Newcomers: NASAA Resources to Get You Started

As we move into a new fiscal year for most state and jurisdictional arts agencies (SAAs), I am struck by how many new people have joined the ranks of SAA staffers. If you are among our newer colleagues, please accept my warm welcome to the state arts agency community and NASAA! It is always a pleasure and an honor to welcome new folks into this field. I look forward to getting to know more members and appreciate the new energy you bring to our work. For those who are new (and those who might appreciate a refresher), I’d like to point out a few of NASAA’s important resources. Our website enjoys a great density of resources, and here are some tools that can be helpful early on.

NASAA’s Creative Economy State Profiles are very popular because they’re eminently useful. Fueled by a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), NASAA created interactive dashboards that allow you to explore state level creative economy figures, as well as employment and compensation figures for the creative workforce. These annually updated profiles also provide opportunities to compare the arts and culture sector to other sectors of the economy, nationally and state by state. Supported by BEA data, this is an authoritative tool for sharing the economic importance of arts and creativity across the country and within your state.

Rural Prosperity through the Arts and Creative Sector is a rural action guide for governors and states. Produced in a collaboration between the NEA, the National Governors Association and NASAA, this guide provides policymakers and practitioners with actionable strategies for states’ creative sectors to benefit rural communities.

NASAA’s State Arts Agency Equity Strategies resources page highlights equity practices from member agencies. These colleagues employ a wide range of approaches customized for their individual state environments. Practices continue to evolve as SAAs work to uphold their public policy purpose to benefit all communities. The resources include Ohio’s Equity GAP Project, a partnership between NASAA and the Ohio Arts Council. The project examined funding patterns in Ohio and helped the Arts Council work toward its ongoing goal of making arts funding more accessible to all Ohio communities. Also among the web resources is In Pursuit of Equity, four case studies that explore how SAAs have integrated equity principles across multiple aspects of their work. Strategies in California, Maryland, Massachusetts and South Carolina are shared within this research report, which was produced in collaboration with the Washington State Arts Commission.

Arts, Health and Community Well-Being acknowledges that SAAs are primed to be leaders in a shifting health and wellness space that embraces arts and creativity as a pathway to healthier people and communities. Many SAAs are already including health and wellness within their programmatic portfolios. A recent partnership between NASAA and the National League of Cities (NLC) highlighted innovative state arts and health strategies in multiple ways. We promoted Vermont’s important postpandemic work to reactivate civic infrastructure through the arts. In making the case for how arts and creativity strengthen individual and community well-being, NASAA and NLC also published a handy infographic to help you explore this issue. For a deeper exploration of SAA work in this space, check out NASAA’s companion webinar, Leveraging Partnerships in the Arts to Strengthen Public Health.

Admittedly, there are a great many tools and reports to explore on the NASAA website. Over the course of time, they’re all worth checking out. Beyond surfing for available resources, however, always remember that Team NASAA is on hand and available to help with questions, brainstorming and more. Never hesitate to reach out. We’re always happy to hear from members and most eager to be of service.

Have a great summer, everyone!