Since 2016, Essay’d has received $91k in contributions and has put $138k directly back into the Detroit art economy through payments to artists, writers, editors, and workshop facilitators.
This means that every $1 contributed to Essay’d results in $1.51 being directly returned into the Detroit art economy. We can achieve a return of great than 1:1 because (i) we have very low overheads, and (ii) we leverage the contributions we receive to obtain paid programming and services work.
Note that we are happy to provide a benchmark figure for a comparable organization on request.
The breakdowns of where we receive money from and how we distribute it are shown graphically below:
Creative Impact
Writing and publishing
- Published over 150 essays on Detroit artists (an unprecedented survey of Detroit art)
- Three volumes of collected essays on Detroit artists (through Wayne State University Press)
- Published work by a diverse group of 32 writers
- Five writing/publishing workshops for new writers. Feedback is available here.
- Mentored, edited, and published work by 11 new, or very early career, writers
Curation and exhibition-making
- Seven “Art@TheMax” exhibitions that have resulted in work by leading Detroit artists being viewed by 100,000’s of patrons at Detroit’s Orchestra Hall
- Eight Essay’d group exhibitions at different galleries and institutions throughout the Detroit Metro area
- Five curatorial workshops for new curators. Feedback is available here.
- Mentored ten area curators through their first exhibitions, some of which have been very substantial.
- Programmed over 30 artist talks at local institutions
If we make conservative assumptions for the long-term economic impact of these cultural contributions, we find that each $1 contributed to Essay’d results in a total of $10.36 being returned into the Detroit art economy.
Note that we are happy to provide a benchmark figure for a comparable organization on request.
Assumptions
- Each essay results in $2k in long-term economic impact through increased sales, fellowships, commissions, etc
- Each published volume results in $5k in long-term economic impact for the same reasons
- Each new writer will bring in $5k of new paid writing and commissions
- Each Art@TheMax exhibition will result in $25K of long-term economic impact through increased sales, fellowships, commissions, etc
- Each new curator will result in $10k of long-term economic impact through exhibition funding
- Each workshop will have $10k in long-term economic impact due to increased writing and curating skills in the Detroit art world leading to increased, sales, fellowships, commissions, exhibitions, etc.