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2024 Cultural Asset Inventory Reveals Key Insights

Bethann Steiner, Senior Director of Public Affairs

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New data quantifies size, scope, economic impact - and needs - of individual generators and cultural organizations statewide

photo from an installation of a row of translucent multi-colored tiles with different kinds of faces drawn on them hanging in a row. Overlaid is the text 2024 Massachusetts Cultural Asset Inventory.

Mass Cultural Council, in collaboration with Diversity North Group, today announces the completion of the 2024 Massachusetts Cultural Asset Inventory. This comprehensive project, which took place from February 2024 to December 2024, identifies and documents thousands of cultural organizations, programs, and individuals contributing to the state’s vibrant cultural landscape.

“Mass Cultural Council has typically defined its stakeholders, the state’s cultural sector, as individuals and organizations who focus on the arts, humanities, and sciences,” said Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director, Mass Cultural Council. “This data provides the Agency and our partners in the Administration and the Legislature with an updated understanding of the size of our sector, as well as its economic needs. It will inform our policy, advocacy, and programmatic decisions as we continue our efforts to advance and support this vibrant workforce.”

As the Commonwealth’s independent state arts agency, Mass Cultural Council is charged with bolstering the cultural sector, thereby advancing economic vitality, supporting transformational change, and celebrating, preserving, and inspiring creativity across all Massachusetts communities.

The Cultural Asset Inventory provides a wealth of information that will be instrumental in informing future cultural policies, programs, and initiatives.

Key Findings

  • Large Cultural Sector: The project identified 15,063 cultural organizations and programs across Massachusetts.
  • Shifting Organizational Models: While nonprofits dominate the sector, only about half of the organizations are structured as nonprofits, signaling a shift in the understanding of the impact of our organizational models.
  • Economic Impact: Cultural organizations employ thousands of people, making a significant contribution to the state’s economy.
  • Individual Cultural Generators: The Inventory identified at least 112,190 individuals in Massachusetts who earn half or more of their income from arts, humanities, or interpretive science occupations. These generators make up 3% of the state’s workforce.
  • Income Disparity: The median income of individual cultural generators is $49,182, which falls below the state’s living wage of $58,011 (as of December 2024). Of the 36 occupations representing the work of cultural generators, 28 have median incomes below the living wage, underscoring income inequity for cultural sector professionals.
  • Equity Challenges: Income disparities persist across gender, race, ethnicity, disability status, and immigration status, especially among women, BIPOC individuals, immigrants, and those with disabilities working in the cultural sector.

“The cultural sector in Massachusetts is far more expansive than many might realize. It encompasses thousands of creative professionals and cultural organizations,” Bobbitt explained. “Together, we form a dynamic, vibrant, and innovative workforce that drives the state’s economy, making Massachusetts an appealing destination to live, work, visit, and do business. We have much work to do to support this critical sector.”

Methodology and Database

The Cultural Asset Inventory focused on arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences organizations and programs. Publicly available data for nonprofits made it easier to gather information compared to for-profit or unincorporated entities. The database includes a wide range of cultural organizations, from arts councils to educational programs, museums, and more.

A more detailed breakdown of the methodology, along with specific definitions, and county fact sheets are available online.

Informed Advocacy

As a state agency, Mass Cultural Council relies upon public sources of funding, primarily through an annual state spending appropriation, for its operating budget.

“The data collected in the Cultural Asset Inventory makes it clear that even with continued robust state budget support, that our grantmaking alone will not provide sufficient investments to ensure all individual generators and cultural organizations are financially stable,” said Bobbitt.

Mass Cultural Council believes its grantmaking, paired with assistance from resources and opportunities leveraged from other economic sectors, partners, and state agencies that its stakeholders may not have engaged with previously, will advance the overall stability of the cultural sector.

Further, with this data in mind, Mass Cultural Council will continue to focus on developing and building support for innovative policy solutions, advocate for public investments that support the arts, humanities, and interpretative sciences, and develop programs and services that equitably address the needs of the cultural sector.

Learn More About the 2024 Cultural Asset Inventory

This year, Mass Cultural Council will host several convenings to present the findings of the Cultural Asset Inventory and take questions. Three dates are confirmed at present:

Acknowledgments
The success of the Massachusetts Cultural Asset Inventory would not have been possible without the support and contributions of numerous partners, funders, and data contributors. Mass Cultural Council is grateful for their invaluable involvement in bringing this project to life.

Learn More About the Cultural Asset Inventory

Download State & County 1-Pagers

Download the Full Report (PDF)

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