With the perspective that “we are witnessing a dynamic shift in [cultural] participation, both in amount and in form,” this series of case studies was prepared by the Wallace Foundation to help arts organizations attract and engage new audiences, in order to help secure their artistic and financial sustainability. The case studies examine efforts to increase participation in four American arts organizations, including a choir, a theatre company, an opera company and a museum. The reports delve into turning single-ticket purchasers into repeat attendees, generating interest and participation among young adults, creating opportunities for families to attend the opera, and countering stereotypes concerning classical music audiences.
Civic Engagement/Community Development
California’s Arts Ecology
California has 11,000 arts and culture nonprofits, a number that places the state ahead of most nations in the world. Californians are more likely to participate than other Americans, but arts involvement and nonprofit organizations are unevenly spread across California’s geographic and demographic communities.
New findings generated by Markusen Economic Research and commissioned by The James Irvine Foundation offer fresh illustrations of the California nonprofit arts sector and the people who take part in it.
Orange County Workforce Indicators 2011/2012
Creativity Sector named as one of four drivers of Orange County employment:
Orange County’s increasing focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) as a critical competitive advantage has evolved into an emphasis on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, ARTS, Math). The Creativity sector is the market impact of businesses and individuals involved in producing cultural, artistic, and design goods and services. More specifically, it consists of creative professionals and enterprises that take powerful, original ideas and transform them into practical and often innovative goods, or inspire us with their artistry.
Growing Philanthropy in the United States
In the United States, charitable giving is estimated to be around two percent of average household
disposable (after tax) income (Giving USA Foundation 2011). Regrettably, this is also the 40-year average
for this figure, indicating that, despite an increasing effort on the part of nonprofits (Sargeant and Jay
2010), individuals today are no more generous than their predecessors were over four decades ago. Thirty-two recommendations follow.
ON DEMAND WEBINAR: Building Parent Involvement in Schools through the Arts
If schools are to succeed in reaching every child academically, they need the support of a parent or primary caregiver to achieve this goal. This session will discuss the body of research that demonstrates how the arts can engage families in schools and discuss key strategies that are currently working in both public and charter schools.
Speakers include:
- Michael Sikes, Senior Associate for Research and Policy, the Arts Education Partnership, Washington D.C. and author of “Building Parent Involvement through the Arts” (2007)
- Sarah Ogeto , Program Coordinator, Illinois Parent Information Resource Center at Columbia College Chicago
- Joanne Vena, Director of School Partnerships, Center for Community Arts Partnerships, Columbia College Chicago
- Angela Fowler, PIRC Program Manager, Harris Center for Early Childhood Education, Columbia College Chicago
Changing relations: Class, education and cultural capital
–Analysis of survey data on Norwegian students social recruitment and cultural habits in 1998 and 2008.
–Particular emphasis on the attitudes and knowledge in regard to music, literature and television shows.
–A major decline in interest in and knowledge of most forms of traditional legitimate culture is found.
–Legitimate culture is thus marginalized in one sense, but also increasingly linked to privileged social backgrounds.
