A new report prepared by Weitzman faculty for the Pennsylvania Creative Industries, powered by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, shows a large and diverse creative workforce in the state.
2 min. read
Pennsylvania has more than 245,000 creative workers, a diverse collection of artists, architects, jewelrymakers, graphic designers, curators, and writers working in a broad set of professional fields. Together they make up more than 4.2% of the state’s labor force. But their levels of economic security vary greatly from person to person, with some creative workers earning a salary at a professional firm and others compelled to run every aspect of a small creative business.
Waterhouse Pottery focuses on handmade functional wares for home and garden. Alex Watrous earned her BFA in Ceramics at Edinboro University and has since worked professionally in the ceramics industry through manufacturing, retail supply, gallery management and sales, as well as arts administration.
(Image: Courtesy of Bridge Perspective)
Those findings, from a recent report prepared by Stuart Weitzman School of Design faculty on behalf of Pennsylvania Creative Industries, a state agency, show the outlines of a broad, precarious workforce that powers the state’s cultural economy. The report was commissioned by Pennsylvania Creative Industries. Michael Fichman, associate professor of practice in the Master of Urban Spatial Analytics program and a researcher at PennPraxis (the applied research, engagement, and practice arm of the Weitzman School) responded to a request for proposals issued by Pennsylvania Creative Industries last year. He enlisted PennPraxis staff, graduate student Design Fellows and other Weitzman faculty to compile the study.
“There are lots of creative workers who feel that their interests are not necessarily represented in policymaking or economic programs, and part of the reason for that is that they’re so varied in what they do,” Fichman says. The study took a particular interest in creative workers embedded in non-arts-related industries, like graphic designers at big corporations or art teachers in primary schools. The report provides those workers “a common ground for conversation about how to promote their interests and welfare,” Fichman says.
Pennsylvania Creative Industries is one of dozens of state and jurisdictional arts councils that work, in part, with the National Endowment for the Arts to make grants to creative workers and organizations. The agency’s mission is to “empower, connect, and amplify creatives and creative industries” through grants and programs. In April, it adopted a new strategic plan, and solicited a study on the state’s creative workforce to help inform future funding opportunities and identify areas for policy development. The report is the first in-depth study of the creative workforce for an entire state.
This story is by Jared Brey. Read more at Weitzman News.
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