CLEVELAND-ELYRIA RANKED 12th AMONG 20 MOST ARTS-VIBRANT LARGE COMMUNITIES IN THE NATION
The 8th Annual Arts Vibrancy Index from SMU DataArts Compiles List of 40 Most Vibrant Arts Communities Across the U.S., Based on Measures of Per Capita Supply, Demand and Government Support for the Arts
CLEVELAND, OH, November 13, 2023 – SMU DataArts, the National Center for Arts Research, released its 8th Arts Vibrancy Index, which identifies Cleveland-Elyria as number 12 in the list of 20 large communities in the United States through an analysis of the level of supply, demand, and government support for the arts in more than 900 communities across the country. Organized into three separate lists based on community population size, totaling 40 communities across the country, this year’s Arts Vibrancy Index is the first to include numerical rankings since 2020, a reflection of arts organizations returning to in-person activities and performances following the easing of pandemic restrictions. Cleveland, along with neighboring Elyria, has consistently appeared on the Arts Vibrancy Index since its debut on the rankings in 2018.
This year, Cleveland is ranked 12th on the annual list of large communities in the nation -- the highest ranking it has ever achieved.
Related research by SMU DataArts shows that Local Arts Agencies (LAAs) like Assembly for the Arts and Cuyahoga Arts & Culture are powerful catalysts of arts vibrancy which ensure that the arts remain an integral part of community life. Fluctuations in a community’s ranking occur from year to year for a variety of reasons, including the opening of an arts district or closing of a performance space as well as local economic conditions.
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) is the region’s largest funder for arts and culture. Since 2006, CAC has invested $230 million in over 470 organizations, including SMU Data Arts, to gather and share local nonprofit arts data through CAC’s grant application process.
“It’s important to have data to demonstrate the strength of Cuyahoga County’s creative community,” said Jill M. Paulsen, executive director of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. “Each year, CAC-funded organizations contribute information to SMU DataArts to help us tell the story of the sector’s impact and shine a light on their work.”
Jeremy V. Johnson, CEO and president of Assembly for the Arts, said, “Cleveland is now ranked 12th in the nation in terms of Arts Providers, Arts Dollars, and Government Support, joining the company of arts-heavy cities such as New York City, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. The Arts Vibrancy Index demonstrates the arts’ enduring importance, resiliency, and vibrancy in Greater Cleveland, which is why it’s essential to maintain public support for this important part of our economy.”
Arts-vibrant communities can be found in every region of the United States—a finding which arises from an objective analysis of the data, and not from selecting communities by hand to achieve geographic representation.
“The arts and culture sector was hit hard by the pandemic, and some organizations and communities are still recovering. The Index is an opportunity for communities to affirm and celebrate the individuals and organizations that are the sources of arts vibrancy in their region, whether that’s artists who have mastered a local craft tradition over generations, a cultural festival that families enjoy year after year, or a cherished historic theater, museum, or arts-education center. For organizations, funders, local citizens, and public officials, the Arts Vibrancy Index is a powerful resource that leverages data-driven evidence to illuminate how the arts contribute to an area’s economy and public life,” stated Dr. Zannie Voss, Director of SMU DataArts. “One way that public leaders can spark arts vibrancy in their communities is by expanding funding for local arts agencies, which spurs arts employment, stimulates more artistic activity, and increases the strength of geographically dispersed arts-vibrant cultural resources throughout communities.”
The Lists
In addition to the top arts-vibrant communities listed in the Arts Vibrancy Index, arts-vibrancy scores for every county in the United States can be viewed on an interactive map that identifies arts and cultural strengths that are present in every community. (Also known as Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Areas, these communities have boundaries that are defined by the United States Census Bureau.)
Large Communities (population: 1 million +)
On the list of the most arts-vibrant communities with populations of 1 million or more, one city is new to the list: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI. San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA, sits at the top of the list for the first time since 2018 and Philadelphia, PA, has moved into the top 5 for the first time ever. After debuting in the 20th spot in 2020, Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN, has skyrocketed to the 11th spot.
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA
- New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
- Boston, MA
- Philadelphia, PA
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
- Frederick-Gaithersburg-Rockville, MD
- Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA
- New Orleans-Metairie, LA
- Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
- Cleveland-Elyria, OH
- Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA
- Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
- Seattle-Bellevue-Kent, WA
- Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
- Chicago-Naperville-Evanston, IL
- St. Louis, MO-IL
Medium Communities (population: 100,000 – 1 million)
Medium communities are home to populations ranging from 100,000 to 1 million people. Canton-Massillon, OH, is new to this list, while Santa Fe, NM; San Rafael, CA; and Pittsfield, MA, have appeared on the list of top medium communities every year since 2015. Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo-Portage, MI, are returning to this list following their 2022 debuts.
- Pittsfield, MA
- Santa Fe, NM
- Ithaca, NY
- San Rafael, CA
- Kalamazoo-Portage, MI
- Boulder, CO
- Missoula, MT
- Canton-Massillon, OH
- Burlington-South Burlington, VT
- Ann Arbor, MI
Small Communities (population <100,000)
Small communities are defined as areas with populations under 100,000. Jackson, WY-ID, and Bennington, VT, have made the list of small communities every year since 2015, with Jackson maintaining its ranking as first among small communities for the past four years.
- Jackson, WY-ID
- Brevard, NC
- Steamboat Springs, CO
- Bennington, VT
- Easton, MD
- Glenwood Springs, CO
- Hailey, ID
- Juneau, AK
- Brookings, SD
- Oneonta, NY
The overall Arts Vibrancy Index is composed of 13 unique measures which cover aspects of supply, demand, and public support for arts and culture, and are adjusted for cost of living and population differences among communities. In this year’s index, the analysis approach was updated to weight the 13 inputs based on their relative explanatory power for the underlying concept of arts vibrancy. This approach improves measurement consistency in the face of data availability delays or other changes in individual datasets from year to year. All financial metrics have been adjusted for cost of living in order to level the playing field. The cost of doing business varies based on local conditions, so the same dollar goes further in some communities than others.
ABOUT ASSEMBLY FOR THE ARTS
Assembly for the Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a focus on advocacy, cultural policy, racial equity initiatives, research, marketing that elevates the region, and services for nonprofits, artists, and creative businesses. It is governed by a volunteer board with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. Assembly by design operates in close partnership with Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, a government agency, and Assembly for Action, a 501(c)4 political action nonprofit to serve the entire creative sector. Assembly is supported through major funding from: The Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, The Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, Ohio Arts Council, Huntington, KeyBank, The George W. Codrington Charitable Foundation, and Fred & Laura Ruth Bidwell. www.assemblycle.org
ABOUT CUYAHOGA ARTS & CULTURE
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) is the region’s largest funder for arts and culture, helping hundreds of organizations in Cuyahoga County connect millions of people to cultural experiences each year. Since 2006, CAC has invested $230 million in over 470 organizations, making our community a more vibrant place to live, work and play. CAC is a separate government entity and a political subdivision of the State of Ohio. For more information, visit cacgrants.org.
ABOUT SMU DATAARTS
SMU DataArts, the National Center for Arts Research, is a project of the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University. The mission of SMU DataArts is to provide and engage both organizations and individuals with the evidence-based insights needed to collectively build strong, vibrant, and equitable arts communities. Its research efforts range from academic papers published in leading journals, applied research undertaken with community partners, and actionable insights shared directly with arts practitioners. Its programs provide business intelligence tools and resources to help arts leaders leverage data to answer critical management questions and connect research analyses to their own work. Recent publications include research reports on emergence from the COVID-19 crisis; the alchemy that drives high performing arts organizations of color; audience diversity, equity and inclusion in large performing arts organizations; impact of investments made in diverse creative communities; and more.
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Media Contacts:
Malissa Bodmann
216-536-7517
Arts and Economic Prosperity 6 Report
Cuyahoga County’s nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $533,156,171 in economic activity in 2022, according to the newly released Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6), an economic and social impact study conducted by Americans for the Arts. That economic activity — $389.8 million in spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations and an additional $143.3 million in event-related spending by their audiences supported 8,637 jobs and generated $104.2 million in local, state, and federal government revenue. Spending by arts and culture audiences generates valuable commerce to local merchants, a value-add that few other industries can compete with.
Building on its 30-year legacy as the largest and most inclusive study of its kind, AEP6 uses a rigorous methodology to document the economic and social contributions of the nation’s nonprofit arts and culture industry. The study demonstrates locally as well as nationally, arts and culture are a critical economic driver of vibrant communities. In Cuyahoga County, more than 1,100 audience members participated in the survey and 172 nonprofit organizations supplied financial and audience information – about 38% of nonprofit arts and culture organizations in the county. The study also surveyed audiences of color for the first time ever.
Arts & Economic Prosperity 6
Change the Conversation About the Arts
Becoming an AEP6 Volunteer with Assembly is a great way to meet new people, show your support for our arts communities and get some great perks!
Volunteers will help with survey prep and on-site survey collection at arts and culture events of all kinds. You’ll also get to:
- Talk with other arts-minded people
- Advocate for the arts
- Help others learn about Assembly for the Arts programs
- Expand your network
Email volunteer@assemblycle.org to sign up and learn more!
What is the study?
Assembly is excited to partner with Americans for the Arts on Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6).
AEP6 is an economic impact study of the nation’s nonprofit arts and culture industry. It’s the largest and most inclusive study of its kind ever conducted, with a specific focus on 387 participating communities from across the country.
For the first time ever, this study includes Cuyahoga County as part of the more than two hundred regions surveyed nationwide. View the Press Release.
Nonprofit Partners
Assembly is working with nonprofit organization partners to survey their audiences at arts and culture events of all kinds across the county. These surveys will provide important information on how much people are spending at arts events, what neighborhoods are participating and their investment in and connection to the arts.
Why is This a big deal for Cuyahoga County?
In short, Economic impact studies like AEP6:
- Can help organizations like Assembly advocate for more resources for arts and culture, including future funding
- Illustrate the major economic impact of the arts in our region
- Influence where tax dollars are invested
- Help change how people view arts and culture
Download 10 Reasons to Support the Arts in Cleveland.
Download 10 Reasons to Support the Arts in Cuyahoga County.
Thank You
To our friends that have partnered with us on this!
Beck Center for the Arts
CAN Journal
Cleveland Institute of Art
Cleveland Institute of Music
Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland Play House
Cleveland Public Theatre
Dance Cleveland
Dancing Wheels
Djapo Cultural Arts Institute
Dobama Theatre
Future Ink Graphics (FIG)
Great Lakes African American Writer’s Conference
Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival (GCUFF)
Julia De Burgos Cultural Arts Center
Kaiser Gallery
Karamu House
Les Delices
Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (moCa)
Museum of Creative Human Art
Musical Theatre Project
Near West Theatre
Oh Sew Powerful
RidAll Green Partnership
The Cleveland International Film Festival
The Cleveland Orchestra
The International Women’s Air and Space Museum
The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage
The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame
ThirdSpace Action Lab
Twelve Literary Arts
Western Reserve Historical Society
Get Involved and Become a Partner
AEP6 in Cuyahoga County, can’t be successful without you. Help Assembly reach our goal of 800 surveys for Cuyahoga County and Sign up to become an organizational partner today. This year QR codes make it even easier to distribute. They have also translated the audience survey into 24 languages! Even surveying ONE of your events makes a difference!
Watch the Webinar to learn more about AEP6 and what you need to know as a partner.
Local & State Advocacy
Championing Public Investment in the Creative Sector:
Our first year of work coincided with one of the worst economic periods for the region’s creative sector because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Assembly mobilized community partners to plead the case for American Rescue Plan Act funds with Cuyahoga County and City of Cleveland government.
Thanks to the advocacy of the Assembly board and the partnership of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC), Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish and Cuyahoga County Council President Pernel Jones jointly committed to $3.3M in ARPA funds for arts and culture. Approved by Council in July 2022, Assembly and CAC will split the $3.3 million equally and will establish processes to equitably distribute the funds to the for-profit and non-profit creative economy and artists.
During 2021’s Cleveland Mayoral Election, Assembly engaged with candidates to ensure arts and culture was represented in public debates. Assembly also partnered with CAN Journal to launch a candidate survey on their policy vision for arts and culture.
When Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb took office in January 2022, Assembly set out to build relationships with the new mayor and his administration to elevate arts and culture in the public agenda. In the Fall of 2021, Assembly held multiple forums with artist coalitions, creative businesses, and nonprofits to develop a set of arts-informed recommendations for the new administration. One of our many recommendations was to establish an arts liaison at City Hall to drive a strategic cultural agenda. The Mayor’s Chief Strategy Officer Bradford Davy confirmed that an appointment of an arts leader/liaison will be forthcoming.
Data are vital to demonstrate the creative sector’s impact when we speak with public officials. We partnered with Ohio Citizens for the Arts (OCA) and Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, along with six other regional arts councils, and Bowling Green State University’s Center for Regional Development on a study about the Cleveland creative industry’s economic contribution.
The results were sobering and clear: the creative sector in Cleveland is an economic powerhouse, which generated more than $6.7 billion in economic output in 2019 – and the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the industry, which has yet to rebound.
REVS Cleveland / Akron
Reopen Every Venue Safely – Cleveland Akron
Guidelines and best practices for live music venues in Cleveland/Akron as part of the national Reopen Every Venue Safely (REVS) campaign.
With COVID-19 came the shutdown of many businesses. While most places reopened late spring/early summer, live music venues remained closed. In the midst of COVID-19, live music venues have often been called the first to close and the last to open due to the many concerns around the safety of live music. To work towards reopening local live music venues safely, in May, Cleveland/Akron got involved in the Reopen Every Every Venue Safely (REVS) initiative launched by Music Cities Together. This initiative is focused on helping venues open as safely and as soon as possible by providing best practices and guidelines. The best practices and guidelines you will read below were built from meetings and discussions between Arts Cleveland and local music venue owners and directors, musicians, and public health professionals.
Data Brief - Dance in Cleveland
Dance In CLE
Cleveland’s dance industry, including both creative and non-creative jobs increased to 302 jobs in 2015. The industry analysis is made up of dance companies and promoters as well as fine arts schools.
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Rethinking Accessibility in Cleveland’s Arts and Culture. 2019.
In 2014, Arts Cleveland began a productive partnership with Art Possible Ohio (APO) and Services for Independent Living (SIL) and began to understand the gap in access for people with disabilities throughout the arts and culture sector.
Fast forward to January 2019, Arts Cleveland received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to execute on a research initiative focused on arts and culture accessibility for people with disabilities in the greater Cleveland region. In close communication with APO and SIL, Arts Cleveland led an assessment of the regional state of access to the arts. Through this research, we explored the Cuyahoga County landscape of arts and culture access and worked to identify and define barriers among individuals with varying abilities.
Inside the Margins
A Cleveland Literature Industry Study
Inside the Margins: A Cleveland Literature Industry Study was commissioned by Arts Cleveland—formerly the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture—and is the result of research conducted and analyzed by the Center for Economic Development at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University (CSU). The report on the Cleveland Literature Sector is the fourth in a series of studies that explores the various artistic disciplines in Cuyahoga County.
For the study, the CSU research team acquired the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data for Cuyahoga County from 2005 to 2015, and used the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Standard Occupation Classification definitions. The team also gathered quantitative and qualitative data by conducting an online Survey of Literary Artists, one-on-one interviews and a focus group. The purpose of the data and their analysis is to provide a sense of the local sector’s advantages, challenges and economic impact.
Access the full report by CSU on their website.
At Its Very Best
At Its Very Best is a commissioned short documentary by local artist, Donald Black Jr. Interviews begin to illustrate the impact of violence and what the arts can do in the lives of those affected by trauma. In partnership with Arts Cleveland, he interviews youth, educators, healthcare providers and public safety experts.
After the 13-minute video was released in December of 2018, Black spoke on his experience creating the video and invited a conversation. Scroll down to watch the full video.
A woman in the audience recalled drawing quite a bit when she was growing up. The arts, she said, kept her and her friends, many of whom lived under the poverty line, out of trouble. As an adult, she was working with a group of kids who were labeled "troubled" or "bad." They were given paintbrushes and asked to paint a mural for a daycare center. She had her doubts that the project would be taken seriously, but something amazing happened. To her surprise, these kids, some from gangs, others from rough areas, and all from different backgrounds worked together on this project with a camaraderie she hadn't seen from them before.
It was a great example of what we are trying to say with the video. While editing the documentary, Black, who was himself defined by his art-making, was continuously listening for something to hit on a very personal level. What stood out, and ultimately became the title, was something said by Toni Starinsky late in the video. She was Black's photography teacher in high school who he describes as "a white person who has really been in the mud.” In her interview, she says, “If arts does anything, it should teach thinking, empathy, and give children hope. That’s what it does at its very best.” Throughout his life, art acted as the counterbalance to what violence did to Black. He didn’t realize at the time that he was healing himself with art because it was happening in a very subconscious way. But the longer he has created art, the more he has realized its impact on his life. “For Starinsky to say that at its very best, art can heal some simple ails, that’s what this is all about.”
As an adult and successful artist, Black wants to be in the neighborhood where he grew up for precisely this reason. He was being pulled in other directions including his life in New York and neighborhoods throughout Cleveland he called “white bubbles,” but he was committed to being present in his own community.
As a kid, Black grew up on the southeast side of Cleveland. From 7th grade on, he had to ride the RTA from his neighborhood to Cleveland School of the Arts, where he was a student. “There was a huge divide between what was going on where I was living and what was happening where I was going.” Black wants to make the community where he grew up a place for people visit to see artwork, and a place for black kids growing up in urban communities to see and experience artwork. His now owns a building on Kinsman. It allows him to be there when people want him, especially young people.
About his murals in the neighborhood that stand roughly 20 or 30 feet tall, Black adds that he wants his little cousin to feel as big and tall as those murals they see themselves in. “Kids say, 'That’s me in the mural.' There are lots of young people showing up,” and he and the art are there when they need him.
Elevating The Influence of Arts and Culture
A Cleveland Playbook
A history, of the tactics that contributed to successes in the Cleveland, Ohio, area to realize the fuller potential of arts and culture. You’ll also see call-out material with more concrete, universal lessons to help you apply those tactics in a variety of settings. 2018.
As a result of CPAC’s work:
- Tax money has been directed for arts and culture
- Facilities have been built or renovated
- Governments have become involved
- Creative businesses have merged or collaborated
- Innovative cross sector partnerships have emerged
Through CPAC’s process outlined in the playbook, organizations and communities anywhere can see what worked in Northeast Ohio and what did not. Any one of the strategies in this playbook could be beneficial, depending on a community’s vision and current situation. It is our hope that our story can provide other organizations with insight into how they might strengthen their own arts and culture sectors and thus their whole communities.
Spiral-bound print copies available by request.