News

2010 Otis Report on the Creative Economy Released



11/11/10

On Nov 10, to a sold-out audience of more than 400 at Zipper Hall at the Colburn School, President Hoi presided over the release of the 2010 Otis Report on the Creative Economy,of the L.A. Region, commissioned from the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation. This year's report, the third annual, entitled "The Power of Art and Artists," included a presentation of the data by Dr. Nancy D. Sidhu, Chief Economist of the LAEDC, and remarks by NEA Chair Rocco Landesman and Professor Ann Markusen of the Univ. of MN. James Canales, President and CEO of the James Irvine Foundation, moderated a discussion.

Some of the most important findings of the Otis Report were that the creative economy is the second largest business sector in L.A. County, bringing 835,00 direct and indirect jobs to the region, and generating $113 billion in sales in L.A. and $14 billion in Orange County.

The audience applauded loudly at the statement "Creativity Cannot be Outsourced, Innovation Stays Onshore," which was part of a three-minute animation, and welcomed Landesman and Markusen's assertions about the need to support the creative community. "At the NEA, we know that artists are placemakers. When you bring arts organizations and arts workers into a neighborhood, the place changes to a vibrant and sustainable community, ” said Landesman. “The arts complement and complete other sectors of the economy.”