The Arts Are In Our Favor

Maryland Arts Day Is Much More Than A Lobbying Tour. It’s Big Business.

The leadership in the arts community has been clear and consistent in their message: “The arts mean business.”

And these days, they have the positive numbers to back it up. Maryland’s arts community generates $961 million per year in economic activity.

Those numbers boil down to 643 million in annual household income for local residents.

The morning reception at Maryland Arts Day has attracted nearly 200 arts leaders in Maryland to lobby lawmakers for nearly 50 years. PHOTO: RAOUL DENNIS/PRINCE GEORGE'S SUITE MAGAZINE & MEDIA

Maryland ranks fourth in the nation in per capita revenue generated via the arts. “It is no coincidence that Maryland is ranked fourth in the country in per-capita arts funding,” says Nicholas Cohen, Executive Director of Maryland Citizens for the Arts.

Against that backdrop, hundreds of arts administrators, activists, enthusiasts, students, educators and community groups descended upon Annapolis Feb. 22 to urge lawmakers to keep state funding adequate to growing the economic engine that returns $4 for every $1 the state puts in.

Nearly 100 arts leaders and activists gathered from Prince George's County for Maryland Arts Day. PHOTO: DONNA FOSTER-DOTSON // PGAHC

The Prince George’s County representation to Maryland Arts Day was the largest group circulating with some 100 people, led by Prince George’s Arts & Humanities Council’s Executive Director Rhonda Dallas and including a full class showing by Leadership Prince George’s and its Emerging Leaders youth program.