Giving Compass' Take:

• Richard Florida and Michael Seman unpack the economic damage of the COVID-19 pandemic on arts, culture, and the creative economy.

• What role can you play in boosting the creative economy, particularly in marginalized communities?  

• Read about Black photographers shaping the movement for Black lives. 

The COVID-19 crisis hits hard at arts, culture, and the creative economy. This study estimates the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the creative economy, which is comprised of industries such as film, advertising, and fashion as well as creative occupations such as musicians, artists, performers, and designers. We estimate losses in sales of goods and services, employment, and earnings for creative industries and creative occupations at the national, state, and metropolitan levels over the period of April 1 through July 31, 2020.

  • Based on our creative-industry analysis, we estimate losses of 2.7 million jobs and more than $150 billion in sales of goods and services for creative industries nationwide, representing nearly a third of all jobs in those industries and 9% of annual sales.
  • Based on our analysis of creative occupations, we estimate losses of more than 2.3 million jobs and $74 billion in average monthly earnings for the creative occupations. These losses represent 30% of all creative occupations and 15% of total average monthly wages.
  • While all regions, states, and metropolitan areas of the country will be seriously impacted, the effects of the COVID-19 crisis will hit some places harder than others. The South is estimated to suffer the most losses in employment for both the creative industries and creative occupations, followed by the West and the Northeast, respectively.
  • Of the 50 states, California will be hit hardest in terms of absolute losses for creative industries and occupations, followed by New York and Texas.
  • The 53 metropolitan areas with populations over 1 million are estimated to account for more than three-quarters (80%) of total estimated losses in sales and two-thirds (68%) of all estimated job losses in creative industries across the United States.
  • The creative economy is one of the sectors most at risk from the COVID-19 crisis.
  • Small, stop-gap measures will not undo the damage; a substantial and sustained national creative-economy recovery strategy is required.
  • In addition to financial support, technical support is also needed (especially for smaller organizations) on how to conform with health and safety requirements as well as how to adapt their business models in light of a protracted period of restrictions on live performances.
  • With reduced demand for large cultural events as a result of social distancing, there is an opportunity for communities to shift to locally sourced culture.

Read the full article about the creative economy by Richard Florida and Michael Seman at Brookings.