An increasing number of states are establishing arts or cultural districts. This policy brief from the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) outlines the challenges and success factors of state-level cultural district programs. (PDF)
State Arts Agencies
Cultivating Demand for the Arts: Arts Learning, Arts Engagement, and State Arts Policy
Recent reports and commentaries point to a growing gap between the quantity of artworks produced by American artists and arts organizations and the desire and ability of many Americans to experience those artworks. This report offers a framework for thinking about supply and demand in the arts and suggests that too little attention has been paid to cultivating demand. It identifies the roles of different factors, particularly arts learning, in stimulating interest in the arts and enriching individuals’ experiences of artworks. It also describes the institutional infrastructure that provides arts learning
for Americans of all ages.
State Arts Policy: Trends and Future Prospects
State arts agencies–key players within the U.S. system of public support for the arts–face growing economic, political, and demographic challenges to the roles and missions they adopted when founded in the mid-1960s. This report, the fourth and final in a multiyear study, looks at state arts agencies’ efforts to rethink their roles and missions, reflecting on what the changes may mean for the direction of state arts policy. Drawing on readings, discussions, and analyses conducted for the study, the author concludes that if current trends and strategies continue, future state arts policy is likely to focus more on developing the creative economy, improving arts education, and encouraging a broader spectrum of state residents to participate in the arts. To achieve these goals, state arts agencies will likely become more involved in policy advocacy, coalition building, convening, and gathering and disseminating information than in grantmaking. The transition to this future poses some risks for the agencies and for the arts community, but it also offers the opportunity to more effectively promote the conditions in which the arts can thrive.
Policy Partners: Making the Case for State Investment in Culture
Innovations in State Cultural Policy is a project designed to help cultural leaders and decision makers strengthen their states’ cultural activity. Through illustrative studies, guides and covenings, the project aims to spark collaborations–state-level coalitions that span the arts, humanities, folklife and historic preservation–that can then work with state policy makers to increase the audiences and funding for culture. This guide to action seeks to illuminate diverse, innovative policy mechanisms that can be adapted by other states.
Legislative Appropriations Annual Survey, FY 2010
This report provides a comprehensive review of state arts agency revenue sources and legislative appropriations to each state arts agency. Also included is information on state budget trends and appropriations changes over time. Detailed tables allow for state-to-state comparison of SAA revenue streams, per capita funding and national rankings. This is an essential publication for understanding public funding for the arts in the United States.
