The study is conducted approximately every five years to gauge the economic impact (on employment, government revenue, and household income) of spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations and the event-related spending by their audiences. The sixth study runs May 1, 2022, through April 30, 2023.

“The arts bring so much to Northeast Oregon communities: opportunities to connect with others, creative learning, and economic growth. We at Art Center East and our nonprofit arts and culture organization partners throughout the region aim to raise awareness among local leaders and community members through the AEP6,” said Darcy Dolge, Art Center East’s executive director.

Art Center East (La Grande), Josephy Center for Arts and Culture (Joseph) and Crossroads Carnegie Arts Center (Baker City) are joining Americans for the Arts, Travel Oregon, Oregon Arts Commission and nearly 400 communities in all 50 states in distributing surveys at live events. Americans for the Arts provides arts and culture nonprofits with final reports containing survey outcome data after the study concludes.

“NEOEDD is serving as the lead organization for the AEP6 survey because we want to learn more about the impacts of the nonprofit arts sector in our region,” said Lisa Dawson, executive director of Northeast Oregon Economic Development District. “We appreciate the boots-on-the-ground role taken by Art Center East, Crossroads Carnegie Art Center and Josephy Center for Arts and Culture to ensure that data is collected from around the region.”

To help, community members and organizations are encouraged to tell arts and culture centers about live events or volunteer to distribute and collect AEP6 surveys. For additional ways to get involved, contact a local art or culture center:

• Art Center East: 1006 Penn Ave., La Grande; 541-624-2800, artcentereast.org
• Crossroads Carnegie Art Center: 2020 Auburn Ave., Baker City; 541-523-5369, crossroads-arts.org
• Josephy Center for Arts and Culture: 403 N. Main St., Joseph; 541-432-0505, josephy.org

“The NE Oregon team thanks the Northeast Oregon Economic Development District, Oregon Arts Commission and Travel Oregon who are helping with all the costs associated with this process,” said Ginger Savage, Crossroads’ executive director.

Visit artcentereast.org/aep-survey, email [email protected] or call 541-624-2800 for more information about being part of this study.