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The arts are fundamental to our humanity. They enable and inspire us - fostering creativity, goodness, and beauty. The arts bring us joy, help us express our values, and build bridges between cultures. The arts are also a fundamental component of a healthy community - strengthening it socially, educationally, and economically - benefits that persist even in difficult social and economic times.

1. Arts improve individual well-being.
2. Arts unify communities.
3. Arts improve academic performance.
4. Arts strengthen the economy.
5. Arts drive tourism and revenue to local businesses. 
6. Arts spark creativity and innovation. 
7. Arts drive the creative industries. 
8. Arts have social impact. 
9. Arts improve healthcare.
10. Arts are for the health and well-being of all.

1. Arts improve individual well-being. 63 percent of the population believe the arts “lift me up beyond everyday experiences,” and 73 percent say the arts are a “positive experience in a troubled world.”

2. Arts unify communities. 67 percent of Americans believe “the arts unify our communities regardless of age, race, and ethnicity” and 62 percent agree that the arts “helps me understand other cultures better” - a perspective observed across all demographic and economic categories.
 

3. Arts improve academic performance. Students engaged in arts learning have higher GPAs, standardized test scores, and lower drop-out rates. These academic benefits are reaped by students regardless of socio-economic status. 88 percent of Americans believe that arts are part of a well-rounded K-12 education. Yet, the Department of Education reports that access to arts education is not equally available in all schools.
 

4. Arts strengthen the economy. Arts and cultural goods in the U.S. added $764 billion to the economy in pre-Covid years. The arts have represented a larger share of the nation’s economy than transportation, tourism, and agriculture (source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis). The nonprofit arts industry alone generates close to $200 billion in economic activity annually (spending by organizations and their audiences), which supports jobs and generates revenue.
 

5. Arts drive tourism and revenue to local businesses. Attendees at nonprofit arts events spend an average of $32 per person, per event, beyond the cost of admission on items such as meals, parking, and babysitters - valuable commerce for local businesses. 34 percent of attendees live outside the county or city in which the arts event takes place; they average $60 per person, per event in event-related spending. Arts travelers are ideal tourists, staying longer and spending more to seek out authentic cultural experiences.
 

6. Arts spark creativity and innovation. Creativity is among the top 5 applied skills sought by business leaders, per the Conference Board’s Ready to Innovate report - with 72 percent saying creativity is of high importance when hiring. Research on creativity shows that Nobel laureates are 17 times more likely to be actively engaged in the arts than other scientists.
 

7. Arts drive the creative industries. The Creative Industries are arts businesses that range from nonprofit museums, symphonies, and theaters to for-profit film, architecture, and design companies. Pre-Covid data counted 673,656 businesses in the U.S. involved in the creation or distribution of the arts.
 

8. Arts have social impact. University of Pennsylvania researchers have demonstrated that a high concentration of the arts in a city leads to higher civic engagement, more social cohesion, higher child welfare, and lower poverty rates.
 

9. Arts improve healthcare. Nearly one-half of the nation’s healthcare institutions provide arts programming for patients, families, and even staff. 78 percent deliver these programs because of their healing benefits to patients - shorter hospital stays, better pain management, and less medication.
 

10. Arts are for the health and well-being of all - especially our military.  The arts heal the mental, physical, and moral injuries of life-threatening diseases, traumas, and war. For military service members and Veterans, the creative arts therapies rank in the top 4 (out of 40) interventions and treatments. Across the military continuum, the arts promote resilience during pre-deployment, deployment, and the reintegration of military service members, Veterans, their families, and caregivers into communities.

(source: americansforthearts.org)