This white paper from the National Endowment for the Arts summarizes two decades of creative American placemaking, drawing on original economic research and case studies of pathbreaking initiatives in large and small cities, metropolitan to rural, as well as published accounts. The case studies stretch from Providence, Rhode Island, to Los Angeles, California, and from Arnaudville, Louisiana, and Fond du Lac, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington.

This Monograph will consider the changes in United Arts Funds as they are being thrust into a larger community leadership role, their causes, and the ways in which the field is adapting.

This report describes the findings of a study designed to evaluate the efficacy of the Meet Me at MoMA program for people in the early stage of dementia and their family caregivers. This groundbreaking study provides the first formal evaluation that demonstrates, with both quantitative and qualitative evidence, the many benefits of making art accessible to people with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers. It also points out the elements of the program that have the greatest positive impact and those components that might be modified to further enhance its effects. This evaluation

This report about YouthReach's 2008 programming shares student completed surveys evaluating the effectiveness and success of YouthReach programs. We find namely, that the majority of students who participated have better feelings towards themselves, find themselves caring more about others, and feel more capable of making friends after completing one semester of the program.

This Monograph is intended to begin dialogue within the arts field about arts and creativity programs by and for older people by providing basic information on current trends and opportunities to integrate creativity and aging.

This report, commissioned from the NORC at the University of Chicago, investigates the relationship between arts education and arts participation, based on data from the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts for 1982, 1992, 2002, and 2008. The report also examines long-term declines in Americans' reported rates of arts learning—in creative writing, music, and the visual arts, among other disciplines. Authors Nick Rabkin and E.C. Hedberg find that the declines are not distributed evenly across all racial and ethnic groups.

The Arts and Civic Engagement Tool Kit: Planning Tools and Resources for Animating Democracy in Your Community features customizable worksheets containing thoughtful questions, clarifying sidebars, and examples to help users plan, design, and partner to create meaningful engagement activities. Resources on the CD include: 

Civic Dialogue, Arts & Culture explores the power of the arts and humanities to foster civic engagement while advancing possibilities for arts and humanities organizations to be vital civic as well as cultural institutions. From 2000 to 2004, Americans for the Arts, with support from the Ford Foundation, implemented Animating Democracy, an initiative to foster artistic activities encouraging civic dialogue on important contemporary issues. This book examines the experiences of 37 arts and humanities projects, realized by a wide range of cultural organizations. These projects

Museums and Civic Dialogue features exhibition projects that demonstrate how three museums have functioned as provocative and effective forums for civic dialogue. Focusing on contemporary and conceptual works of art as well as historic images, the projects highlight new and adapted approaches to curatorial practice, interpretation, and education prompted by civic intention. The case studies also offer insights regarding institutional challenges and changes in practice that necessarily occurred. Through Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics, Henry Art Gallery

Dialogue in Artistic Practice explores the work of three exemplary artist companies. Case studies examine the Animating Democracy projects implemented by these companies, as well as their long traditions of community engagement, to highlight how dialogue is inherently a part of their artistic practice. Through a form that alternates dance performance and dialogue, Urban Bush Women’s Hair Parties Project taps personal experiences to generate dialogue about the politics of hair within the African-American community and to examine deeper issues of race, class, and