State of the Arts 2020

Each year the Arts Council releases a State of the Arts Report that assesses the impact of the arts in the previous year, this report goes along with the annual Arts Summit, which is an opportunity for the community to convene and celebrate progress in the arts and cultural sector. 

In lieu of not having our annual Arts Summit this April due to concerns of COVID-19, we took a deeper dive into our most recent State of the Arts report. The 2020 State of the Arts Report provides a look into the 2019 economic impact of the Arts and Culture Sector in Summit County as well as local investments made into the arts during the same year. This report provides a glimpse into the health of our local Arts and Culture sector and helps us track changes over time.

“Not only do the arts bring joy, open minds, and bring people together—the arts also provide us with a strong sense of place, and are an increasingly vital part of our economy. This report provides data that highlights the value of arts and culture countywide.” says Jocelyn Scudder, Executive Director of the Arts Council. 

The Arts Council’s completion of an annual State of the Arts report is a direct result of the recommendations made in the Project ABC Cultural Plan. Project ABC is a community-wide cultural planning initiative that grew out of a desire to more effectively connect the arts and culture community and plan for the future. The Cultural Plan lays out a roadmap for the future of Arts and Culture countywide and was completed in the spring of 2018. The Arts Council has been working on implementing some of the Collective Priorities in the plan since 2018.The plan is available at projectabcsc.com.

“During the planning phase of Project ABC, a lot of community members and local leaders expressed a desire to better understand the economic impact of the Arts and Culture sector in Summit County. Tracking this information raises interesting challenges, in part because there is not currently a standardized definition of the Arts and Culture sector or methodology for quantifying its impact. We have worked closely with Summit County Economic Development Director, Jeff Jones, over the past three years to develop a definition and methodology that is unique to Summit County but is based on the best studies from around the nation. Through developing annual State of the Arts reports we have seen that Arts and Culture is not only emotionally and culturally significant in Summit County but that it is a valuable part of the economy as well. We have also found areas such as average wages where Summit County is falling behind. Continuing to track this data and monitoring trends over time is a key part of the ongoing Project ABC process that will help to identify areas for further  improvement and demonstrate the importance of Arts and Culture in Summit County,” notes Jake McIntire lead consultant for Project ABC. 

Arts and Culture is a vital part of Summit County’s identity, quality of life, and economy. 2019 was a year of growth, bringing an increase of jobs, industry earnings, public investment, and overall momentum. The Arts and Culture sector in Summit County is growing with both occupations and industries currently outpacing overall growth countywide. Arts and Culture has become an increasingly important piece of Summit County’s economy and will continue to grow in importance over the coming years.The greatest concern when looking at the data in this analysis is the average wages in both Arts and Culture occupations and Arts and Culture industries. In both instances, Summit County is well below the national average. This makes living and working in Summit County difficult for Arts and Culture employees and has likely limited the sector’s growth and will continue to do so into the future without intervention.

We recognize that the conditions surrounding COVID-19 is another concern and will dramatically change 2020 numbers as our Arts and Culture sector has seen significantly impacted. Utah’s cultural sector has lost $55,586,182. In addition, 1,662 jobs have already been terminated with another 3,633 in jeopardy. Read the full Economic Impact Report on the Cultural Sector from Utah Cultural Alliance here. As we look toward an unknown future in 2020 and beyond, we know that the Arts and Culture sector will be a critical facet of how our community pulls together emotionally, culturally, and economically. 

This report as well as data tracked in the previous two years will provide a vital benchmark from which we can work to quantify the impact of COVID-19 on our local Arts and Culture sector. The methodology used to produce this State of the Arts Report will be utilized annually for direct and consistent comparison year-over-year. The Arts Council, Summit County, and Park City will continue to work together to annually assess and report on the local impact or the Arts and Culture sector. 

Data for the report was generated by the Arts Council of Park City of Summit County, Summit County Economic Development Department, and Park City Municipal Corporation using data from Emsi, Creative Vitality Suite, and internal budgets. This State of the Arts report is divided into three primary categories: industry data, occupation data, and local investment. Read the full report here.