May 4-8 is National Small Business Week, and the Kentucky Arts Council is taking the opportunity to promote small businesses within the state’s creative industry and the impact of the arts on Kentucky’s economy.
According to the arts council’s Creative Industry Report, released in December 2014, the creative industry — the sectors of Kentucky’s economy that produce goods or services that are highly dependent on artistic, cultural, creative and/or aesthetic content — accounts for revenues of $1.9 billion for small business owners. The average wage of a creative industry worker is $34,299.
Artists in Kentucky’s creative industry account for 108,498 workers, or 2.5 percent of the state’s workforce. Many of those artists – from the painter who sells his work at an art fair to the musician who uses her car for an office to the interior designer who consults with clients in his home office – operate a small business that contributes to the local and state economy.
“We’re working to increase the number of creative businesses in Kentucky and to extend small business training services to those in the creative industry,” said Lori Meadows, arts council executive director.
“The creative industry converges with many other industries in the state – manufacturing, tourism, culinary experiences, information technology, health care – and with those successful connections, we make each other better,” added Meadows.
The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, fosters environments for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The arts council, along with the NEA, is celebrating 50 years of service in 2015, which the arts council is recognizing as the Year of the Arts in Kentucky.
(story provided by Kentucky Arts Council)
