For Immediate Release
January 8, 2007

Business for the Arts Introduces Important Changes to Its Annual Surveys

Business for the Arts (formerly The Council for Business and the Arts in Canada) has been tracking the state of the arts in Canada since 1976, capturing financial and statistical data on private sector support, public sector funding, attendance, employment figures and other relevant data. The annual surveys provide significant insight into the health of non-profit performing arts companies, museums and galleries to the arts, government and business sectors.

New in the surveys this year:

• Business for the Arts will begin tracking the impact of the elimination of capital gains tax on publicly traded securities on the arts sector.
• An increased focus on private sector support

One of the most interesting aspects of having more than twenty years of annual survey data is the long-term trend analysis and benchmarking which so much historical data allows.

Business for the Arts has engaged Hill Strategies Research to take on this exciting project, with a special focus on tracking long-term trends in private sector support.

Kelly Hill of Hill Strategies is widely known and respected as a leading authority in arts research and statistics. Kelly Hill has worked in the field of arts research for ten years and has aimed to provide top-quality, highly-relevant and insightful research for the arts and culture in Canada. In 2002, Hill Strategies Research created and developed an arts research digest (Arts Research Monitor) and a series of reports entitled Statistical Insights on the Arts. They have approximately 1,500 subscribers around the world for these reports, including many artists and representatives of arts organizations in Canada.

Business for the Arts' 2005-06 Annual surveys of the Performing Arts and Public Museums and Art Galleries, including detailed analysis, will be released on CD-ROM in August of 2007. We believe that is will be the beginning of new insights into the role of the arts in Canada. We welcome all non-profit arts and heritage organizations to participate. The on-line links to submit survey data are now live at www.businessforarts.org - click on “surveys” and follow the links.

The more participation by the arts community, the more meaningful and powerful the data and analysis.

For more information, please contact:
Nichole Anderson: n_anderson@businessforarts.org
416-869-3016 x229
Or, visit our website at www.businessforarts.org