ST. PAUL, Minn., April 12, 2011 – The land of 10,000 lakes is also home to more than 10,000 people and organizations engaging in creative expression, according to interim results in MN Arts Count, a statewide census for individuals and businesses/venues/groups engaging in creative expression. As of April 11, 652 organizations/venues/groups and 8,135 individuals had been counted in MN Arts Count being conducted by the Minnesota State Arts Board and the state’s 11 regional arts councils. An additional 1,687 individuals responded to both the personal and organizational surveys.
“The word is getting out about MN Arts Count census,” said Sue Gens, executive director of the Minnesota State Arts Board. “With our broad definition of ‘art,’ there are certainly many, many more people and businesses, venues, bands and the like yet to be counted. It’s important that as many people and groups engaging in creative expression and the organizations that support creative endeavors be counted because the outcome of MN Arts Count could influence future arts grants.”
MN Arts Count will run through May 31, 2011, and can be accessed at www.mnartscount.com. In addition to an online survey, a paper survey is available for those without Internet access or who would prefer to complete the survey offline. It is open to:
- individuals: anyone who, professionally or personally, sings, acts, dances, writes, draws, paints, sculpts, illustrates, photographs, films, knits, weaves, directs, plays an instrument, composes, shares stories, designs or engages in any other form of creative expression.
- Businesses/organizations that support, host, produce or perform creatively: venues, restaurants, coffee houses, taverns, galleries, theaters, groups, troupes, bands, ensembles, companies, local governments, schools, community education departments, churches, arenas, festivals, fairs, programs, businesses, social service agencies, or any other type of organization which displays, hosts, or otherwise supports creative expression in the state of Minnesota.
Results to-date
After one month of the census, interim results reveal:
- Visual art is the leading form of creative expression, with 62 percent of respondents indicating that is their primary creative outlet. 55% cited performing arts and 32 percent literary arts. (Respondents may indicate more than one creative outlet.)
- Of particular interest is the minority populations. To-date, 12 percent of respondents indicated they were non-Caucasian. The Arts Board is making a concerted effort to reach minority populations by translating the survey into Somali, Spanish, Hmong, Lao and Vietnamese, and canvassing minority neighborhoods.
- 36 percent of respondents indicated receiving no income from their form of creative expression. Only 12 percent said that they derived all of their income from artistic endeavors.
- 29 percent of respondents have jobs that are completely unrelated to creative expression (e.g., accountant).
- On average, individuals spend 21 hours per week on all forms of creative expression in which they engage.
- The majority of respondents (66 percent) are women.
- On the organizational level, performing arts groups have had the highest rate of participation. 34 percent of organizational respondents represented performing arts groups (musical group, dance group, theater company, comedy troupe).
The MN Arts Count is being conducted by the Minnesota State Arts Board and the state’s regional arts councils under the direction of the Minnesota legislature to ensure funds from the Minnesota Legacy Amendment are invested wisely. MN Arts Count will help determine how many Minnesota individuals and businesses or organizations are involved in arts and creative expression, and how broad and diverse their interest are. This will help ensure grants awarded by the Minnesota State Arts Board and the state’s regional arts councils are representative of the spectrum of creative expression in the state.
The census can be accessed at www.MNArtsCount.com. Paper surveys for individuals can be requested by calling 800-748-3222 ext. 225. The MN Arts Count is also on Facebook and Twitter.
