A Snapshot of the Saskatchewan Arts Sector
A selection of facts about the arts and culture sector.
The facts below show the extent of the Saskatchewan arts sector and can also be seen as indications of our wellbeing and potential economic growth.
Our sector is deeply engaged with our communities.
There are significant concentrations of artists in small and rural municipalities (fewer than 50,000 residents based on 2001 municipal boundaries) across Canada contributing to the quality of life and the social and economic vitality of many small and rural communities. In Saskatchewan, the municipality of Corman Park No. 344 has the highest concentration of artists where artists comprise 1.5% of the local labour force nearly double the national average. (Statistical insights on the arts, Vol. 4 No. 3)
In 2004, about 29,000 Saskatchewanians volunteered in arts and culture organizations. This represents 3.6% of the Saskatchewan population (15 or older), the highest percentage of all the provinces and well above the Canadian average of 2.8%. Saskatchewan volunteers contributed about 2 million hours – the equivalent of about 1,200 jobs – worth an estimated $30 million to arts and culture organizations in 2004. (Statistical insights on the arts, Vol. 5 No. 2)
Saskatchewan residents spent $26 million on live performing arts, $27 million on books (excluding school books) and $16 million on admissions to museums and heritage-related activities in 2005. The spending on cultural goods and services grew by 44% between 1997 and 2005, well above the 28% increase in spending on all goods and services in Saskatchewan during this period. (Statistical Insights on the Arts, Vol. 5 No. 3)
27% of Saskatchewan residents – 210,000 people – visited an art gallery in 2005 an increase from 19% in 1992. (Statistical Insights on the Arts, Vol. 6 Nos. 1 and 2)
Ours is one of the most productive sectors of the provincial economy
The culture gross domestic product for Saskatchewan was $900 million, or 2.8% of the Saskatchewan GDP in 2003. (Stats Canada Catalogue no. 81-595-MIE2006037)
Employment from the culture sector accounted for 14,200 direct jobs in 2003, or 3% of the jobs in our province. Of that number 72% of which were employed in the private sector, and 22% were self-employed. (Stats Canada Catalogue no. 81-595-MIE2006037)
When counting only creation and production activities (excluding distribution, support and manufacturing), the GDP was $560 million and accounted for 9,500 direct jobs. (Stats Canada Catalogue no. 81-595-MIE2006037)
The culture labour force is highly educated: 83% of cultural workers have post-secondary degrees, compared with 62% of the total labour force. (Focus on Culture, Vol. 14, No. 3)
A Profile of Saskatchewan Artists
Artists' average earnings were $15,341, 40% lower than average earnings in the overall local labour force, despite the fact that, in Canada, the percentage of artists with a university degree, certificate or diploma (41%) is double the rate in the overall labour force (22%). (Hill Strategies Research Statistical insights on the arts, Vol. 3 No. 2)
Artists have a higher proportion of self-employment and a predominance of women than the overall labour force, based on the 2001 census. (Statistical insights on the arts, Vol. 3 No. 1)
