
Many of those smaller spaces are seen all across the state, not just Chicago.
Per the report, Chicago provides 47.5% of the state’s direct creative output and 40.7% of direct employment, but provides 212,875 of the total 734,269 jobs supported by Illinois’ creative economy.
Out of every $1 of output generated by the creative economy in Chicago an additional $0.38 is created locally across other industries. Illinois’ additional output for every $1 generated is $0.95, proving the importance of the state as a whole for the booming creative economy.
“More than just a stopover on a trip to Chicago, Southern and Central Illinois artists demonstrate the heart of what our state has to offer for incredible cultural and artistic experiences,” Christina Shutt, executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, said.
Arts Alliance Illinois’ new data and report has the potential to make the creative economy a more-considered sector and this year could mark the beginning, Rice said.
“This is the first year that we'll have released this data while our legislative creative caucus exists,” Rice said. “We just started with 33 members across our state legislature that have said, ‘yes, we believe in the power of the creative economy, we believe in arts and culture, we believe in creativity. We want to support that and we want to amplify it.’”
