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The Arts Produce money and
Jobs in Athens
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L ike many Athenians, I first moved
into town to attend the University of
Georgia. As a native of Houston, TX,
I felt it was a town unlike any I had
ever ieen before: a small town with
a big city feel; a city that is overflowing with
culture, history, music and art. The longer I
live here, the more fascinated I become with
the size, scope and influence of music and
the arts in this community. While Athens has
certainly built a global reputation as an arts
destination, very little research has been
done to assess the full economic impact the
creative industry has on this town. With an
understanding of the considerable impact of
this industry, the community will be better
prepared to foster the future growth of the
region appropriately.
Significant research has been done on the
"Creative Class" by social scientist Richaro
Florida, but it is difficult to compare his
broad definition with the uniqueness of a
town like Athens. Therefore, I began doing my
own research in an attempt not only to get a
macro view of the overall scope of the creative
industry, but, more importantly, to get a micro
view of the individual local businesses that
make up this specific sector.
Using Social Explorer, an online database
providing data gathered by the U.S. Census
Bureau, I collected statistics on Athens-ttarke
County's largest industries based on num
ber of employees. The 2006-2010 American
Community Survey (ACS) states that there are
52,950 employed civilians over the age of 16
in ACC, 8,001 of whom are employed in the
Arts, Entertainment Recreation, Food Service
and Accommodation industries. Employing
15.1 percent of the workforce in the county,
this is the second largest industry sector in
the county, behind only the Education, Health
Care and Social Assistance industries (34.6
percent of the workforce).
To put things further into perspec
tive, according to the ACS data, the Arts,
Entertainment, Recreation, Food Service and
Accommodation industries hire more than
double the number of employees hired by
the Manufacturing industry (3,869; 7.3 per
cent) and significantly more employees than
Retail Trade (6,342; 12.0 percent). Finance &
Insurance and Real Estate Rental & leasing
(2,039; 3.9 percent) and Public Administration
(1,959; 3.7 percent).
The Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, Food
Service and Accommodation industries—the
"creative" sector—is not only among the most
substantial industries in the county; it is also
one of the few sectors that has shown signifi
cant growth over the past couple of decades.
According to the 1980 Census, the creative
sector employed only 5 percent (1,660 jobs)
of the Athens workforce. It expanded to 12.4
percent (6,103) by the 2000 Census and, as
researched individually. Upon completion, I
had produced a running database of creative
businesses located in Athens-Clarke County in
fiscal year 2011, keeping in mind that some
businesses still may have slipped through the
cracks.
The results of this analysis paint a bright
picture of the creative sector in Athens-Clarke
County. In FYll, there were 465 total busi
nesses categorized as "creative" under the
parameters set bringing approximately 3,154
jobs to the county. What is more significant
is the fact that in FYll, these businesses
amassed a sales volume of approximately
$169,584,427. Once you add the amount of
tax revenue each of these businesses brings
into the county through sales and property
taxes, there ts no denying the fact that the
creative industry is a major economic driver
in ACC.
The discrepancy between the ACS data
and the secondary data I compiled can be
attributed to two key factors. First the
parameters I set in my search excluded both
chain restaurants and accommodation busi
nesses, both of which were included in the
"creative sector" figures derived from the ACS
data. Additionally, the data set I compiled
only focused on registered businesses—not
individual artists and musicians, who would
have been included in the ACS numbers to
the extent that Census respondents identified
themselves as belonging to those professions.
The indisputable significance of these figures
cannot be ignored, and will hopefully open
the door for future in-depth research on the
subject.
One does not need to spend much time in
Athens to see that it is a city driven by its
creative culture. Athens has already solidified
its reputation as a destination for the arts,
earning its fair share of accolades from plenty
of well renowned sources. However, in order
for the creative industry to maintain its sig
nificant growth, citizens, legislators and com
munity leaders must recognize the vital role
this sector plays in the community and invest
in it. As the city's unique culture continues
to develop along the economic backbone that
is the creative industry, Athens will further
advance its reputation as a thriving center for
the arts.
Carttar Fontaine
Cartter Fontaine is a graduate student at UGA re
ceiving his MA in nonprofit management. With a
background in economic development and community
demographics, he is currently interning with Create
Athens, a group committed to raising the profile of
the creative community in Athens, enhancing the
economic viafrhty of creative entrepreneurs and in
creasing the national recognition of Athens. GA as a
center for the arts.
27 NJackson St 706.424.0195
www.whQlemindbodyaft.com
previously stated, now sits at 15.1 percent
(8,001). Compare this with Manufacturing
(down 9.6 percent since 1980), Retail
(down 4.3 percent since 1980) and Finance,
Insurance and Real Estate (down 1 percent
since 1980), and it is evident that along with
Education, Health Care and Social Services,
Athens* creative sector is one of the only ones
that has experienced consistent growth.
While this preliminary data is quite signifi
cant, for my purposes, it was necessary to dig
deeper, investigating the individual businesses
that make up this sector. First and foremost I
set parameters for what should be considered
a "creative" business. Fuliy aware that there
is absolutely no black-and-white definition
of what constitutes creativity, I searched for
locaUy owned endeavors that operate, in some
form or fashion, as a part of or in support of
the arts. This includes the more obvious busi
nesses including, but not limited to, music
venues, art galleries, dance studios, record
labels, publishing companies, designers, film
production houses, local restaurants and
recording studios.
But I also included businesses that help
foster, market or provision the arts, such as
record stores, booking agencies, public rela
tions agencies and art supply stores. Two
economic development databases were used
to gather this data: Decision Data Resources
and Reference USA, both of which search
registered businesses in counties by use of
North American Industry Classification System
(NAICS) codes.
After searching the NAICS codes according
to the above parameters, the next step was
to remove the businesses that didn't fit, such
as chain restaurants and companies that were
falsely categorized under certain NAICS codes.
In addition, existing businesses that did not
show up in the initial search were added and
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8 FLAGPOLE.COM • APRIL 18,2012