The not too long ago launched Otis Faculty Report on the Inventive Financial system for 2024 reaffirms how necessary the “artistic economic system” is to California, the place it’s answerable for greater than 760,000 jobs, accounting for one in 5 artistic jobs within the US. The annual report appears to be like on the prior 12 months in what’s broadly outlined because the artistic economic system—a class that features fields like movie and tv, toy design, music, vogue, structure, theatre, dance, artwork faculties, museums and galleries.
“California continues to be the nationwide chief with respect to the artistic economic system,” mentioned Taner Osman, a founding father of Westwood Economics and Planning Associates (which produces the report for Otis Faculty of Artwork and Design), on the report’s unveiling final week in Santa Monica.
In keeping with the report, in Los Angeles alone the movie, tv and sound sector added round 15,000 jobs final 12 months—whereas nonetheless recovering from two main union strikes in 2023. Nevertheless, different sectors misplaced jobs, partly as a result of persevering with decline in manufacturing and shifts in market wants, producing an general contraction of 0.9% within the artistic economic system. (Osman identified that the determine is near the nationwide determine of a 0.8% contraction.)
Whereas the nice arts—which the report defines as all visible and performing arts—make up a small a part of the report, it’s one which has been rising. “The nice arts proceed to shine as California stays a nice arts schooling powerhouse,” Osman noticed as certainly one of his 5 key findings. He later informed The Artwork Newspaper that he credit this achievement to the energy and recognition of the numerous artwork faculties in Southern California. In keeping with the report, California confers extra nice arts levels than another state within the US. (California can be essentially the most populous state within the nation.)
Prior to now 5 years, 5,589 jobs have been added at nice arts faculties, with a sturdy 1,208 jobs added in 2024 alone. Throughout the identical interval, museums noticed an general drop of 37 jobs however an addition of 279 final 12 months—a major rebound from the layoffs and furloughs of the Covid-19 years. Sadly, the variety of individuals working as “artwork sellers” continues to say no, with 273 jobs misplaced over the five-year interval and 115 in 2024.
Whereas Los Angeles usually seems to have a increase in up to date artwork gross sales and sellers, occasions like Frieze Los Angeles and the Felix Artwork Honest don’t essentially create full-time jobs. Smaller galleries and people with headquarters elsewhere—reminiscent of Gavlak, based mostly in Palm Seashore, Florida—have quietly closed their Los Angeles branches.
All of the whereas, as mentioned in a panel dialogue after the formal presentation in Santa Monica, the value of actual property in Los Angeles has been on the rise, creating difficulties for people in addition to for companies and nonprofits. Final 12 months, it was extensively reported that individuals have been transferring out of Los Angeles—this even though these within the artistic economic system are mentioned to be making a mean of $191,000 per 12 months, in response to the Otis Faculty report. In fact, the excessive common is tremendously skewed by these incomes megabucks on the prime.
