The National Arts Index is a highly distilled annual measure of the health and vitality of arts in the United States by using 76 equal weighted, national-level indicators of arts activity. This report covers an 11-year period, from 1998 to 2008.
Similar to reports such as The Conference Board’s tracking of consumer confidence, the Index views the arts as a dynamic system, using 2003 as a base year for all data, and provides reliable, comparable data over time. It is unique when compared to other arts data systems in its scope, the amount of data it presents, and its annual publication. There are many notable highlights from the report, such as a rise in demand for arts in education and expanding public participation in and consumption of the arts, all while the competitiveness of the arts is slipping and the subsidy model is struggling.
“We will make up the lost ground, but it is going to take several years. Based on past patterns, Americans for the Arts estimates an arts rebound to begin in 2011,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “For our part, we will dedicate 2010, which is our 50th anniversary, to strengthening the arts field by developing new business models for arts delivery that better suit an evolving industry as well as strengthening audience demand.”
“The current economic crisis offers a unique and important opportunity to begin a national conversation about the value of the arts—to us as individuals, communities, and a nation. We need to rethink a nonprofit arts sector that in many ways remains tethered to support models that have remained unchanged for a half century. Arts organizations need to find creative ways to engage their audiences, build on the public’s growing interest in personal creation, and stimulate audience demand,” said Arthur C. Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute and one of the project’s advisers.
Other key findings from the National Arts Index report include.
- The National Arts Index fell 4.2 percentage points in 2008, reflecting losses in charitable giving and declining attendance at larger cultural institutions—even as the number of arts organizations grew.
- The arts follow the nation’s business cycle—not surprising as the arts are composed of 100,000 nonprofit arts organizations and 600,000 more arts businesses, 2.24 million artists in the workforce, and count on billions of dollars in consumer spending. Based on past patterns, we estimate an arts rebound to begin in 2011.
- Demand for the arts lags capacity. From 1998 and 2008, there was annual growth in capacity of the arts industries—a steady increase in the number of artists, arts businesses and nonprofit arts organizations, and arts-related employment. Nonprofit arts organizations alone grew in number from 73,000 to 104,000 during this span of time. That one out of three failed to achieve a balanced budget even during the strongest economic years of this decade suggests that sustaining this capacity is a growing challenge.
- How the public participates in and consumes the arts is expanding. The arts participation measure is on the increase. Personal arts creation by the public is growing steadily (making art, playing music). Attendance at mainstream nonprofit arts organizations, however, is in decline. Technology has also had an impact: 50 percent of music and CD stores have disappeared in the past five years, while the number of online downloads grown four-fold in just the past three years.
- The subsidy model is struggling. Arts and culture continues to lose their market share of philanthropy to other charitable areas—a decline that began well before the current economic downturn.
- Demand for arts in education is up. A growing percentage of college-bound high school seniors are getting four years of arts and music, even as other national studies point to a decline in arts education. College arts degrees conferred annually have increased from 75,000 to 120,000 in the past decade.
- The competitiveness of the arts is slipping. Overall, the arts are not “stacking up” well against other uses of audience members’ time, donor and funder commitment, or spending when compared to non-arts sectors.
Click here to download and read the full report at Americans for the Arts online!
Do you have an item you would like to share about the creative economy? Suggest a Post to Berkshire Creative!
