At a press conference earlier today, nonprofit organization Americans for the Arts announced its new National Arts Index. This study, the first of its kind, measures "the health and vitality of the arts industries in the United States." Deriving considerations from trends in philanthropy, participation, creativity and arts outreach over the past decade, index researchers created a yearly measure of the status of the arts.
After a steady increase from 2002 to 2007, 2008 represented a 4.2-point drop in the index. Though the number of arts organizations has grown, one out of three failed to achieve a balanced budget even during stronger economic years, and attendance at concerts, plays, operas, and museum exhibitions is dropping.
While the index’s data indicates that sustaining arts organizations is a challenge, it may also reflect shifting approaches to cultural production and consumption. Research found that the percentage of the American public personally creating art is increasing. Technology and social media are also altering public access to art in ways that may call for new standards of measurement.
For Arthur C. Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute and an advisor to the project, the current recession occasions "a national conversation about the value of arts," and presents an imperative for arts groups to find new ways to "engage their audiences, build on the public’s growing interest in personal creation, and stimulate audience demand."
In spite of the index’s decline, Robert B. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, remains optimistic, asserting that arts organizations "will make up the lost ground." Expecting a rebound in 2011, Lynch says that Americans for the Arts will devote 2010 to "developing new business models for arts delivery that better suit an evolving industry as well as strengthening audience demand." 