Some surprises in survey of arts and culture labour force

At the end of 2005, Hamilton ON research firm Hill Strategies Research Inc. released their Artists by Neighbourhood in Canada report. The survey "highlights creative neighbourhoods across the country – areas where artists interact and help shape the character of their communities" by looking at the percentage of residents employed in artistic and cultural industries by postal code, using data from the 2001 census. Below are excerpts from the report. Most creative urban neighbourhoodsThe findings regarding creative urban neighbourhoods confirm the common belief in Canada that many artists locate in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. Nine of the 10 urban neighbourhoods in Canada with the highest concentration of artists are in Vancouver, Montreal or Toronto. The other postal region in the top 10 is an island close to Vancouver. Montreal is home to five of the 10 urban neighbourhoods in Canada with the highest concentration of artists, including the three highest concentrations. H2W, in the heart of the plateau area, has 605 artists out of 7,560 total workers, for an artistic concentration of 8.0%. This is the "most creative neighbourhood" in Canada, with an artistic concentration that is 10 times the national average of 0.8%. This area extends from avenue des Pins to avenue du Mont-Royal, between St-Denis and avenue du Parc. H2J, adjacent to H2W on the plateau, has an artistic concentration of 6.1%. H2J is northeast of H2W and extends from Rachel to rue des Carrières, between Papineau and St-Denis. H2T, adjacent to both H2W and H2J on the plateau, has 5.6% of the local labour force in the arts. H2T extends from avenue du Mont-Royal to avenue Van Horne (and the railway tracks), between St-Denis and Jeanne-Mance. Toronto is home to three of the 10 neighbourhoods in Canada with the highest concentration of artists, including: M5R, the Annex area, which has 845 artists out of 15,590 total workers, for an artistic concentration of 5.4%. This concentration is almost seven times the national average and ranks the area fourth among Canadian neighbourhoods. M6J, West Queen West, which has 5.2% of its labour force in arts occupations, fifth in Canada. M6G, surrounding the Little Italy area, adjacent to both M5R and M6J, which has 5.1% of the local labour force in arts occupations, the sixth-highest level in Canada. British Columbia artists are distributed among many postal regions. Two B.C. areas are tied for seventh in Canada, with 5.0% of the local labour force in arts occupations: V8K (Saltspring Island); and V6A (east Vancouver). Two other Montreal postal areas have an artistic concentration of 5.0%, tied for seventh in Canada: H2V (Outremont) and H2L (Montreal Papineau, below Rachel). Most creative rural areas Artists by Neighbourhood in Canada shows that there are many significant artistic clusters in rural areas across Canada, but these rural clusters have not yet reached the same concentration as in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Nunavut’s X0A region is the most creative rural area in Canada. This area, encompassing Baffin Island (Iqaluit, Cape Dorset, etc.), has 230 artists among 6,700 total workers, for an artistic concentration of 3.4%. This is over four times the national average of 0.8%. Nova Scotia’s B0R region is the rural area in Canada with the second-highest concentration of artists. Artists comprise 2.2% of the labour force in this postal region, which is inland west of Halifax. The V0R region of Vancouver Island, an area that surrounds Tofino and Clayoquot Sound, has an artistic concentration of 1.9%, third-highest among rural postal areas in Canada. In the V0N region, a large swath of coastal British Columbia to the north and northwest of Vancouver, artists comprise 1.7% of the overall labour force, tied for fourth among rural postal areas in Canada. The V0S region, a rural area further southeast on Vancouver Island, also has 1.7% of the local labour force in arts occupations. Nunavut’s X0C postal region is tied for sixth among rural regions with an artistic concentration of 1.5%. The B0J region, a coastal area east of Halifax, is also tied for sixth among rural regions with an artistic concentration of 1.5%. The L0S region of southwestern Ontario (west of Niagara Falls, including Pelham) also has an artistic concentration of 1.3%, tied for eighth among rural areas of Canada. The V0P region, the north-central portion of Vancouver Island, also has 1.3% of the local labour force in arts occupations. In the K0G region of eastern Ontario (northeast of Kingston), artists comprise 1.2% of the labour force, ranking 10th among rural areas in Canada. Although we were informed about some other creative rural areas – such as Meacham, Saskatchewan – during our "Canada’s most creative neighbourhood" contest, no other rural postal areas have an artistic concentration that is as high as the areas listed above. This is partly due to postal geography, which groups towns like Meacham with other communities around Saskatoon in the S0K postal region. Why is it important to track creative neighbourhoods? The arts contribute to the quality of life as well as the social and economic vitality of communities. Recent research has also examined how the arts help attract talented people, jobs and investment to communities. On a personal level, the arts can stimulate, inspire and entertain. A strong artistic community can therefore enhance the whole community’s well-being. For these reasons, it is important to identify and track creative neighbourhoods – areas that are attractive to artists for a number of reasons: inexpensive housing, access to employment and self-employment opportunities, access to resources (such as studio space, galleries, rehearsal and performance space, artist-run centres and associations), social networks, physical environment, family reasons and more. Artists by Neighbourhood in Canada can be used by associations, arts funders, policy-makers and others to ensure that programs and services are tailored appropriately to arts communities across the country. Further research could also examine the correlation between creative neighbourhoods and other local attributes that may help attract and retain artists. The occupational categories are not a perfect fit for all artists but do provide a reasonable approximation of arts employment and self-employment. No census data is released for areas below a population size of 40. Postal areas with fewer than 40 artists are noted as "not reliable". Please see the full report for census data limitations.

Some surprises in survey of arts and culture labour force

News | 01/20/2006 5:00 am EST

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