Otis Report on the Creative Economy of California Maps Economic Impact on State, Asserts Importance of Talent Pipeline and Arts Education
Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) April 15, 2015 -- The results of the 2014 Otis Report on the Creative Economy of California (Otis Report) were unveiled today in a state Capitol hearing before the Legislative Joint Committee on the Arts in Sacramento. The Otis Report asserts California’s competitive advantage in the creative sector and underscores the need to bolster the talent pipeline through support for the arts and arts education. The Otis Report has become a powerful advocacy tool and catalyst for change by clearly articulating the economic benefits of the creative industries, quantifying their financial impact in the economy, and putting real numbers to the creative workforce.
This year’s hearing convened by California State Senator Ben Allen, Chair of the Joint Committee on the Arts, follows the successful hearing last year held in conjunction with the release of the 2013 Otis Report, which called upon the legislature to increase funding for the Arts in California. Senator Allen indicated that California should not be hovering near the bottom when it comes to investing in the arts. He asked state legislators to find a way to match (or exceed) last year’s budget, which saw the first increase to the state’s arts budget in over a decade.
In addition to testimonials from economists and arts leaders from across the state, excerpts from “The State of Creativity: A Look into the Otis Report on the Creative Economy,” a television documentary produced by KCETLink and Artbound in partnership with Otis, were presented during the hearing.
Since 2007, Otis College of Art and Design has commissioned the annual report from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, underscoring its commitment to measuring, benchmarking, and assessing trends of the creative economy of Los Angeles and Orange Counties. For the second year in a row, the Otis Report was expanded to include data and analysis for the state of California with support from the California Arts Council.
Significant findings in the 2014 Otis Report on the Creative Economy of California include:
• Creative industry output totaled $293.8 billion (direct, indirect, and induced).
• The creative industries generated:
o 1,447,100 jobs (direct, indirect, and induced), or nearly one in ten of all wage and salary employment.
o $113.5 billion in total labor income, and
o $12.1 billion in taxes to California state and local governments.
• Direct, indirect and induced jobs in the creative economy accounted for 9.6% of the state’s total workforce.
• The largest direct job counts by creative sector in California were entertainment (164,000), publishing and printing (131,200), and fashion (120,100).
• Direct employment in California’s creative industries (694,900) was more than two and half times the number of workers that are employed by the computer and electronic manufacturing sector (262,900) and nearly twice the number who work in California’s hospitals (371,600).
“The Otis Report leaves no doubt that creativity is a powerful economic driver both regionally and statewide,” said Otis’ Interim President Kerry Walk. “ With jobs in the creative industries projected to grow 4% statewide - an increase of more than 27,000 - it is critical that leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors work together to develop and sustain the talent pipeline that feeds the creative economy of California. A necessary first step is investment in accessible, high-quality arts education, but championing policies and practices that encourage creative placemaking, entrepreneurship, and innovation are also required for growing the talent pipeline.”
“Because of their linkages with other parts of the state economy, the creative industries of California account directly or indirectly for nearly ten percent of the state’s jobs,” said the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation’s Chief Economist Robert A. Kleinhenz . “The 21st Century California economy depends on invention, innovation, and ideas. Its high tech sectors and other leading industries benefit greatly from synergies with California’s creative industries.”
The 2014 Otis Report on the Creative Economy of California is available at http://www.otis.edu/otisreport. “The State of Creativity: A Look into the Otis Report on the Creative Economy” and accompanying online articles can be viewed in its entirety on KCETLink’s Artbound website, http://www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/counties/los-angeles/artbound-special-episode-state-of-creativity.html.
Lead sponsors for the Otis Report are the California Arts Council and Mattel. Additional funding for the report has been provided, in part, by The Boeing Company, City National Bank, the Department of Cultural Affairs for the City of Los Angeles, Hybrid Apparel, The James Irvine Foundation, and Sony Pictures. Media partners include KCETLink, ARTBOUND, Arts for LA, Arts Orange County, Californians for the Arts, and the LAX Coastal Chamber of Commerce.
ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA ARTS COUNCIL
The Mission of the California Arts Council, a state agency, is to advance California through the arts and creativity. Members of the California Arts Council include: Chair Donn K. Harris, Vice Chair Susan Steinhauser, Michael Alexander, Phoebe Beasley, Christopher Coppola, Kathleen Gallegos, Jaime Galli, Nashormeh Lindo, Steven Oliver, and Rosalind Wyman. Learn more at http://www.arts.ca.gov.
ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
As the Southern California region’s premier economic development organization, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) provides collaborative, innovative and strategic economic development leadership to promote a globally competitive, prosperous and growing L.A. County economy to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents and communities and enable those residents to meet their basic human need for a job. We achieve this through objective economic research and analysis, strategic assistance to government and business, and targeted public policy. Our efforts are guided and supported by the expertise and counsel of our business, government and education members and partners. For more information, visit http://www.laedc.org
ABOUT OTIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN Established in 1918, Otis College of Art and Design is a national leader in art and design education. The College mission is to prepare diverse students of art and design to enrich our world through their creativity, skill, and vision. Alumni and faculty are Fulbright, MacArthur, and Guggenheim grant recipients, Oscar awardees, legendary costume designers, leaders of contemporary art movements, and design stars at Apple, Abercrombie & Fitch, Pixar, DreamWorks, Mattel, Nike, and Disney.
Otis enrolls approximately 1,100 full-time students, and offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Architecture/Landscape/Interiors, Digital Media (Game and Entertainment Design, Animation, and Motion Design), Fashion Design, Communication Arts (Graphic Design, Illustration, and Advertising Design), Fine Arts (Painting, Photography, and Sculpture/New Genres), Product Design, and Toy Design. Otis also awards the Master of Fine Arts degree in Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Public Practice, and Writing.
The five-acre main campus is located on L.A.’s Westside near the beach and LAX; Fashion Design is in the heart of the downtown fashion district; and the Graduate Studios are on the Creative Corridor in nearby Culver City, and in the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica.
2,700 adults and children participate in Continuing Education art and design classes and workshops.
Additional information is available at http://www.otis.edu.
Communications, Otis College of Art and Design, http://www.otis.edu, +1 (310) 665-6857, [email protected]
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