This research examines if and how donor priorities and an organization’s location, subscriber base, and marketing actions affect the extent to which audiences represent the diversity of the organization’s community. It is part of a series of recent publications intended to help arts and cultural organizations contend with the current crisis of systemic racism. It expands
on a question raised in our white paper In It for the Long Haul, co-authored with Jill Robinson: “When we re-open, whom will we gather?” Audience diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are anchored in the notion of community orientation, which surfaced as an essential cornerstone for attaining sustainability in the two-part series of reports on The Alchemy of HighPerforming Arts Organizations, co-published with The Wallace Foundation.

SMU DataArts recognizes that our society is characterized by a complex web of inequities and we are committed to making research, tools, and resources accessible to all persons regardless of race, age, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, and/or socioeconomic status. SMU DataArts strive to conduct our work without bias or preference and we value input and creativity from diverse perspectives. We use data and evidence to shine a light on both excellence and inequities within the arts and culture sector. We are committed to advancing equity, recognizing that it is a continuous process requiring ongoing input from the field, accountability, and evaluation.