The Cultural Council of Richland/Lexington Counties is the centralized resource for the Arts Community in Columbia, South Carolina. We provide leadership, funding and business expertise to artists and arts organizations to support local music, theatre, dance and visual and literary arts. The Cultural Council offers a single source of arts-related information to patrons and media. We contribute to economic development and quality of life in the Riverbanks Region by promoting the Arts as the foundation of the knowledge-based economy.

image ©: The Cultural Council

The Cultural Council of Richland & Lexington Counties is pleased to present the local findings of the Arts & Economic Prosperity III, a national, 2 year study conducted by Americans for the Arts. The Arts are a $56.2 million dollar industry in Richland & Lexington Counties with $26.8 million in spending by arts organizations and $29.4 in spending by audiences. Over 2,200 full-time equivalent jobs are created in the arts & culture industry.

The national Arts & Economic Prosperity III study overview, released in May 2007, revealed that the nonprofit arts industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity every year. The total economic activity has a significant national impact, generating:

5.7 million full-time equivalent jobs
$104.2 billion in resident household income
$29.6 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues
$103.1 billion in event-related audience spending – a 28% increase from 2000

Robert Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, remarks "This study is a myth buster. Most Americans understand that the arts improve our quality of life. This study demonstrates that the arts are an industry that stimulates the economy in cities and towns across the country. A vibrant arts and culture industry helps local businesses thrive."

This study documents the economic impact of the nonprofit arts industry in 156 communities and regions, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The participating communities are diverse in population (4,000 – 3,000,000) and type (rural to urban). Researchers collected detailed expenditure and attendance data from 6,080 nonprofit arts and culture organizations and 94,478 of their attendees to measure total industry spending. The project economists from the Georgia Institute of Technology customized input-output analysis models for each study region to provide specific and reliable economic impact data. The full text of the report is available at www.americansforthearts.org/economicimpact.

Also, view a pamphlet and report here:

Greater Columbia SC Final Report (1MB) PDF

Greater Columbia SC_One Page Summary (85 KB) PDF

The Arts & Economic Prosperity III study was conducted by Americans for the Arts and supported by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and The Ruth Lilly Fund of Americans for the Arts. The Greater Columbia study was supported by the Central Carolina Community Foundation and SCANA.