This is the fourth publication of the National Arts Index, Americans for the Arts' annual report on the health and vitality of arts and culture in the United States. The 2013 National Arts Index is a highly-distilled measure or score of the health and vitality of arts in the U.S. It is composed of 78 equal-weighted, national-level indicators of arts and culture activity during the 12-year span of 2000 to 2011, set to a baseline of 2003=100.0.

Indicators and trend measures are ubiquitous in our society, providing regular updates on areas of broad interest like the stock market or the overall economy. Indicators are well-known measures that provide a common language and understanding. If someone says that the "Dow" is going up or down, that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is rising or falling, or that the unemployment rate has changed, we understand these to be broad measures, of stock market performance or overall economic strength. Indicators often compress large amounts of data into one number, and are calculated the same way every day (the Dow) and every quarter or year (GDP), or every month (unemployment) making it easy to compare past and present and anticipate the future.

The National Arts Index is an annual measure of the vitality of arts and culture in the U.S. and represents the diverse character of the arts, its nonprofit and commercial organizations, individual artists and arts organizations, consumer spending and volunteer participation, philanthropy in support of the arts, creative expression, arts education, and more. It is a tool to stimulate public dialogue about the value of the arts as well as improve policy and decision-making--one that is more considered and lacks the fervor often associated with the typical impetus for such conversations ("Funding cuts!" or "Public art controversy!"). It provides a common currency of language--a way for more people to talk in an informed manner about the arts, using similar information and terms, about why change is occurring, where things are going in the future, and how the arts can stay vital.

This is the fourth publication of the National Arts Index, Americans for the Arts' annual report on the health and vitality of arts and culture in the United States. The 2013 National Arts Index is a highly-distilled measure or score of the health and vitality of arts in the U.S. It is composed of 78 equal-weighted, national-level indicators of arts and culture activity during the 12-year span of 2000 to 2011, set to a baseline of 2003=100.0.