The Louisiana Cultural Economy Initiative (LCEI) began in 2004 as an effort of the Office of Lieutenant Governor Mitchell J. Landrieu and the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, Office of Cultural Development. The LCEI supports the development of the cultural industries as a viable sector of Louisiana’s economy. Specifically, it seeks to grow the cultural economy by sustaining the people who create and preserve artistic and cultural products and assets, enhancing capacity for production, developing new markets for their creations and services, and fostering a support system that enables arts and culture to flourish.

In Louisiana, culture means business.

Louisiana’s cultural economy comprises a large sector of Louisiana’s economy accounting for Louisiana’s cultural economy is defined as the people, enterprises, and communities that transform cultural skills, knowledge, and ideas into economically productive goods, services, and places. The value chain of the cultural economy consists of:

• Originators
• Distribution and markets
• Production capacity
• Support systems

Louisiana Cultural Economy Initiatives:

Arts in Education:  By the 2010-11 school year, every Louisiana public school is mandated to have music and the arts present within the school. The program will help build a creative workforce for the future and develop audiences and consumers for Louisiana artists and cultural products.

Cultural Districts:  This provides tax incentives for investing in Cultural Districts and allows local governments to designate Cultural Districts for the purpose of revitalizing communities by creating hubs of cultural activity. One-of-a-kind artworks are sold free of sales tax within cultural districts, and the rehabilitation of historic properties is encouraged with income tax exemptions.

Film Industry:  These tax incentive programs have made Louisiana the 3rd largest film production hub in the United States and the leading state in the buildup of infrastructure. To complement the industry, new legislation grants refundable income tax credits related to musical and theatrical productions as well as musical and theatrical facility infrastructure projects.

Louisiana Historic Building Recovery Grants:  Aims to preserve the distinctive culture and history built into communities through the state’s iconic architecture. $20 million has been invested in 546 historic properties, enabling families and small business to return home after the hurricanes of 2005.

Louisiana Main Street:  A comprehensive revitalization program designed to promote the historic and economic redevelopment of traditional commercial areas in rural and urban Louisiana. The Main Street program improves all aspects in a Central Business District (CBD), producing both tangible and intangible benefits. Its structure improves economic management, strengthens public participation, and makes the CBD a great place to visit. The program invests in 35 Main Street communities. Since January 2004, the program has created 438 new businesses, 1,856 new jobs, and $45.5 million in private investments.

Louisiana Historic Preservation Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program:  The program has generated more than $1.7 billion in private investments in Louisiana’s historic properties since its inception. Louisiana ranks in the top ten states for investments leveraged and jobs created using this program, which allows historic architecture to help fuel commerce.

Website and e-market:  LouisianaTravel.com is the main web site through which visitors can gather information about the state’s extensive tourism industry. Newly featured on the site, the Louisiana e-market is an e-commerce area initiative that allows visitors to shop for Louisiana cultural products.

African American Heritage Trail:  Unveiled in February 2008, the trail is a collection of 26 sites around the state that showcase to the rest of the world the history, culture and contributions of Louisiana’s African Americans.

Atchafalaya Heritage Tax Credit Program:  The program serves as a financial incentive for the growth of heritage and culture-based businesses in the area that are normally excluded from traditional economic development programs. The program enables two tax credits: the Heritage Small Business Tax Credit and the New Employee Tax Credit. In September 2006, Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Trace was established as a National Heritage Area, authorizing as much $10 million over fifteen years for preservation, conservation, education, and cultural efforts for this high-priority area of the state.

Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album:  Launched this year by the Recording Academy as a new GRAMMY category, Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience were awarded the first GRAMMY in this category.

Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation:  A major force and partner in growing Louisiana’s cultural industries, the Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation is a private, not-for-profit foundation whose mission is to forge public/private partnerships that provide critical relief and investment for Louisiana’s artists and cultural organizations. The Foundation’s three-year strategic plan concentrates on the economic health and quality of life of the state’s entire cultural economy workforce.