Arts and culture raked in more than $300 million for Long Island last year, according to a recent report from the Long Island Arts Alliance.
It also estimates that the arts generated almost 5,000 jobs and $15 million in sales, property and income taxes.
Lauren Wagner, the alliance's executive director said the report bodes well for the future of arts and culture on Long Island; it acts as a prime advocacy tool for securing funding.
“The arts mean business,” she said. “It's not just for fun. It's not just extraneous. The arts are a living, breathing [economy] of Long Island.”
Wagner highlighted the report’s estimate of how much an arts attendee contributes every time they attend an event.
“The average arts attendee on Long Island spends $37.31 per person, per event beyond the cost of admission,” she explained.
“And not only that — the average non-local attendee spends $66 per person, per event above the costs of the admission. And 70% of the attendees that were non-local said that they were there specifically in town for those arts and culture events.”
Wagner spearheaded the effort to create the report. She cited having surveyed over 900 participants to collect information on Long Island.
Long Island’s arts and culture information is part of a larger national study, led by a national nonprofit, Americans for the Arts, with more than 16,000 participating organizations across almost 400 regions of the country.
