Friday, May 17, 2013

Durham Outpaces Nation in Creative Vitality

Durham, NC continues to outpace the nation, the state of North Carolina and a benchmark group of 10 similarly-sized communities in the Southeast when it comes to its creative economy.

From a study produced by WESTAF and recently released by the Durham Arts Council (with assistance from DCVB), the Creative Vitality Index - 2011, provides a numeric expression of the health of the creative economy in both profit and not-for-profit sectors.

The report is composed of two major sections.  One focuses on jobs created by, or in support of for-profit and non-profit arts-related enterprises. The other measure reflects a community's participation in the arts.

Where the baseline score is 1.0 nationally, Durham scored 1.25; meaning it outpaces the state by 25%. It also outperformed the State of North Carolina by 93% and its Southeast comp set by 69%.

An important takeaway from the study is that Durham's Creative Economy supports 7,335 jobs, a figure that has grown 22% throughout the past five years.

The report was presented at the Creative Entrepreneur Expo in Durham on May 16th. The event was an opportunity for aspiring artists and entrepreneurs to connect with resources and get information necessary to launch new arts-related business projects, or hone and enhance those that already exist.

The Creative Entrepreneur Expo was presented by the Durham Arts Council, the City of Durham Office of Economic & Workforce Development, the Durham Cultural Advisory Board, the Durham Small Business Advisory Council, and the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Durham is also home to the highest percentage of creative class jobs in the US, according to Dr. Richard Florida in a report posted on TheAtlanticCities.com.  Read more about that report here.

Other stories on Durham's Creative Vitality Index:

February 16, 2011 - Durham Looks Good with Creative Vitality Index
October 29, 2010 - Durham's Creative Vitality Index

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