Based on research and responses to a survey distributed in August 2009 to the IFACCA network, the report examined a range of lobbying, advertising and grassroots arts advocacy campaigns that national arts funding agencies have undertaken over the past decade. The report also explores which strategies raised awareness of the arts and which backfired. The report is full of useful information, including the finding that a more effective way to appeal to parents is to use specific phrases such as “your kids” or “your children” rather than the generic “kids” or “children.” Other information — such as finding that many find the term “the arts” vague and confusing — present new challenges for arts advocates as we consider our work for the next year.
Arts Funding
The Power of Art and Artists: 5th Annual Otis Report
The Power of Art and Artists is the theme of the 2010 Otis Report on the Creative Economy of the Los Angeles Region Presented by Otis College of Art and Design. The report, which includes a 5-year employment projection, investigates the direct and indirect economic impact of industries such as Fine and Performing Arts, Digital Media, Entertainment, Architecture, Interior Design, Fashion, Toy and Communications Arts. This is the fourth consecutive year that Otis College of Art and Design has commissioned this analysis and presented real numbers for the business of creativity in both Los Angeles County and Orange County. SEE FULL REPORT
Economic Impact of the Nonprofit Arts on Orange County
Before the Orange County Business Committee for the Arts dissolved in 2010, it made preparations for a final Economic Impact of the Nonprofit Arts on Orange County study through the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University. The Center has conducted this study every four years since 1990 with largely the same local arts organizations participating. According to the report, nonprofit arts organizations contribute nearly $500 million to the local economy.
Arts & Social Change Grantmaking Report: 2010 “Trend or Tipping Point”
In 2009, Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts, launched the Arts & Social Change Mapping Initiative. Supported by the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Open Society Foundations, CrossCurrents Foundation, and Lambent Foundation, this initiative sought to identify and profile existing sources of private- and public-sector funding for arts for change work and, in so doing, to gain insight into the current state of support for this work. The culminating report, Trend or Tipping Point: Arts & Social Change Grantmaking, draws together quantitative and qualitative data from a survey, interviews, and review of grantmaker conducted reports.
AFTA Roundtable Report: The Role of the Arts in Strengthening and Inspiring the 21st Century Global Community
In envisioning a greater role for the arts in cultural diplomacy and engagement, thirty six national and international public and private sector leaders met at the Sundance Resort and Preserve in Utah on September 24-26, 2009. There they acknowledged the multiple roles the arts can play in strengthening cultural relations globally. Americans for the Arts believes this report may serve as a launching point to a new global dialogue between the public and private sectors and within our communities on the role the arts can play in improving relations between the U.S. and the world.
Arts for All: Case Studies in LA County
In 2008, the Arts for All Executive Committee commissioned Lynn Waldorf to conduct a series of case studies on the eleven vanguard school districts that joined the initiative within its first five years. The case studies document the progress made and issues confronted by each school district during the early stages of planning and implementing their arts plans. Key findings include:
- Half the Vanguard Districts adopted standards-based sequential curricula in music and visual arts within three years of initiating implementation. Fewer than 20 percent have added dance or theatre.
- 82% of Vanguard Districts reported they joined the Arts for All initiative to replace a patchwork approach to arts education with sequential instruction. Approximately half were also motivated by the opportunity to improve equitable access for all students.
- All the Vanguard Districts had either hired or assigned someone to coordinate the arts education reform effort–a factor that was considered critical to achieving their goals. In general, districts with full-time coordinators in administrative positions were able to progress the furthest.
