Americans for the Arts out of Washington DC paid a visit to the Bay Area Wednesday with good news on the local economic impact of the arts and culture industry.

During the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce’s Wednesday Business Connection, Randy Cohen, vice president of Americans for the Arts, broke down the results of its 2022 national Arts and Economic Prosperity Study conducted with the support of the Oregon Arts Commission.

The study surveyed arts organizations across 19 participating communities in the state.

Fifty-four of them were organizations in the Bay Area including the Liberty and Egyptian theatres and events like the Coquille Tribe’s Salmon Celebration and Pony Village Mall’s Hispanic Market.

Allison Richards of Oregon’s Adventure Coast administered the study to the organizations and says there was a national focus placed on minority groups this year.

Cohen helped craft the original survey and says if the arts are happening in a community, there’s a measurable impact that could make arts organizations more appealing when applying for various funding.

“Like all businesses, they have an economic impact, but unlike most industries, they generate significant amounts of event related spending…$869,000 in spending, then that leverages an additional $2.5 million in event-related spending. ,” said Cohen. “What really impressed me in this region is that non-local spending by arts audiences; $114 is more than twice what the state average is.”

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis says arts and culture is a $1 trillion industry creating close to five million jobs nationally.

$9.3 billion of that is attributed to Oregon arts communities.

Cohen says 373 communities across country participated in the study.

Eugene, Portland, and Salem were among the 19 regions in Oregon to participate.