Creative Arts & Economy Blog | Creative Vitality Suite

Feb 08

Part 1 Notable Events in the last 20 years in the Creative Economy // The Broadening Definition of Creative Economy: A Four Part Series

Twenty years ago, creative economy centered around a perspective focusing primarily on the economic impact of creative industries. Fast forward to today, and in 2016, we hear this term used broadly to describe a wide array of activities related to the importance of creativity as an economic driver. Historically, the... read more →

Nov 23

How much did Creatives* Earn in your state in 2014?

In 2014, workers in Creative Occupations earned a median of $20.35 hourly. New York's earnings for creative occupations came in at the highest with $25.60 earnings. Find out how your state performed in the chart below. For more information about your states earnings and creative economy data please visit cvsuite.org... read more →

November 23, 2015
paul.nguyen@westaf.org
Regions

Oct 22

Data Can Confuse as Well as Enlighten

In late August, New York Times Magazine writer Steven Johnson authored an article titled “The Creative Apocalypse That Wasn’t.” The article made the point that, in spite of fears about the diminishment of creative sector jobs related to the sharing economy, those jobs are growing. The piece prompted a series... read more →

October 22, 2015
paul.nguyen@westaf.org
Creative Economy, Data Education, Data Quality, Data Sets

Sep 28

Seven Free Chart Tools for Working with CVSuite™ Data

Now that you have high quality economic data to measure your creative economy, you’ll want to present that data in a format that can be easily understood. There are many tools available online to help you work with your data, but it can be difficult to decide which ones to... read more →

September 28, 2015
paul.nguyen@westaf.org
Regions

Sep 11

Using Location Quotient to Measure Creative Economy

When taking on the--sometimes difficult--task of quantifying an area’s creative economy, you will want access to every tool at your disposal. One useful tool is location quotient (LQ) data. The location quotient can be used to reveal the level of concentration a particular occupation or industry has in a specified... read more →

September 11, 2015
paul.nguyen@westaf.org
Creative Economy, Data Education, Data Quality, Data Sets

Sep 04

Data and Reporting available in CVSuite™

The Creative Vitality™ Suite is a powerful tool, containing data that has many potential uses. The online tool offers a few different ways to download data. #1 Regional Snapshot PDF report The one page, regional snapshot PDF report provides an overview of an area's occupations, industries, grants and nonprofits. The... read more →

September 4, 2015
paul.nguyen@westaf.org
Creative Economy, Data Education, Data Quality, Data Sets

Aug 18

CVSuite™ Makes the Shift from Industry Sales Data to Industry Earnings Data

In August 2015, the CVSuite™ will begin to highlight Industry Earnings data rather than Industry Sales data. Although Industry Sales data will remain available on the site, Industry Earnings data will provide CVSuite™ users with a more comprehensive measure of economic impact in a defined geographic area. In order to... read more →

Jun 22

Community Input Helps Data Make the Case – How the arts commission in a small Washington town tripled its budget

Ellensburg, Washington, is a small community located approximately 100 miles east of Seattle. Seeking to increase its annual budget of $8,000, the Ellensburg Arts Commission approached its city council in 2012. Before saying “no,” the city council requested more information on how increasing the arts commission’s budget would benefit the... read more →

May 28

Counting the Self-employed in Your Creative Economy – Creative Occupations in the Gig Economy

Not many people would be surprised that the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) general category of arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations contains the highest concentration of self-employed workers nationwide.¹ Data show that, on average, nationally, self-employed individuals and freelance workers (also known as the “extended proprietor” class of... read more →

May 28, 2015
paul.nguyen@westaf.org
Creative Economy, Data Education, Data Quality, Data Sets

May 11

Measuring the Creative Economies of Rural North Carolina

*Eastern Counties are: Jones, Lenoir, Greene, Wayne, Wilson, Edgecombe & Pitt Local and state arts agencies are aware of the types of artists and creative industries unique to their region. Often these creative expressions are rooted in the authentic cultural heritage of a locale. The challenge the agencies face is... read more →