The Economic Impact of the Arts in the Lehigh Valley

The Lehigh Valley Arts & Cultural Alliance has completed a year-long cycle of data collection for the Arts & Economic Prosperity 6, a nationwide economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and cultural sector led by our partners at Americans for the Arts for more than 20 years.

Results from the AEP6 will help us understand how Lehigh Valley arts and cultural programs impact neighborhood pride and boost local economies through job creation, tourism, and support for small business. Importantly, the study will provide a comprehensive snapshot of arts and cultural organizations for the first time since 2017, offering additional insights about how the nonprofit community has recovered since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robust local data collection would not have been possible without support from the Truist Charitable Foundation, PPL Foundation, Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, and the Baker Foundation. LVACA is thankful for their financial support, and for the extraordinary cooperation of nonprofit art and culture organizations from across the Lehigh Valley.

Data Collection in the Lehigh Valley

LVACA worked with local nonprofit arts organizations to collect data from two sources:

Audience intercept surveys that invited event attendees to join the conversation on the importance of arts and culture to their lives and communities.
Organization surveys that collect attendance numbers and financials, and other information about organizations’ local impact.

From July 2022 through June 2023, LVACA collected audience intercept surveys at 29 unique events across the Lehigh Valley. In total, we received 802 audience surveys, including 256 surveys collected from attendees to events that were presented, produced, or hosted by an organization that primarily serves a Community of Color. We’re grateful for the collaboration of our site partners and volunteers who aided in survey collection.

See a full list of our AEP6 site partners and events

Event	Host Organization
Inclusion Festival	Accessible Festivals
Martin Luther King Jr Day Celebration	Allentown Art Museum
Arts Ovation Awards	Allentown Arts Commision
Musikfest	ArtsQuest
Christkindlmarkt	ArtsQuest
Bethlehem Bach Festival	Bach Choir of Bethlehem
11Fest	Bethlehem Area Public Library
Lehigh Valley Pride	Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center
A Christmas Carol	Civic Theatre of Allentown
Black History Month Youth Art Show	Community Action Lehigh Valley
Dominican Festival	Dominican Festival Organization
Blues, Brews, & Barbecue	Downtown Allentown Business Alliance
Vespers by St. Tikhon Choir	First Presbyterian Church Bethlehem
Live at the Falls	Greater Easton Development Corporation
National Theatre Live	Lafayette College Arts
Fatoumata Diawara	Lafayette College Arts
Gateway to Himalayan Art	Lehigh University Art Galleries
Holiday Pops	Miller Symphony Hall
Roasting Ears of Corn Festival	Museum of Indian Culture
Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration	Northampton Community College Hispanic Caucus
RENT	Northampton Community College Summer Theatre
Elf Jr.	Pennsylvania Youth Theatre
India Heritage Day	Saara Arts
Kids’ Art Workshop	Saara Arts
Live on the Greenway	Southside Arts District
Odysseus	Touchstone Theatre
Art in the Park	West Park Civic Association
Family Day	Zoellner Arts Center
Home Free	Zoellner Arts Center

See a full list of our AEP6 site partners and events

Event	Host Organization
Inclusion Festival	Accessible Festivals
Martin Luther King Jr Day Celebration	Allentown Art Museum
Arts Ovation Awards	Allentown Arts Commision
Musikfest	ArtsQuest
Christkindlmarkt	ArtsQuest
Bethlehem Bach Festival	Bach Choir of Bethlehem
11Fest	Bethlehem Area Public Library
Lehigh Valley Pride	Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center
A Christmas Carol	Civic Theatre of Allentown
Black History Month Youth Art Show	Community Action Lehigh Valley
Dominican Festival	Dominican Festival Organization
Blues, Brews, & Barbecue	Downtown Allentown Business Alliance
Vespers by St. Tikhon Choir	First Presbyterian Church Bethlehem
Live at the Falls	Greater Easton Development Corporation
National Theatre Live	Lafayette College Arts
Fatoumata Diawara	Lafayette College Arts
Gateway to Himalayan Art	Lehigh University Art Galleries
Holiday Pops	Miller Symphony Hall
Roasting Ears of Corn Festival	Museum of Indian Culture
Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration	Northampton Community College Hispanic Caucus
RENT	Northampton Community College Summer Theatre
Elf Jr.	Pennsylvania Youth Theatre
India Heritage Day	Saara Arts
Kids’ Art Workshop	Saara Arts
Live on the Greenway	Southside Arts District
Odysseus	Touchstone Theatre
Art in the Park	West Park Civic Association
Family Day	Zoellner Arts Center
Home Free	Zoellner Arts Center

Additionally, we received nearly 100 completed surveys from arts and culture nonprofit organizations. Together with audience survey data, this information will help demonstrate the enormous collective economic and community impact of nonprofits that offer creative programming.

National Data Collection & Study Results

Nationally, the AEP6 collected data in over 400 regions across the United States and Puerto Rico. In total, Americans for the Arts received 230,000 audience surveys and 16,000 organization surveys.

In October 2023 Americans for the Arts will release the full AEP6 report including Lehigh Valley and national data. LVACA is planning activities to share the findings and support Lehigh Valley nonprofits in utilizing the study data to tell the story of their community impact, plan programs and events, and raise funds through event sponsorship, grants, government programs, and individual donors.

To stay informed about this and other upcoming opportunities, subscribe to our mailing list and follow us on Instagram — and don’t hesitate to get in touch directly with thoughts or questions.