The City of West Hollywood’s Arts Division is pleased to announce its participation in the Americans for the Arts, Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6) study, the most comprehensive economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry ever conducted in the United States. Administered by Americans for the Arts, AEP6 will examine the economic impact of the arts and culture in the City of West Hollywood and in 387 additional communities representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The Arts & Economic Prosperity® series is conducted approximately every five years to gauge the economic impact of spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations and the event-related spending by their audiences. In 2017, the AEP5 documented that the nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $166.3 billion in economic activity (spending by organizations plus the event-related spending by their audiences) which supported 4.6 million jobs and generated $27.5 billion in government revenue. The AEP series demonstrates that an investment in the arts provides both cultural and economic benefits.

The City of West Hollywood previously participated in the AEP series in 2012. The 2012 study revealed that the average West Hollywood nonprofit arts consumer spends $26.05 per person, in addition to the arts event admission/ticket price, most of this at local businesses such as restaurants, retail stores, and hotels.

Audience surveys will be collected from attendees at in-person arts events in West Hollywood from May 2022 through April 2023 — and, in total, the national sample is anticipated to surpass 250,000 surveys. The national and local findings will be made public in September 2023. At that time, the City of West Hollywood will receive a customized report on the unique economic impact results for West Hollywood including the number of jobs that are supported and the amount of government revenue that is generated by our community’s nonprofit arts industry.

Americans for the Arts is committed to addressing equity and inclusion as a critical component of the methodology, organizational participation, and collection of data for AEP6 by centering and representing BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, Native American) identifying communities — a segment of the nonprofit arts and culture sector that has been underrepresented in past studies.

For the first time, AEP6 will require that the local and state research partners collect a portion of audience surveys from attendees at events hosted by arts and culture organizations that primarily serve communities of color. The AEP6 study will establish a benchmark of arts and culture organizations that primarily serve communities of color, and the audiences that attend their events. It will also identify organizations that have a chief executive who identifies as BIPOC/ALAANA. Researchers will use this data to calculate and report on the economic impact of the BIPOC/ALAANA arts sector in each participating community.

For more information and a full list of the communities participating in the AEP6 study, visit www.americansforthearts.org/AEP6.

The City of West Hollywood's Arts Division delivers a broad array of arts programs including Urban Art (permanent public art), Arts Grants, City Poet Laureate, Free Theatre in the Parks, Human Rights Speaker Series, Library Exhibits, #WeHoPride LGBTQ Arts Festival, Summer Sounds + Winter Sounds, Art on the Outside (temporary public art), and WeHo Reads. For more information about City of West Hollywood arts programming, please visit www.weho.org/arts. 

For more information contact Rebecca Ehemann, the City of West Hollywood’s Arts Manager, at rehemann@weho.org or at (323) 848-6846. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, please call TTY (323) 848-6496.

The City of West Hollywood remains in a declared local emergency in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. West Hollywood City Hall is open for in-person walk-in transactions at public counters or by appointment; to make an appointment, visit www.weho.org/appointments. City Hall services remain accessible by phone at (323) 848-6400 and via the City’s website at www.weho.org.

City of West Hollywood coronavirus updates are available at www.weho.org/coronavirus. For up-to-date news and events, follow the City of West Hollywood @wehocity on social media, sign up for news updates at www.weho.org/email, and visit the City’s calendar of meetings and events at www.weho.org/calendar.

For reporters and members of the media seeking additional information about the City of West Hollywood, please contact the City of West Hollywood’s Public Information Officer, Sheri A. Lunn, at (323) 848-6391 or slunn@weho.org.