Growth Reported In Small Broward Arts Businesses

Growth Reported in Small Businesses

that Create and Distribute the Arts

Broward County's Creative Industries Hold

Continued Increase Over Four-Year Span 

Today, Broward County is home to more than 5,600 arts-related businesses-that employ more than 21,800 people-an increase of 4 percent over 2009 employees in the creative industries, as documented by Dun and Bradstreet, the most comprehensive and trusted source for business information in the U.S. Americans for the Arts recently released the 2010 Creative Industries Report which offers a research-based approach to understanding the scope and economic importance of the arts.  

In the last four years, during the great recession, the number of art-related businesses in Broward County has grown by 36 percent, and the number of employees has increased by 17 percent. These numbers are even more compelling in light of the loss of many jobs and local businesses. From these statistics, it is clear that the creative industry is a growing segment of the local economy and supports a global trend that will continue as this knowledge-based economy expands. 

Additionally, there is compelling new evidence that the priorities of CEOs of major national corporations are changing in important ways. According to a new survey of 1,500 chief executives conducted by IBM's Institute for Business Value, CEOs identify "creativity" as the most important leadership competency for the successful enterprise of the future. "Until now creativity has generally been viewed as fuel for the engines of research or product development, not the essential leadership asset that must permeate an enterprise," reports Frank Kern, in What Chief Executives Really Want, May 2010, BusinessWeek.com online magazine.

The creative industries are comprised of businesses that create or distribute the arts, including: museums and collections; performing arts; visual arts/photography; film, radio and TV; design and publishing; arts schools and services. These arts-centric businesses play an important role in building and sustaining economic vibrancy: they employ people, purchase goods and services locally, generate government revenue and are a cornerstone of tourism. They also nourish the human spirit.

Nationally, there are more than 650,000 businesses in the United States involved in the creation or distribution of the arts that employ more than 2.9 million people.

For more information, contact Jody Horne-Leshinsky at 954-357-7463; or e-mail jleshinsky@broward.org.

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