Arts & Entertainment
Chicago’s Creative Sector Supports 210K Jobs, Arts Alliance Illinois Study Finds
Max Sansing works on a mural paying homage to house music legend Frankie Knuckles. (WTTW News)
Chicago’s creative sector supports more than 210,000 jobs and is the city’s third largest industry, according to a new study commissioned by Arts Alliance Illinois.
“While Chicago’s creative economy generates extraordinary economic value, many artists and creative workers continue to face economic insecurity,” said Arts Alliance Illinois Executive Director Claire Rice during a press briefing. “The opportunity for change is clear to ensure that the people creating this value can share more fully in the prosperity that they helped generate.”
The study released Thursday found that the city’s creative sector generates $50 billion in economic output annually. The study defines output as the economic value produced by the sales of goods and services, such as concert tickets and broadcasting services.
The full study can be found here.
The study found the creative sector is the third largest industry in the city, larger than educational services, retail and manufacturing. Chicago’s creative economy generates $5.7 billion in tax revenue annually, including $3.8 billion in federal taxes and $1.9 billion that gets spread across state, county and local jurisdictions, the study finds.
That data can help inform future conversations about economic development, workforce development and community investment in the creative sector, according to Rice.
Despite the economic impact, artists do not feel they’re getting their fair share, according to musician and Arts Alliance Illinois board member Sam Thousand. Conversations he has with other artists also revolve around social justice, mental health, affordable housing and concerns with artificial intelligence, he added.
“When we think of art and culture in and of itself, it’s a way of life; it’s really not a job, but we have to make a living doing what we do,” Sam Thousand said. “I’m very excited that we’re in this moment now where there’s some real and true data that can be used to help continue this fight forward, to build some true infrastructure, to bring artists from just surviving to thriving.”
The creative sector is comprised of artists, musicians, designers, architects, filmmakers, publishers, advertising professionals, cultural organizations, educators, creative entrepreneurs and more, according to a news release.
The study comes as arts organizations look to bounce back following federal funding cuts last year and ongoing funding uncertainty under the Trump administration.
Last year, federal funding for arts and humanities organizations in Illinois were cut by nearly half, by nearly $10 million, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
Last year, Trump proposed eliminating the federal agencies National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the largest funders for arts and culture.
WTTW News arts coverage is supported by the JCS Arts, Health & Education Fund of the DuPage Foundation.
Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]
