During the Presidential campaign, I often wondered how each candidate would treat the arts industry if they were elected. Now that the election is over and we have a new President, this thought enters my mind more frequently.

Robert L. Lynch, President of American for the Arts wrote a blog that he published yesterday describing the economic impact of the arts industry in the United States. I think it is important to note how arts and culture contribute over 4% of the nations Gross Domestic Product (GDP) , which is over $700 billion. In fact, the “value” of arts and culture to our GDP is greater than many of the other industry sectors including construction, agriculture, and transportation.

The workforce supports close to 5 million jobs and over 2 million of those jobs are full time artists. Significant to say the least.

In Michigan, the creative industries accounts to close to $5 billion in wages with over 88,000 jobs. Check out Creative Many Michigan and their Creative Industries report released earlier this year to see more of these important statistics.

There is no doubt, the creative industry is a force that is growing in this country and any Presidential administration needs to recognize its impact.