Arts and Culture

Indicators featured in the Arts and Culture section of Vital Signs describe the artistic activities, community assets, and cultural events that take place within neighborhoods. This chapter provides indicators for the following areas:

• Public Art
• Arts and Creative Economy
• Library Membership
• Public Events

Tracking of Arts and Culture indicators began in Vital Signs 11. At that time, BNIA-JFI selected indicators that provided a deeper understanding of the artistic characteristics of neighborhoods, the artistic economy, and the importance of arts to quality of life. Over the past decade, indicators such as public art, murals, and event permits were added to document the community and cultural building activities that take place within neighborhoods. 

Vital Signs 22 includes arts and culture indicators divided into four general categories: the public art category captures physical artwork within communities, the arts and creative economy category presents data on the economy and capital that artistic industries contribute to Baltimore; the public library category describes how residents use a locally-accessible system of community spaces and resources; and the public events category represents temporary activities that support social interaction and cohesion.  

Vital Signs 22 tracks Arts & Culture indicators from four sources: Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts (BOPA), Enoch Pratt Free Library, Department of Transportation (DOT), and InfoUSA.  ¹  

In 1964, Baltimore became the second city in the country to pass a Percent-for-Art law, which requires 1% of all capital construction costs go to toward public art. Since then, over 300 works have been publicly funded as a part of this program, including murals, monuments, paintings, and sculptures. In 2007, the City of Baltimore created a nine-member citizen public art commission that reviews gifts of public art and administers the Percent-for-Art program.  ²  

Public art is defined by BOPA as city-funded artwork that “enhances the cityscape, quality of life, and artistic and creative climate in Baltimore. Monuments, murals, paintings, sculptures, stained glass, fountains, and mosaics are among the art forms counted in the public art indicator.  ³  

Between 2021 and 2022, the number of works of public art in Baltimore stayed the same at 1.6 per 1,000 residents. The Community Statistical Areas (CSAs) with the greatest rates of city-funded public art include Downtown/Seton Hill (11.4 per 1,000), Greater Charles Village/Barclay (5.5 per 1,000 residents), and Pigtown/Carroll Park (5.2 per 1,000). The CSAs with the lowest rates of public art per 1,000 residents in 2022 were Southeastern (0 per 1,000 residents), Cross-Country/Cheswolde (0.1 per 1,000 residents), and Edmondson Village (0.1 per 1,000 residents). 

City-funded murals are included in the public art indicator and a separate indicator to track where they are emerging throughout the city. Murals, a highly visible and growing art form in Baltimore, capture community sentiments and history engaging both residents and visitors. 

Between 2021 and 2022, the number of publicly funded murals in Baltimore City increased from 390 to 417. By 2022, the CSAs with the largest number of publicly funded murals included Downtown/Seton Hill (51 murals), Midtown (39 murals), and Southwest Baltimore (31 murals). 9 CSAs had zero publicly funded murals: Cedonia/Frankford, Cross Country/Cheswolde, Dickeyville/Franklintown, Dorchester/Ashburton, Edmondson Village, Howard Park/West Arlington, Loch Raven, North Baltimore/Guilford/Homeland, and Southeastern. 

Indicators in the arts and creative economy area describe industries that allow for educational opportunities in the arts and related fields, market and brand a city or neighborhood, and contribute to creative-placemaking. These industries range from spaces where the arts can be enjoyed, such as theaters or art studios, to institutions of learning that teach visual, musical, and performing arts, to businesses that involve creative skill sets, such as architecture firms or advertising agencies. 

This section includes indicators for “arts-related businesses” which are defined as belonging to industries that allow for the consumption and enjoyment of arts and culture. It also includes indicators for the “creative economy” which is broadly defined as industries that use and support artistic and cultural skill sets to attract and generate capital, knowledge, and information.  ⁴   

Between 2021 and 2022, the number of arts-related businesses in Baltimore City decreased from 0.5 to 0.4 per 1,000 residents. In 2022, the CSAs with the largest rate of arts-related businesses per 1,000 residents included Downtown/Seton Hill (2.5 businesses per 1,000 residents), Midtown (2.2 businesses per 1,000 residents) and Harbor East/Little Italy (1.4 businesses per 1,000 residents). These three CSAs continue to see a decline in the rate of art-related businesses following the pandemic but the decline slowed in 2022.  

Six CSAs had zero arts-related businesses per 1,000 residents, an increase of three from 2021. Those CSA include Beechfield/Ten Hills/West Hills, Cedonia/Frankford, Clifton-Berea, Dickeyville/Franklintown, Edmondson Village, and Loch Raven. 

In 2022, there were 2,966 persons employed in arts-related businesses in Baltimore. The CSAs with the largest number of persons employed in arts-related businesses were Midtown (790 employees), Penn North/Reservoir Hill (334 employees), and Inner Harbor/Federal Hill (325 employees). Inner Harbor/Federal Hill was also the CSA with the greatest loss of persons employed in arts-related business - 632 employees were lost between 2021 and 2022.  

The rate of businesses and number of persons employed in the creative economy includes arts-related industries and other creative industries, such as architecture, marketing, and publishing. 

Between 2021 and 2022, the rate of businesses in the creative economy in Baltimore City decreased from 1.1 per 1,000 residents in 2021 to 0.6 per 1000 residents in 2022. The rate of businesses in the creative economy declined in all but 6 CSAs. In those 6 CSAs, the rate stayed the same. 

In 2022, there were 8,283 persons in Baltimore employed in the creative economy. This is the fewest number of persons employed in this category since we started tracking this indicator in 2011 and a 32.4% decline from 2021. The CSAs with the largest number of persons employed in the creative economy were Midtown (1,720), Downtown/Seton Hill (1,622) and Hampden/Remington (1,535).  

Baltimore is home to the Enoch Pratt Free Library system, one of the oldest continuously operating free public library systems in the country. Local public libraries are often an essential community asset that provide access to literature, social services, and information both in print and digital formats. Public libraries also provide spaces for residents of all ages to engage in literary and cultural events, workshops, and educational activities.  ⁵   

In Vital Signs 22, we included new data for eCards which became an option on August 12, 2019, that allows the card holder instant access to digital resources without visiting the library in person. Only Maryland residents without any other kind of Pratt Library card are eligible. This card cannot be used to check out physical materials, but the cardholder may upgrade to a full privileged card at any branch. With a wealth of free digital resources including streaming services, tutoring, eBooks and other eMaterials, eCards have been one critical way for everyone - students, families, seniors - to connect to the library during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Although this indicator is categorized within the Arts and Culture section of Vital Signs 22, it is easily associated with education indicators, as libraries are places for preschoolers to adult-learners, as well as workforce and economic development indicators, providing a place for free access to Internet resources.   

Between 2021 and 2022, the number of persons in Baltimore with library cards per 1,000 residents decreased from 235 to 215 per 1,000 residents. The CSAs with the highest number of residents with active library cards included Greater Roland Park/Poplar Hill (396 per 1,000 residents), Midtown (371.5 per 1,000 residents), Hampden/Remington (336.2 per 1,000 residents), and The Waverlies (318.3 per 1,000 residents). The CSAs with the lowest numbers of residents with active library cards included Morrell Park/Violetville (62.4 per 1,000 residents), Westport/Mount Winans/Lakeland (91.6 per 1,000 residents), and Cross-Country/Cheswolde (103.2 per 1,000 residents).  ⁶  

Public events are temporary convening areas in public rights-of-way that generally involve community participation, input, and initiative. Beyond promoting neighborhood activity, public events are directly linked to increases in civic engagement overall. Vital Signs tracks the frequency of public events through the number of event permits requested per 1,000 residents for activities such as parades, festivals, block parties, and marathons.  ⁷  

Between 2021 and 2022, the number of event permits requested per 1,000 residents in Baltimore City increased from 0.1 to 1.0 per 1,000 residents. While this rate has not yet returned to the pre-pandemic (2019) rate of 1.3, it shows a strong recovery of public events.