8 Facts You Didn’t Know About Money and the Arts

By Literally Broke

We all have that one uncle whose great ambition in life is to cut funding for the arts (sharing conspiracies via email gets old).

Capitalism has led many to believe that the arts do not have economic value. But the facts tell a very different story. These eight statistics demonstrate that arts and culture both contribute more than just an aesthetic experience.

1. The arts and culture sectors were valued at $877.8 billion in 2017.  

2. Considering all the sh*t artists get, you may be surprised to find out that the arts contribute more to the economy than construction, transportation and warehousing, travel and tourism, mining, utilities, and agriculture sectors. 

3. Next time you encounter someone advocating for less funding for the arts, remind them that arts and culture comprise 4.5% of GDP (gross domestic product).

4. The show must go on! No, really, like, it must. The performing arts alone added 52.2 billion to the economy in 2017. 

5. This whole freelancing thing is actually a thing! Artists are also entrepreneurs and are 3.6x more likely to be self-employed than the average US worker. 

6. BFA grads need not worry (so much). The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2022 creativity will be one of the top-3 in-demand skills. 

7. Americans spend $14.5 billion on the performing arts annually. By comparison, they spend $20.7 billion on sports events. Not too shabby for a country that loves to devalue the arts! 

8. We just keep making em’ money! While many US exports have registered a trade deficit over the last decade, the art and culture sectors have actually seen a 26.4 billion dollar trade surplus.

Break these facts out the next time your uncle says your BFA is “worthless.” He clearly hasn’t read Literally Broke recently. Subscribe him to our newsletter below!