Americans for the Arts index shows sour economy has hurt cultural groups

The nation's cultural and arts activity has been sharply undercut by recession and continuing economic woes, according to an index compiled by Americans for the Arts, a Washington service and lobbying group.

The National Arts Index, a measure comprising 81 separate indicators, fell in 2009 to its lowest point ever, 97.7. That compares with a high of 103.9 in 2007. The index has been used to measure cultural vitality since 1998, when it stood at 101.4.

The arts group said that 41 percent of nonprofit arts organizations reported a deficit to the Internal Revenue Service for 2008, up from 36 percent in 2007. Arts groups reporting deficits are likely to be larger, analysis showed - those with operating budgets in excess of $100,000.

The recession was nondiscriminatory; no particular discipline was more likely to run a deficit in 2007 or 2008.

At the same time, 3,000 new nonprofit arts organizations were created during the 2007-09 recession years. There are now about 109,000 nonprofit arts organizations in the country, about 550,000 for-profit arts businesses, and 2.2 million artists.

Attendance at mainstream nonprofit arts organizations has continued a long decline. The population share attending museums and performing-arts events decreased 19 percent and 22 percent, respectively, between 2003 and 2009.

Personal spending on the arts has remained steady in terms of dollars, the index and attendant analysis showed, with about $150 billion to $160 billion spent annually coast to coast. But the percentage of overall spending devoted to the arts has declined from 1.88 percent in 2002 to 1.57 percent last year.

Foundation spending has also declined. In 2009, 4 percent of all philanthropic giving, $12.34 billion, went to the arts; in 2001, 4.9 percent of such giving was directed by foundations to the arts.

These results are roughly in line with data from Philadelphia, according to a report released by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance in April. Single-ticket sales in 2009 grew at 37 percent of the surveyed organizations, and 75 percent reported stable or increased individual giving.

But nearly half (49 percent) of those surveyed reported reduced government support, and more than a third said they had seen a decline in corporate support. Foundation support declined at 30 percent of the organizations and increased at 19 percent.

The survey reflected results from about 120 organizations responding to a cultural alliance questionnaire.

Robert L. Lynch, head of Americans for the Arts, said the growth of arts organizations as measured in the national index was a positive sign. But continuing sluggishness in the economy and "changes in philanthropy" put that growth "at risk."