A new study released by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts as part of Arts Advocacy Day at the Minnesota State Capitol reveals artists in the Arrowhead have a $13.8 million dollar annual impact on Minnesota’s economy, supporting nearly 500 full-time jobs and delivering $1.6 million in state and local government revenue.

These regional findings are part of a statewide study that shows artists in Minnesota had a total statewide economic impact of $205.2 million dollars. However, the study also found, on the whole, that Minnesota artists are twice as likely as other Minnesotans to go without health insurance.

The health insurance figures were part of the “Artist Quality of Life” section of Artists Count, which also looked at the percentage of artists covered by retirement plans and frequency of volunteerism and voting.

“Artist Count: The Economic Impact of Minnesota’s Individual Artists identified nearly 20,000 artists living in every corner of Minnesota, including full-time, part-time, and retired/hobbyist artists,” said Sheila Smith, Executive Director of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. “We believe this is a conservative estimate of the number of artists in our state. Artists are a contributing factor to the economies and communities of every region of Minnesota, but we were dismayed by the high rate of the uninsured.”

The study found 1,990 artists living in Minnesota’s Arrowhead Region. For the purposes of the study, the Arrowhead includes: Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis counties.

The study, primarily funded by The McKnight Foundation, was conducted by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, Springboard for the Arts, and the Minnesota Craft Council in 2006. Fifty Minnesota arts organizations including the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council and the Lyric Center for the Arts in Virginia partnered in the data collection, which asked artists to report their spending, income and other data from 2005.

“As a professional modern dancer without insurance, I injured my ankle and had to go to an emergency room for treatment. Without insurance, I was forced to pay more,” said Sandra Augustin, who is also Executive Director of the National Association of Artists’ Organizations. “Having an affordable, individual healthcare plan is essential for low-income individuals, many of whom are artists.”

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA) is producing a number of studies on the arts in Minnesota. Last year MCA and the Forum of Regional Arts Councils produced The Arts: A Driving Force in Minnesota’s Economy (found at www.mncitizensforthearts.org) about the economic impact of arts and culture organizations and their audiences. These previous studies included a look at the economic impact of arts organizations in the Arrowhead.

This new report focuses specifically on individual artists, who were excluded from the previous studies. Added together, the economic impact of artists, organizations and their audiences statewide in Minnesota is over $1 billion per year, and in the Arrowhead is $44.9 million per year.

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