From the Field

State Level Transportation Artist in Residence Programs

Smart Growth America released the report Transportation Artists in Residence: A Landscape of an Emerging Field (TAIR), authored by CAIR Lab. The report covers findings from examining artist-in-residence programs in state transportation agencies in conjunction with leaders of the Minnesota and Washington State departments of transportation (DOT). The TAIR report offers key recommendations for DOT staff and artists to implement future TAIR programs.

In addition, federal cultural policy fellows from CAIR Lab recently authored a series of policy papers addressing cross-sector arts collaboration. Published in partnership with NASAA, the papers address the strength of cross-sector collaboration policy and programmatic opportunities for arts + transportation, arts + infrastructure, and arts + health for social cohesion.

Clear Evidence: Arts and Creativity Drive Economies and Build Resilience

New research commissioned by NASAA shows that the arts are a highly effective economic investment that drives state economies, regardless of how other economic sectors perform. The Arts and Culture Sector’s Contributions to Economic Recovery and Resiliency in the United States (2001-2021 Update), conducted by Prof. Douglas S. Noonan of Indiana University Indianapolis’s Paul H. O’Neil School of Public and Environmental Affairs, builds on Professor Noonan’s previous work showing that the arts and culture contributed to economic growth following the Great Recession. This new report provides even stronger evidence pertaining to the significant effects of arts and culture production contributing to postpandemic recovery. See the Key Findings and Technical Report.

A blog post by National Endowment for the Arts Research and Analysis Director Sunil Iyengar concisely highlights the strength of the research and the impact of its findings.

Cultural Institution Investment Policies

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has released a new study, Cultural Institutions’ Investment Policies, Practices, and Performance, that focuses on investment management, objectives and performance for museums, zoos, gardens and performing arts organizations across the country. It surveyed 226 cultural institutions of all sizes to gather their insights and best practices on investing objectives, strategies and performance across vehicles ranging from equities and bonds to private equity and hedge funds. A recent webinar by AAM dives into museum philanthropy and membership planning.

2022 Theatre Facts

The 2022 edition of Theatre Facts is now available from Theatre Communications Group (TCG). This annual report, which surveyed over 100 theaters, examines the attendance, performance and financial state of professional not-for-profit theatres. Additional analysis is presented on nearly 2,000 TCG member theatres using IRS Forms 990.

Guaranteed Artist Income and Employment Evaluations

Creatives Rebuild New York, an organization dedicated to supporting artists as workers, has released new evaluation reports on its guaranteed income for artists and artist employment initiatives. External partners conducted research into the programs’ processes to provide an overview of how the programs were conducted and then share lessons learned from the ongoing programs. For example, the guaranteed income evaluation shares initial reports of positive impact for artists, the usefulness of participatory design process, and the challenges of defining and verifying artistic status and financial need. Recommendations are available for other organizations considering this work, and additional evaluation will be conducted on the programs’ impacts once the programs finish.