Americans for the Arts

The 2014 Patron Loyalty Study: Loyalty By the Numbers examines the financial transactions (including ticket sales, memberships and donations) of almost a million Greater Philadelphia households, using seven years of data from 17 major cultural attractions in the region. One of the key findings of the report is that, despite the sector’s focus on developing new audiences, the erosion of current audience loyalty represents one of the most significant financial risks for cultural groups. 

This article reviews the concept of cultural governance analyzing three cultural districts: the Scientific and Cultural Facility District (SCFD) in Colorado; the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District (MZPMD) in Missouri; the Allengheny Regional Asset District (ARAD) in Pennsylvania. The author highlights the importance of strategic coalitions, stable funding mechanisms (i. e. sales taxes), effectiveness of regional governance, and of institutionalization of public funded programs.

This article reproduces excerpts of general comments from two meetings at the Art and Planning sessions of the 19th International Sculpture Conference. A broad range of topics were discussed about the general and specific questions facing art and artists in public spaces in the 21st Century.

This article considers the emergence of new, local alliances in US cities that encourage construction for the arts as a tool of urban development.

The Westside Economic Alliance and the Portland Development Commission co-sponsored this study which examines what young adults in the 25 to 34 year-old age group want from cities and how well communities in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan region are positioned to compete for this group.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has asked the Pennsylvania Economy League to identify and measure the impact of development and cultural activities within the Cultural District on the Pittsburgh area. This report looks at the District at two periods in time.

This evaluation report from the Culture Builds Communities Project reviews a four-year comprehensive community grant program. The goals of this program were to both increase participation in the arts and to foster community building through the arts and culture.

This document includes samples of percent for art ordinances from Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; King County, Washington; Los Angeles, California; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; Portland, Oregon; San Jose, California; and Tampa, Florida.

This document includes samples of legislation from Denver, Colorado - Scientific/Cultural Facilities District (SCFD); St. Paul, Minnesota; St. Louis, Missouri; Salt Lake City, Utah; the state of Pennsylvania; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Miami, Florida that allows for the arts to benefit from sales taxes.

This document reports the findings from a survey designed to provide a snapshot of the state of K-12 arts education in Western Pennsylvania, including Allegheny, Fayette, Greene and Washington counties.

Arts and culture is one of our region’s strongest assets for growth. The 2011 Portfolio provides information on the health, breadth, and diversity of the region’s cultural sector, including the first comprehensive look at the effects of the recession on Southeastern Pennsylvania’s nonprofit arts and cultural organizations.

This report takes a close look at the heart of Philadelphia’s cultural ecology—the region’s cultural nonprofits. It is our most comprehensive study to date, examining recent financial, programmatic, audience, and administrative data from 473 regional nonprofits. This edition also focuses on the sector’s activities since the Great Recession, looking at the activities of 298 nonprofits that had consistent data from 2009 to 2012.

The arts and cultural sector is one of Southeastern Pennsylvania’s strongest assets. The 2008 Portfolio examines the vibrancy, value, and vulnerability of the cultural community for civic leaders, policymakers, cultural organizations, and the general public. Two years ago, the first edition of Portfolio was lauded as a landmark study that documented the breadth, diversity, and well-being of Southeastern Pennsylvania’s nonprofit cultural resources.

Many states have created arts-based economic development strategies to support rural communities across the who are confronting economic development issues.

In this paper, the author discusses the most recent change affecting American central cities and their downtowns the cultural renaissance.