Yesterday the Texas Cultural Trust (TCT) released its State of the Arts Report, which looks at the economic (and for the first time, educational) impact of the arts on the state.
As expected, it’s a big ol’ super-positive impact. Long story short:
“The economic results, compiled from state and federal data sets, highlight how the 42 Art and Culture Industries collectively generate $5.1 billion for Texas’ economy, and contribute nearly $320 million in state sales tax revenue annually. TCT research over the years shows how this economic impact has grown steadily since 2003, increasing 24.6 percent over the past 10 years.”
(And yet it seems our new governor Greg Abbott’s first order of business was to fire Casey Monahan, the director of the Texas Music Office, who served under four governors and is widely recognized for cultivating the health and economic vibrancy of the state’s music scene.)
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Real talk: how much do WE really care? About the number figure, that is?