This essay looks at America’s changing communities and how they have and will interact with each other, as well as the role that the arts may play in positively impacting those changes over the next 10–15 years.
Communications/Marketing
Taking out the Guesswork: A Guide to Using Research to Build Arts Audiences
This guidebook was developed to help organizations strengthen audience-building initiatives by helping institutions understand how to build meaningful connections with different groups.
Like, Link, Share: How cultural institutions are embracing digital technology
A report on how cultural institutions are embracing technology.
Creating Connection: Building Public Will for Arts and Culture
Our work is rooted in a growing concern about the state of the arts and cultural sector in our country. Namely, we believe–and numerous studies reinforce—that the arts are essential to strong communities, bright and enriching lives, deeper understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures, and competitive industries. Yet, despite these proven benefits, the arts are often considered a “nicety rather than a necessity,” repeatedly expected to prove relevancy during budget and policy negotiations, and often perceived as a low priority for busy lives or tight household budgets. In an effort to reverse this course, we are drawing on research, advocacy, and engagement initiatives to craft a strategy to build public will for arts and culture.
Bridging the Capacity Gap: Cultural Practitioners’ Perspectives on Data
In the summer of 2013, the Cultural Data Project (CDP) partnered with Slover Linett Audience Research to engage leading researchers in a virtual dialogue about cultural data and its role in supporting the long-term health, sustainability, and effectiveness of the cultural sector. The resulting white paper, New Data Directions for the Cultural Landscape: Toward a Better-Informed, Stronger Sector, identified six key challenges that appear to be inhibiting the field from more strategically and effectively engaging in data-informed decision-making practices (see p. 3).
With that report as a starting point, the CDP sought to expand the conversation to include the perspectives of arts practitioners, artists, service organizations, and funding agencies working on the “front lines,” by hosting a series of town hall-style meetings in five cities across the country. At these meetings, participants discussed the challenges identified in the New Data Directions report, articulated other challenges they’re facing, and began to suggest solutions.
New Creatives: Mobile, Social, Versatile, Optimistic
Seventy-four percent of creative professionals view mobile technology as transforming the face of creativity and design, with seven in 10 reporting they create specifically for mobile devices, according to research released today from Adobe.
