CREATE TEXAS REPORT

New report finds Texas' creative sector growing

Study says there is a link between creative sector and strong Texas economy.

By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin
AMERICAN-STATESMAN ARTS WRITER
Saturday, May 02, 2009

By 2016, creative sector jobs in Texas will have increased 22.4 percent over the previous decade. And the state will need to prime its future creative work force with more arts education in public schools, according to a new report.

The report, commissioned by the Texas Cultural Trust, was released Friday at a news conference on the steps of the Capitol.

Among other findings, the report said Texas' creative sector currently employs almost 675,000 workers and had an employment growth rate of more than 20 percent in the past five years.

The study found that creative sector jobs accounted for 11.8 percent of the Austin work force in 2007 — more than in any other Texas metropolitan area. Statewide, creative sector jobs accounted for 6.7 percent of the work force, which is on par with the national average, 6.6 percent.

Texas spends 22 cents per capita on state funding for the arts; the national average is $1.14 per capita.

The study was done by TXP Inc., an Austin-based economic analysis and public policy consulting firm. It used statistics from the Texas Workforce Commission and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, among other sources.

The creative industries, as identified by the report, include digital media, film, music, performing arts, visual arts and arts-related tourism.

The Texas Cultural Trust, a statewide nonprofit arts awareness organization, released the report as part of the start of its Create Texas campaign, a multiyear marketing and public relations effort to promote arts education in Texas.

"The arts are real power behind the Texas economy," said Amy Barbee, executive director of the Texas Cultural Trust.

Barbee praised the efforts of state Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano and chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, for her work on Senate Bill 3, the education accountability bill. Shapiro amended the bill, which the Senate passed Thursday, to include a four-semester fine arts requirement for middle-schoolers.

The bill also specifies the inclusion of fine arts in the Texas accountability system.

"The arts are an integral part of a complete education," Shapiro said. "The creative industries are the future, and incorporating arts into education is the way to get there."

jvanryzin@statesman.com; 445-3699