The Orange County Arts Commission announced on Monday that the nonprofit arts and culture sector generated $130.3 million in direct economic activity, supported 5,001 full-time jobs and generated $12.5 million in local and state government revenue.
These numbers come from a study called the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5: The Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations and Their Audiences in North Carolina.
The study is conducted every five years by Americans for the Arts in partnership with other nonprofit and culture organizations around the country.
“The study shows that the arts are a tool for Orange County, providing jobs and economic advantages to our communities,” director of the Orange County Arts Commission Katie Murray said in a release. “When compared to participating communities of similar size, as well as other small towns with large public universities, Orange County ranks significantly higher in terms of total impact of the arts.”
Murray says these numbers will only grow as art communities in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough become stronger.
The Orange County Arts Commission was among 24 counties and seven municipalities in the state that conducted a study.
On Monday, executive director of the North Carolina Arts Council, Wayne Martin, announced the nonprofit arts and culture economic impact for the entire Triangle area.
According to that study, the Triangle generated $863.2 million in direct economic activity in 2015, and supported 31,219 full-time jobs.
“For 50 years, the North Carolina Arts Council has been guided by the belief that the arts uplift individuals, transform our communities and enhance the reputation of our state,” Martin said. “’Arts for all citizens,’ the founding ideal for the Arts Council in 1967, has clearly fostered economic success and public participation in the arts across our state.”
This report included Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Orange, Person, Vance, Wake and Warren counties.
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