WHY ARTS MATTER IN SOUTH DAKOTA
$1.4 BILLION added to state's economy
14,640 workers employed
$902.9 MILLION earned wages and benefits
The South Dakota arts and culture sector was a $1.4 billion industry in 2022 (2.04% of the state's GDP), representing 14,640 jobs (3.08% of South Dakota's workforce), and total compensation of $902.9 million.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis & National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (2024). Data collected for 2022.
THE ARTS ARE A TEAM EFFORT !
The South Dakota Arts Council is the state agency responsible for making the arts accessible through grants, services and information to artists, art organizations, schools and the public. Arts South Dakota is the programming side, providing education, advocacy and communication leadership. Working together, they champion sustainability and access to the arts.
“This past June we presented Bill Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. Why this play above all others? With all that’s going on in Israel presently, we believe this is a crucial moment in global politics and societal relations.”
Greg Huckabee South Dakota Shakespeare Festival board president
PARTNERSHIPS BOLSTER CREATIVE COMMUNITIES
THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT for the Arts (NEA) plays a critical role in supporting the arts in South Dakota. In 2023 the NEA awarded over $1.2 million to seven arts organizations in the state, including just over $1 million to the South Dakota Arts Council (SDAC). SDAC in turn matched those funds through a portion of the state's tourism promotion tax, resulting in more than $1.7 million invested in S.D. organizations and artists across about 320 grants.
The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee allocated $209 million for the NEA in the Fiscal Year 2025 Interior Appropriations Bill, an increase of $2 million. Still, the NEA’s portion of the total federal budget is miniscule. “Only 62 cents per year of an individual’s annual taxes go to NEA funding,” says
Jim Speirs, executive director of Arts South Dakota. “Grants provided by the NEA, in partnership with the South Dakota Arts Council, make a big difference in funding the arts in our state," Speirs says. "Their reach is far and wide, funding the arts in rural and underserved communities. The NEA is vital to our arts ecosystem, especially in rural South Dakota.”
Grant recipients have included such diverse groups as Cheyenne River Youth Project and its related RedCan Graffiti Jam, South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and Black Hills Works/Flutter Productions.
Funding is allocated by the U.S. Congress. South Dakota's congressional delegation are key in supporting this effort.
“Through initiatives like our RedCan Invitational Graffiti Jam, we have tapped into the transformative power of art. Lakota people have always shared our stories through visual art, and now we are teaching our children to do the same. For us, art is culture. So, when you support RedCan and CRYP’s arts programming, you are directly supporting something much bigger: our heart-driven mission to revitalize our language and cultural lifeways, reclaim our spaces, and heal our kids.”
Julie Garreau, CEO Cheyenne River Youth Project
“We have created original, all-ability productions that feature individuals with and without disabilities, performing side-byside on the stage since 2008. Grants enable Flutter the opportunity to amplify the lives and voices of those who have been historically disenfranchised by society.”
Heather Pickering Flutter Productions Artistic Director
“South Dakota Arts Council funding does two critical things for the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. It ensures the SDSO’s artistic excellence by supporting phenomenally talented musicians who live, work, and perform right here in South Dakota. This funding also makes it possible to bring the music to communities throughout the state who would not otherwise have the chance to hear it.”
Jennifer Teisinger, Executive Director
South Dakota Symphony Orchestra
SUPPORTING THE ARTS
Wonder what South Dakota politicians have to say about the arts? The Arts South Dakota candidate survey opened to U.S. congressional representatives and state legislators on September 1. Read their responses at ArtsSouthDakota.org.
BECOME A MEMBER!
Support the arts by becoming a member of Arts South Dakota! Learn more and give today at ArtsSouthDakota.org!
Arts South Dakota, a non-partisan and non-profit service organization, advances the arts for South Dakotans and our visitors by connecting, advocating, and educating.
PO Box 2496
Sioux Falls, SD 57101 605-252-5979
info@ArtsSouthDakota.org
www.ArtsSouthDakota.org
Arts Alive is being presented in partnership with South Dakota Magazine.
The South Dakota Arts Council is a state agency serving South Dakotans and their communities through the arts.
Flutter Productions of Rapid City is the first allability dance theatre company in South Dakota.
