Thank you to the many people who have been blog contributors to, and readers of ArtsBlog over the years. ArtsBlog has long been a space where we uplifted stories from the field that demonstrated how the arts strengthen our communities socially, educationally, and economically; where trends and issues and controversies were called out; and advocacy tools were provided to help you make the case for more arts funding and favorable arts policies.

As part of Americans for the Arts’ recent Strategic Realignment Process, we were asked to evaluate our storytelling communications platforms and evolve the way we share content. As a result, we launched the Designing Our Destiny portal to explore new ways of telling stories and sharing information, one that is consistent with our longtime practice of, “No numbers without a story, and no stories without a number.”

As we put our energy into developing this platform and reevaluate our communications strategies, we have put ArtsBlog on hold. That is, you can read past blog posts, but we are not posting new ones. You can look to the Designing Our Destiny portal and our news items feed on the Americans for the Arts website for stories you would have seen in ArtsBlog in the past.

ArtsBlog will remain online through this year as we determine the best way to archive this valuable resource and the knowledge you’ve shared here.

As ever, we are grateful for your participation in ArtsBlog and thank you for your work in advancing the arts. It is important, and you are important for doing it.

In the fall of 2015, Intermedia Arts joined with Animating Democracy at Americans for the Arts to sponsor a CSA&C study designed to learn more about where community arts training is currently taking place and where there may be future interest.

The research was undertaken from September 22 to October 9, 2015 by The Center for the Study of Art & Community. The study cohort was comprised of leadership from 423 local arts agencies who had previously indicated their interest and/or involvement in community arts programming in the 2015 Americans for the Arts local arts agency census. The response rate for the 18-day study was a relatively high 34%.

The survey consisted of three sets of Likert scale questions each with multiple items, and five questions soliciting narrative responses. There were three general areas of inquiry. These were:

  • Organizational Activity: The level of community arts support and activity undertaken by responding organizations.
  • Community Activity: The level of community arts activity and support in the responding organizations constituent communities.
  • Interest Level: Respondent interest in future community arts programming as well as support in areas such as training, funding, partnerships, and programming.

This summary provides a one page overview of key findings in the study. The full report is also availale here.

Intermedia Arts, in conjunction with Americans for the Art' Animating Democracy program commissioned this national study of local arts agencies to asess community arts activity and training opportunities. The study was conducted by William Cleveland and the Center for the Study of Art and Community. Its purpose was two-fold: to provide a greater understanding of the demand and availability of arts-based community development training; and, to investigate how the benefits of Intermedia Arts' Creative Community Leadership Institute could be made accessible for a broader range of communities.This summary provides a one page overview of key findings in the study. The full report is also available here.

Infographic
The Center for the Study of Art & Community
2
May, 2016
Publisher Reference: 
Intermedia Arts
One Pagers
Is this an Americans for the Arts Publications: 
Yes
Image Thumbnail of Pub Cover: 
May 2016