The Tamarack Foundation for the Arts’ Executive Director Alissa Novoselick presented the results of the West Virginia Creative Entrepreneur Study at a Virtual Conversation event on June 2nd. The conversation took place at the Charleston Area Alliance and was also streamed live to online audiences via the foundation’s Facebook page. Following the presentation, Alissa was joined by West Virginia Division of Culture and History’s Director of Arts, Renee Margocee, for a Q&A session featuring questions from both live and online audiences.
“This study validates that the creative economy in West Virginia is a viable sector with significant potential for growth,” said Alissa Novoselick, Executive Director of the Tamarack Foundation for the Arts. “We now have the road-map with important data about the reasons why creative businesses choose to stay in West Virginia and what we might do to attract others.”
Key findings from the West Virginia Creative Entrepreneur Study reveal that 1 in 3 creative entrepreneurs make their primary living from their work and 1 in 5 make more than $15k a year. 81% of responses cited the people and aesthetics of West Virginia as positive assets to their creative enterprise, while 94% of responses included reasons why the economic climate is discouraging. 25% of respondents plainly stated that “WV is not a good place to be a creative entrepreneur”. To read the full report, go to http://issuu.com/tamarackfoundationforthearts/docs/wv_creative_entrepreneur_study_2016/1
