Research is one of the essential pieces to effective case-making for the arts. In 2016, our research team launched two major projects: one to quantify and more fully understand the field of local arts agencies and another to measure typical American attitudes toward the arts and arts education.
Local Arts Agency Census
While completed on a small scale in 2010, in 2015, Americans for the Arts partnered with the National Endowment for the Arts to conduct The Local Arts Agency Census, the most comprehensive survey of the local arts agency (LAA) field ever conducted. Its purpose was to illuminate the ever adapting role LAAs play in ensuring the arts have a vital presence in every community.
A total of 1,127 LAAs responded, providing invaluable details about their budgets, programs, partnerships, grantmaking, diversity, and staffing. The most important aspect that all LAAs share is the goal of enabling diverse forms of arts and culture to thrive, ensuring their broad accessibility to the public and building healthier communities through the arts. While LAAs across the country share the same goals and many tactics to achieve them, the LAA Census sheds light on the intricacies of the field.
Public Opinion Poll
In collaboration with Ipsos Public Affairs—the third largest survey research firm in the world—Americans for the Arts polled 3, 020 adults ages 18 and over about their views on topics such as personal engagement in the arts, the personal benefits and well-being that comes from engaging in the arts, and if/how those benefits extend more broadly to the community, and support for arts education and government arts funding. “Americans Speak Out About the Arts,” revealed that the American public is more broadly engaged in the arts than previously understood. The majority believe that the arts play a vital role in personal well-being and healthier communities, the arts are core to a well-rounded education, and there should be more government funding for the arts.
Findings include:
- 82 percent of Americans—regardless if they attend or not—believe that arts institutions like museums, theaters, and concert halls are important to business and the economy.
- 67 percent believe that the arts unify the community regardless of age, race, and ethnicity, and 62 percent agree that the arts help improve the understanding of other cultures.
- 88 percent believe the arts are part of a well-rounded education for K-12 students, including 56 percent who strongly agree (versus just 7 percent who disagree).
- 55 percent support an increase from the current 45 cents to $1.00 per person on federal grants to arts organizations, while just 19 percent disapprove.
