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Research & Reports on the Arts
Reports and studies on the arts as they relate to education, the economy, communities, quality of life, and other aspects of our lives are of vital importance. The California Arts Council keeps the public informed with the latest and most important research information through its Arts Inform site. To have us include an Arts Inform item, please submit information to the web page editor at editor@caartscouncil.com. . Some items may be more appropriate for our Arts in the Media, Arts Insider News, Arts Events, or California Arts Stories sections. Opinion pieces or items with a strong editorial event may not be posted in this section. The information in this section is provided as a service only, and the California Arts Council does not endorse or support the organizations listed. Opinion pieces or items with strong editorial content may not be posted in this section, and posting of Arts Inform items is at the discretion of the California Arts Council. Questions and/or concerns about listings may be directed to the web editor at editor@caartscouncil.com . Arts Education/YouthArts Funding Cultural Tourism Economic Impact General Health/Medical Other Arts Education/YouthThe Art of Collaboration: Promising Practices for Integrating the Arts and School Reform (2008)Arts Education Partnership 04-01-2008 This second publication in the Arts Education Partnership's research and policy brief series describes promising practices for building community partnerships that integrate the arts into urban education systems. The publication, which is the result of a roundtable conversation among the directors of eight of the demonstration sites participating in The Ford Foundation's Integrating the Arts and Education Reform Initiative, details the sites' early strategies and successes in the areas of organizational infrastructure; partnership development; integrated arts education; and communications and advocacy. Contact: Arts Education Partnership staff aep@ccsso.orgThe Imagine Nation: Moving America's Children Beyond Average The Imagine Nation coalition with the Arts Education Partnership 01-11-2008 A coalition of groups concerned about education and creativity, including the Arts Education Partnership, present a case statement that outlines issues with education and imagination in the U.S. (See press release summarizing the case statement and partnership.) Dick Deasy, the Executive Director of the Arts Education Partnership, presented a power point on The Imagine Nation with information from this case statement and on a January 2008 poll on imagination and education (see poll press release) at the California Arts Council's conference on March 4, 2008. Contact: Arts Education Partnership 202-336-7028After-School Toolkit: Tips, Techniques and Templates for Improving Program Quality Irvine Foundation and Public/Private Ventures 02-01-2008 This toolkit, commissioned by Irvine and developed by Public/Private Ventures, offers program managers a practical, hands-on guide for implementing quality programming in the after-school hours. The kit includes the tools and techniques that increased the quality of literacy-focused programming and helped improve student reading gains in the Foundation's Communities Organizing Resources to Advance Learning (CORAL) initiative--an eight-year, $58 million after-school endeavor to improve education achievement in low-performing schools in five California cities. Contact: Irvine Foundation staff 415.777.2244Supporting Success: Why and How to Improve Quality in After-School Programs Irvine Foundation and Public/Private Ventures 02-01-2008 This report, commissioned by Irvine and written by Public/Private Ventures, examines the program improvement strategies, step-by-step, that allowed the Foundation's CORAL initiative to achieve the levels of quality needed to boost the academic success of young students. The report also makes specific policy and funding suggestions for improving program performance. Communities Organizing Resources to Advance Learning (CORAL) was an eight-year, $58 million after-school initiative aimed at improving education achievement in low-performing schools in five California cities. Contact: Irvine Foundation staff 415.777.2244Advancing Achievement: Findings from an Independent Evaluation of a Major After-School Initiative Irvine Foundation and Public/Private Ventures 02-01-2008 This report presents full outcomes research on CORAL (Communities Organizing Resources to Advance Learning initiative), an eight-year, $58 million after-school initiative aimed at improving education achievement in low-performing schools in five California cities. Findings in this report demonstrate the relationship between high-quality literacy programming and academic gains, and they highlight the potential role that quality programs may play in the ongoing drive to improve academic achievement. Commissioned by Irvine, this report was written by Public/Private Ventures. This is the main document that provides information for the brief What Matters, What Works. Contact: Irvine Foundation staff 415.777.2244What Matters, What Works: Advancing Achievement After School Irvine Foundation 02-01-2008 This brief underscores the potential of after-school programs to advance children's academic achievement. It shines a light on what matters most for programs that strive to promote academic success--namely, program quality and youth engagement--and it suggests what works by linking these program attributes to academic benefits. Based on the full outcomes report "Advancing Achievement," by Public/Private Ventures, the brief draws lessons from the Foundation's Communities Organizing Resources to Advance Learning (CORAL) initiative. CORAL was an eight-year, $58 million after-school initiative aimed at improving education achievement in low-performing schools in five California cities. Contact: Irvine Foundation staff 415.777.2244NYC's First Annual Arts in Schools Report New York City Department of Education 03-06-2008 In March 2008, New York City's Department of Education released its first Annual Arts in Schools Report, which provides the most comprehensive analysis of arts education in New York City public schools ever produced. The new report documents the comeback of arts education since it was nearly eliminated during the 1970s, and identifies areas where schools are excelling, as well as where targeted interventions are needed to improve results. It provides student participation and access to arts programs data during the 2006-07 school year -- the year before the City's ArtsCount initiative began -- and will therefore serve as a baseline for measuring performance under ArtsCount, which was announced last summer to enhance and provide greater accountability for arts education in New York City. Contact: Stu Loeser or Dawn Walker (212) 788-2958Improved Academic Performance for Arts-Involved Students Americans for the Arts 01-01-2006 A one-pager that shows improved academic performance from students who participate in the arts. This is one of many short documents from Americans for the Arts. Contact: Americans for the Arts 212-223-2787Visual And Performing Arts Framework For California Public Schools California Department of Education 01-01-2004 This framework is designed to help classroom teachers and other educators develop curriculum and instruction in the arts so that all students will meet or exceed the content standards in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts. In chapter 1, the framework presents guiding principles for instruction in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts. The following chapter guides the planning, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive, standards-based visual and performing arts education programs. Chapter 3 presents the key content standards for kindergarten through grade 8 that provide a beginning point for standards-based instruction; the complete content standards in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts for kindergarten through grade 8; and the content standards for the beginning or proficient level and advanced level for grades 9 through 12. Chapter 4 guides curriculum development for comprehensive, standards-based visual and performing arts education programs. Information on the purpose and forms of assessment in the arts is provided in chapter 5. This is followed by a chapter presenting details on teacher preparation and professional development for each arts discipline. Finally, criteria for the evaluation of instructional materials in the arts for kindergarten through grade eight is provided in the closing chapter. The framework also includes a glossary of terms and an extensive list of selected references and resources. Appended are: (1) Education Code Sections Governing Arts Education Programs; (2) Recommendations for Clarification of the New Visual and Performing Arts Requirement for Freshman Admission to the University of California and the California State University; (3) Careers in the Visual and Performing Arts; (4) Continuum for Implementing Arts Education Programs; (5) Copyright Law and the Visual and Performing Arts; (6) Guidelines for the Safe Use of Art and Craft Materials; and (7) Funding for Arts Education Programs. The original print version is accompanied by a CD of the artwork featured throughout the book. Contact: California Department of Education 916-319-0827An Unfinished Canvas. Arts Education in California: Taking Stock of Policies and Practices Center for Education Policy 01-01-2007 California's goals for educating our children in and about the arts already are on the books. But as Tough Choices or Tough Times National Center on Education and the Economy 01-01-2007 The National Center on Education and the Economy is a not-for-profit organization created to develop proposals for building the world class education and training system that the United States must have if it is to continue to be a world class economy. The National Center engages in policy analysis and development and works collaboratively with others at the local, state and The Arts and Academic Improvement: What the Evidence Shows Project Zero, Harvard University 01-01-2001 Project Zero's mission is to understand and enhance learning, thinking, and creativity in the arts, as well as humanistic and scientific disciplines, at the individual and institutional levels. Contact:Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning ArtsEdge 01-01-2000 When young people are involved with art, something changes in their lives. We've often witnessed the rapt expressions on the faces of such young people. Advocates for the arts often use photographs of smiling faces to document the experience. But in a society that values measurements and uses data-driven analysis to inform decisions about allocation of scarce resources, photographs of smiling faces are not enough to gain or even retain support. Such SAT Scores and the Arts Americans for the Arts 01-01-2007 Data from The College Board shows that students who take four years of arts and music classes while in high school score 103 points better on their SATs than students who took only one-half year or less (scores of 1,083 vs. 980, respectively). Contact: Americans for the Arts 212-223-2787The Benefits of Art Programs to At-Risk Youth Americans for the Arts 01-01-2007 The YouthARTS Development Project demonstrated the efficacy of arts programs for at-risk youth in three cities. Some findings from the project are graphically explained in this one-page reference document. The project was a partnership between Americans for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Justice, and is one of many short reference documents from Americans for the Arts. Contact: Americans for the Arts 212-223-2787Arts Instruction of Public School Students in the First and Third Grades National Center for Education Statistics 07-16-2006 This Issue Brief uses the First- and Third-Grade Spring Teacher Questionnaires of the ECLS-K to examine the changes over time from first to third grade in how often young children are exposed to arts education in the general classroom. In both first and third grade, most public school students received instruction in music and art at least weekly, while instruction in dance and theater occurred less often within each year. About 32 percent of students in high poverty public schools never received theater instruction in either grade compared with 24 percent of students in low poverty public schools. Contact: Edith McArthur Edith.McArthur@ed.gov (202) 502-7393Teaching the Art of Writing Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) 06-01-2006 Teaching the Art of Writing: An arts-based approach to writing captivates reluctant writers. Contact: Beth Olshansky Beth.Olshansky@comcast.netArts Funding2007 National Survey of Business Support to the ArtsBusiness Committee for the Arts, Inc 01-03-2008 Business support to the arts totaled $3.16 billion in 2006 according to the triennial national survey released by the Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. (BCA), a national not-for-profit organization established in 1967 to bring business and the arts together. Titled The BCA Report: National Survey of Business Support to the Arts 2007, this survey revealed a 5% decline in support in comparison to the $3.32 billion business allocated to the arts in 2003. Contact: Business Committee for the Arts, Inc tharrigan@bcainc.org (718) 482-9900Legislative Appropriations Annual Survey, FY 2007 National Assembly of State Arts Agencies 01-01-2007 This report provides a comprehensive review of state arts agency revenue sources and legislative appropriations to each state arts agency. Also included is information on state budget trends and appropriations changes over time. Detailed tables allow for state-to-state comparison of SAA revenue streams, per capita funding and national rankings. This is an essential publication for understanding public funding for the arts in the United States. Contact: National Assembly of State Arts Agencies nasaa@nasaa-arts.org (202) 347-6352Foundation Yearbook: Facts and Figures on Private and Community Foundations The Foundation Center 06-01-2007 In June, The Foundation Center released its Foundation Yearbook: Facts and Figures on Private and Community Foundations, which documents changes in the actual number, giving, and assets of all active U.S. foundations. The report provides an overview of the state of foundation giving in the current year and beyond; comparisons of foundation activities by foundation size; and breakdowns of foundation resources by geographic location and grantmaker type. Contact: The Foundation Center links@foundationcenter.org (212) 620-4230Private Sector Philanthropy Americans for the Arts 01-01-2007 Giving to the arts by individuals, foundations, and corporations was $12.51 billion in 2006, Sources of Revenue for Nonprofit Arts Organizations Americans for the Arts 01-01-2007 Nonprofit arts organizations are generally able to earn only half of the money it takes to sustain their operation. The other half of their revenue must be raised through contributions and grants. Even small fluctuations in contributed revenue can mean deficits for many organizations. Earned income is the largest source of revenue for the typical nonprofit arts organization. Yet most Local Arts Agency Statistics Americans for the Arts 01-01-2007 Local arts agencies are a growing presence in communities across the country. They provide vital NEA Appropriations History, 1996-2007 Americans for the Arts 01-01-2007 A quick, visual history describing the National Endowment for the Arts' appropriations funding over a ten-year span. This is one of the many short reference documents from Americans for the Arts. Contact: Americans for the Arts 212-223-2787Cultural TourismNational Cultural Tourism and Spending in 2007Americans for the Arts 01-01-2007 Graphic information about the percentage of adult travelers that included cultural events on trips of more than fifty miles. This is one of many short reference documents from Americans for the Arts. Contact: Americans for the Arts 212-223-2787Economic ImpactThe Creative Economy InitiativeNew England Foundation for the Arts 01-01-2001 The Creative Economy Initiative (CEI) is a partnership of New England's business, government, cultural and educational leaders committed to strengthening the region's economic vitality by fostering its creative economy. This initiative has successfully linked businesses and organizations from economic sectors that had previously functioned only autonomously, and is unique in its regional approach. The involvement of all six New England states sets the project apart from state-based economic impact studies. Contact: New England Foundation for the Arts research@nefa.org 617-951-0010The Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations and Their Audiences Americans for the Arts 01-01-2005 Arts & Economic Prosperity III: The Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations and Their Audiences documents the key role played by the nonprofit arts and culture industry in strengthening our nation's economy. This study demonstrates that the nonprofit arts and culture industry is an economic driver in communities - a growth industry that supports jobs, generates government revenue, and is the cornerstone of tourism. Contact: Americans for the Arts http://www.americansforthearts.org/staff_email.asp?u=research&d=artsusa.org&n=Staff&t=Policy+and+Research 202-371-2830The Arts: A Competitive Advantage for California II California Arts Council 01-01-2004 Conducted by Diane L. Mataraza, Inc. and funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Arts: A Competitive Advantage for California II serves as an update to the Arts Council's groundbreaking 1994 report, The Arts: A Competitive Advantage, prepared by KPMG Peat Marwick. Employing the same methodology as the 1994 report, researchers surveyed 3,200 large and small nonprofit arts organizations and several thousand audience members across the state. When compared to 1994 findings, the current report reveals significant increases. Contact: Mary Beth Barber mbarber@caartscouncil.com 916-322-6588Creative Industries Report Americans for the Arts 01-01-2005 The Creative Industries report offers a research-based approach to understanding the scope and Artists Employed in U.S. Workforce Americans for the Arts 01-01-2007 Graphical data spanning five years documenting the number of artists employed in the United States. This is one of many short reference documents from Americans for the Arts. Contact: Americans for the Arts 212-223-2787National Economic Impact of the Nonprofit Arts Industry Americans for the Arts 01-01-2007 Detailed statistics outlining total economic activity, full time jobs supported, tax revenue and household income generated through the nonprofit arts industry. This is one of many short reference documents from Americans for the Arts. Contact: Americans for the Arts 212-223-2787GeneralInvesting in Creativity: A Study of the Support Structure for U.S. ArtistsThe James Irvine Foundation 01-01-2003 This unprecedented national study by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research and policy center in Washington, DC, documents and analyzes the environment of support for artists in the United States. The study addresses the following questions: What are the important features of our current structures of support for artists? What are its strengths and weaknesses? How might we improve it? More information about the project is available here. Contact: The James Irvine Foundation 415.777.2244California Arts Audience Research Project - The Performing Arts in California: Rebuilding, Repositioning, Re-emerging ArtsMarket 03-01-2000 To gain insights into audience development for the performing arts in California, a group of foundations - The Walter & Elise Haas Fund, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and The James Irvine Foundation - commissioned a research project. The extensive report, done by ArtsMarket, was completed in March 2000. Contact: The James Irvine Foundation 415.777.2244Critical Issues Facing the Arts in California: A Working Paper from The James Irvine Foundation The James Irvine Foundation 09-01-2006 This working paper, published by the Irvine Foundation and AEA Consulting, identifies the major challenges facing the arts and cultural sector in California. Based on interviews with arts leaders and a review of the relevant literature, the paper describes five key themes that, if not addressed, may threaten the health and well-being of the sector going forward. The themes are: Access, Cultural Policy, Arts Education, Nonprofit Business Model, and Preparing the Next Generation of Artists and Arts Managers. This working paper is the first phase of a project to engage arts leaders and others in a discussion on how to ensure a more sustainable future for the arts in California. Contact: The James Irvine Foundation 415.777.2244Crossover: How Artists Build Careers across Commercial, Nonprofit and Community Work The James Irvine Foundation 01-01-2006 This study, cosponsored by Irvine, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Leveraging Investments in Creativity, shows how California artists move more fluidly between the commercial, nonprofit and community sectors than is commonly believed. Their ability to do so, the study concludes, is a major stimulant to regional economic activity and the quality of life. The study, by the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, is based on a Web survey of Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay area musicians, writers, and performing and visual artists. With New York, these two regions support more artists per capita than the nation's other large metropolitan areas. Contact: The James Irvine Foundation 415.777.2244Creative Industries: Business & Employment in the Arts Americans for the Arts 01-01-2006 Creative Industries: Business & Employment in the Arts reports offer a new, research-based approach to understanding the scope and importance of the arts to the nation's economy. While most economic impact studies of the arts have focused on the nonprofit sector (such as our own Arts and Economic Prosperity study), Creative Industries is the first national study that encompasses both the nonprofit and for-profit arts industry. Contact: Americans for the Arts (202) 371-2830The Arts and Civic Engagement: Involved in Arts, Involved in Life The National Endowment for the Arts 11-01-2006 This research paper explores the compelling link between arts participation and broader civic and community involvement, as measured by the NEA's Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. The report also reveals that young adults show declines in participation rates for most arts and civic categories. Contact: The National Endowment for the Arts webmgr@arts.endow.gov (202) 682-5400Gifts of the Muse: Reframing the Debate About the Benefits of the Arts RAND Corporation 01-01-2004 Faced with intense competition for audiences and financial support, as well as adverse political fallout from the "culture wars" of the early 1990s, arts advocates have increasingly sought to make a case for the arts in terms of their instrumental benefits to individuals and communities. In this report documenting the most comprehensive study of its kind, the authors evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these instrumental arguments and make the case that a new approach to understanding the benefits of the arts is needed. Critical of what they view as an overemphasis on instrumental benefits, the authors call for a greater recognition of the intrinsic benefits of the arts experience, provide a more comprehensive framework for assessing the private and public value of both intrinsic and instrumental benefits, and link the realization of those benefits to the nature of arts involvement. In particular, they underscore the importance of sustained involvement in the arts to the achievement of both instrumental and intrinsic benefits. This study has important policy implications for access to the arts, childhood exposure to the arts, arts advocacy, and future research on the arts. Contact: RAND Corporation order@rand.org (877) 584-8642Public Rates of Attendance Americans for the Arts 01-01-2007 The percentage of Americans attending live arts events has held relatively steady over the Involving Youth in Nonprofit Arts Organizations: A Call to Action The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation 04-01-2007 Barry Hessenius, the former head of the California Arts Council, was worried about where the next generation of leaders in arts organizations would come from. With baby boomers retiring and fewer workers in the succeeding generation, Hessenius foresaw a fight to recruit new leadership that often-cash-strapped arts organizations would be ill-equipped to wage. Hessenius transformed his worries into a plan of action with "Involving Youth in Nonprofit Arts Organizations: A Call to Action," a sixty-two-page study underwritten by the Hewlett Foundation, that outlined the problem and proposed some solutions. Contact: The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation 650-234-4500Arts, Culture, and the Social Health of the Nation Institute for Innovation in Social Policy, Vassar College 01-01-2005 Arts, Culture, and the Social Health of the Nation is designed to monitor the artistic and cultural experiences of Americans. Based on the Institute's National Social Survey, it probes new issues and looks at changes in arts participation since the Institute's previous report in 2002. The current report shows that Americans deeply value the arts, both in their own lives and in the lives of their children. Yet participation levels have declined slightly since the last survey, both for adults and for children. Differences in participation by income level remain a serious problem. Contact: Institute for Innovation in Social Policy opdycke@earthlink.net 845.452.7332Health/MedicalLearning, Arts, and the BrainDana Foundation 03-04-2008 In the Dana Consortium study, researchers grappled with a fundamental question: Are smart people drawn to the arts or does arts training make people smarter? For the first time, coordinated, multi-university scientific research brings us closer to answering that question. Learning, Arts, and the Brain, a study three years in the making, is the result of research by cognitive neuroscientists from seven leading universities across the United States. It advances our understanding of the effects of music, dance, and drama education on other types of learning. Children motivated in the arts develop attention skills and strategies for memory retrieval that also apply to other subject areas. Contact: Johanna Goldberg jgoldberg@dana.orgArts Programs in US Hospitals Americans for the Arts 01-01-2007 Percentages of arts programs in hospitals, including visual art exhibits, in-hospital performances, bedside art activities and arts activities for staff. Contact: Americans for the Arts 212-2230-2787OtherReady to Lead? Next Generation Leaders Speak OutMeyer Foundation 03-03-2008 A skilled, committed, and diverse pool of next generation leaders would like to be nonprofit executive directors in the future, according to a new national survey of nearly 6,000 next generation leaders from the Meyer Foundation titled Ready to Lead? Next Generation Leaders Speak Out. However, the survey also finds that there are significant barriers: work-life balance, insufficient life-long earning potential, lack of mentorship and overwhelming fundraising responsibilities which may prevent many younger nonprofit staff from becoming executives. The survey is the largest national survey to date of emerging nonprofit leaders and was produced by the Meyer Foundation in partnership with CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, The Annie E. Casey Foundation and Idealist.org. According to the Urban Institute, there are currently more than 850,000 registered public charities in the United States. San Francisco and Milpitas were key areas studied in the survey. See the press release on the study for more information. Contact: Amy K. Harbison aharbison@meyerfdn.org 202-552-7470Spotlight on Arts: Grantmaking in California The James Irvine Foundation 01-01-2004 This report by the Foundation Center provides a quick overview of private arts and culture funding in California. Based on 2004 data, the most recent year for which information was available, the report lists the largest arts grantmakers and analyzes where funding is going. Performing arts organizations captured the largest share (37 percent) with museums (32 percent) a close second. The report, sponsored by the Irvine Foundation, also includes a mini-directory of California foundations funding the arts. Contact: The James Irvine Foundation 415.777.2244 |
