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Cultivating Demand for the Arts
Arts Learning, Arts Engagement, and State Arts Policy
To shed light on the decline in demand for the nonprofit arts, the authors describe what it means to cultivate demand for the arts, examine how well U.S. institutions are serving this function, and discuss whether it is in the public interest to make such cultivation a higher priority than it has been in the past. The authors propose that a strong cultural sector is characterized by three conditions: adequate amounts of high-quality artworks (supply), ample opportunities for people to encounter those works (access), and sufficient numbers of individuals with an interest in experiencing those works (demand). They argue that arts policies have long focused on supporting supply and expanding access while neglecting demand, which calls for cultivating the capacity of individuals to have engaging experiences with the arts. With this policy framework, the authors address three topics. First, they identify the knowledge and skills that enable people to have rich experiences with works of art, encounters so engaging that they will seek out more of them. They synthesize a body of arts education research that supports a comprehensive, standards-based approach to arts education as the best way to enable such experiences and stimulate long-term arts involvement. Second, they describe the infrastructure for arts learning in terms of the amount and type of learning available to youth and adults through public schools, universities, and community organizations. Third, they examine how state arts agencies (SAAs) allocate their resources in support of supply, access, and demand. The authors conclude that greater investment in comprehensive arts learning, particularly for the young, is the most effective strategy for building demand. Such an investment is not likely to be made, however, unless the arts community, including the National Endowment for the Arts, SAAs, and the leaders of arts organizations, join with arts educators to persuade the general education community — and the American public — that improved arts learning is necessary to expand and diversify public engagement in the arts.
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Pages: 150
ISBN/EAN: 9780833041845
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Contents
Chapter One:
Introduction
Chapter Two:
A Framework for Understanding Supply, Access, and Demand
Chapter Three:
Enabling Individual Engagement with Works of Art
Chapter Four:
The Support Infrastructure for Youth Arts Learning
Chapter Five:
The Support Infrastructure for Adult Arts Learning
Chapter Six:
The Role of State Arts Agencies
Chapter Seven:
Conclusions and Policy Implications
Appendix A:
Interviewees
Appendix B:
Taxonomy of SAA Grants by Type of Recipient, National Standard Code, and RAND Category
Appendix C:
Taxonomy of SAA Grants by Type of Activity, National Standard Code, and RAND Category
The research in this report was produced within RAND Education, a unit of the RAND Corporation. The research was commissioned by The Wallace Foundation as part of its State Arts Partnerships for Cultural Participation (START) initiative.
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