Arts and culture organizations help create vibrant communities, inspire us, and help us connect, while also boosting our economic growth and creating new jobs in our region
(Oct. 20, 2026 — Marina, CA) — Join Monterey Bay Economic Partnership and local leaders this Thursday, Oct. 22, for the Creative Economy Summit, focused on exploring opportunities to connect creative assets, strengthen partnerships, and build a more vibrant regional creative economy. The event, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Watsonville Civic Center’s Community Room, will bring together people, businesses, organizations and industries that turn creativity, culture, ideas and innovation into economic and community value.
Through conversations and interactive discussions, attendees will explore how creative assets intersect with economic development, workforce and education, entrepreneurship, tourism, community development and placemaking—and identify opportunities to work together across sectors and county lines.
Moving the conversation from ideas to action, the Creative Economy Summit will close with an exploration of meaningful next steps and continued collaboration across Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties.
Creativity is more than a cultural asset—it’s an economic one. Creative industries can drive economic opportunity, attract visitors, create jobs, strengthen career pathways, and build more vibrant, connected communities.
A study released in October 2023 by Americans for the Arts (AFTA) quantified the extent to which the arts drive our economy. Highlights of the study include:
- In 2022, arts and culture generated $151.7 billion in economic activity
- Total spend by arts and culture organizations: $73.3 billion
- Event-related spending by arts and culture audiences: $78.4 billion
- Jobs supported: 2.6 million jobs
- Personal income to residents: $101 billion
- Government tax revenue: $29.1 billion
The study also breaks down economic activity at a community level:
- In Monterey County, the creative and cultural sector generates an estimated $1.6 billion in economic activity, according to Jacquie Atchison, executive director of the Arts Council for Monterey County (Arts4MC). Countywide, the sector supports approximately 8,150 full-time-equivalent jobs. The nonprofit arts and culture sector alone generated $284 million in economic activity in 2022, supporting 3,963 jobs and contributing $43.1 million in government revenue, according to the Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6), a national economic and social impact study conducted by Americans for the Arts.
- In Santa Cruz County, the nonprofit arts and culture sector generated approximately $68 million in economic activity in 2022, supporting 1,437 jobs, according to the Americans for the Arts study. According to Arts Council Santa Cruz County, spending by arts and culture audiences generates valuable commerce to local merchants, a value-add that few other industries can compete with. That economic activity — $54,469,219 in expenditures by nonprofit arts and culture organizations and $13,698,812 in event-related spending by their audiences — supported 1,437 jobs and generated $23,419,197 in local, state, and federal government revenue.
- In the City of Watsonville, the nonprofit arts and culture sector generated $8.9 million during 2022 — $5.4 million in spending by arts and culture organizations and an additional $3.5 million in event-related expenditures by their audiences. That economic activity supported 175 jobs, provided $7.6 million in personal income to residents, and generated $2.8 million in tax revenue to local, state, and federal governments.
Register for the Creative Economy Summit here. ( https://mbep.biz/creative-
About Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP): Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) is a regional member-supported nonprofit organization consisting of public, private, and civic entities located throughout the counties of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz. Founded in 2015, our mission is to improve the economic health and quality of life in the region.