The Yoknapatawpha Arts Council has announced that Lafayette County nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $9.6 million in economic activity in 2022, according to the newly released Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6), an economic and social impact study conducted by Americans for the Arts. 

That economic activity – $2.7 million in spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations and $6.9 million in event-related spending by their audiences supported 167 jobs and generated $1.3 in local, state, and federal government revenue. Spending by arts and culture audiences generates valuable commerce to local merchants, a value-add that few other industries can compete with. 

Nationally, the Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6) study reveals that America’s nonprofit arts and culture sector is a $151.7 billion industry — one that supports 2.6 million jobs and generates $29.1 billion in government revenue.

The full report, a map of the 373 study regions, and a two-page economic impact summary for each, can be found at AEP6.AmericansForTheArts.org.