From the Field

Tech as Art

The National Endowment for the Arts, in collaboration with the Ford Foundation and the Knight Foundation, has just released Tech as Art: Supporting Artists Who Use Technology as a Creative Medium. This report, the result of a two-year field scan, examines contemporary creative practices and communities that center digital technology in their work. Combining research from interviews, roundtables, case studies and a literature review, the report explores challenges in this field and offers recommendations for those looking to support these creative practices and the larger creative economy.

Pandemic’s Effects on Cultural Nonprofits vs. Others

The Center for Effective Philanthropy published a report, Persevering through Crisis: The State of Nonprofits, which compares two surveys of 160+ nonprofit leaders conducted in May 2020 and February 2021 to see how the pandemic has affected their organizations. It found that, while foundation and government support (such as the Paycheck Protection Program) helped, arts and cultural organizations were hit the hardest during the pandemic compared to other nonprofits.

Data Update on Mask Wearing at Cultural Venues

Colleen Dilenschneider of IMPACTS Experience released a new analysis of data on public attitudes toward mask wearing, Can Cultural Entities Remove Mask Policies Now? This report on mask wearing, the third in a series of updates, includes new survey results from nearly 2,000 U.S. adults who intend to visit cultural organizations. The data suggest that households with children under the age of 13 are much more likely to want cultural organizations to retain a mask policy than those without young children. However, the overall population still thinks indoor mask protocols are safe and is willing to abide by them.

How Museums Can Support Creative Aging

Museums and Creative Aging: A Healthful Partnership, by the American Alliance of Museums, is a new report on creative aging and the role museums can play in fostering spaces for active aging. The research includes a demographic overview of aging, five case studies and key lessons learned from an earlier Seeding Vitality Arts in Museums initiative. The report concludes with detailed strategies for investing in on-site and online activities that support creative aging, actively countering ageist narratives, and supporting new research and partnerships to advance age equity.

The Healing Power of the Arts for Those in Prison

The California Arts Council has published a report, Flowers Grown in Concrete: Exploring the Healing Power of the Arts for People Experiencing Incarceration, that evaluates its prison arts program, which started in 2017. Using a mixed-methods approach to evaluation, researchers conducted interviews and focus groups and analyzed quantitative data on the Arts in Corrections program. Researchers concluded that Arts in Corrections has helped those incarcerated heal from trauma, strengthen their family relationships and build successful lives after they are released.

Impacts of Arts Education on Boston Students

A new academic article, The Arts Advantage: Impacts of Arts Education on Boston Students, has contributed important new findings for the arts education field. Using more than a decade of longitudinal data from Boston public schools for more than 600,000 students (a very robust study length and sample size), researchers investigated whether variation in arts education affects students’ attendance, discipline and standardized test scores, as well as school climate, engagement and students’ enthusiasm. Researchers found participation in arts classes had a positive effect on attendance, particularly for chronically absent students. In addition to the article, the National Endowment for the Arts has produced a short podcast discussing the report and its findings.