In this piece, Dennie Palmer Wolf imagines the possibilities for teaching artists in the context of COVID-19. She writes “This time, strange as it is, is not time out; it’s time to plunge deep in.”
General
U.S. Patterns of Arts Participation
The Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA) is the nation’s largest, most representative survey of adult patterns of arts participation in the United States. This report presents top?line statistics from the 2017 SPPA about U.S. adults’ participation in arts activities and examines patterns of participation in different art forms and genres. It considers the frequency of people’s arts involvement, the types of venues where such activities occurred, and why these Americans chose to participate.
The Art of Life and Death: 14 year follow-up analyses of associations between arts engagement and mortality
Receptive arts engagement could have a protective association with longevity in older adults. This association might be partly explained by differences in cognition, mental health, and physical activity among those who do and do not engage in the arts, but remains even when the model is adjusted for these factors.
Paying the Artist
The Arts Council has published Paying the Artist: An Arts Council policy on the fair and equitable remuneration and contracting of artists. As Ireland’s national arts agency, it is committed to the principle of fair remuneration to artists with a special emphasis on equitable remuneration for equality and diversity in the arts. The best-practice principles include transparency on policies, open communications with artists, continuing improvements in rates, clear and comprehensive contracts with artists, clear accounting of payments and fees to artists, and protection of artists’ copyrights. The publication also includes a time line for implementation, clearly stating actions, desired outcomes and deliverables.
Digital Culture 2019
Nesta, in affiliation with Arts Council England, is continuing to research the role of technology within arts and cultural organizations in the United Kingdom with its fifth Digital Culture survey report. While American arts organizations were not included in the survey, the report speaks to broader digital changes within arts and cultural institutions. The 2019 survey found stark differences between small and large organizations when it comes to technology and data capabilities. Unlike large organizations, small organizations reported little to no change in revenue generation from digital technology. The survey also found a 9% decrease in the proportion of organizations that agreed their senior management was knowledgeable about digital technology from 2017.
2019 Profile of Local Arts Agencies
This report focuses on the fiscal year 2019 findings from our Profile of Local Arts Agencies. The Profile is an annual survey of a core set of LAA indicators-budget trends including sources of revenues and categories of expenditure, partnerships, community development, programs and services, diversity and equity policies/initiatives-that we supplement with rotating modules, enabling us to dig deeper into specific aspects of LAA work. The inaugural 2018 Profile included modules focused on (1) equitable grantmaking and investment in the arts and (2) LAA staff salaries and benefits. The 2019 Profile included modules on (1) partnerships with non-arts organizations and (2) local and state option taxes used to fund the arts. Each module has its own separate analysis available on our website at www.AmericansForTheArts.org/LAAProfile.
