Why Arts Research? You Need to Know.

Posted on January 30, 2012by lvartscouncil

An Update by Randall Forte, LVAC executive director

Throughout  2011, the Lehigh Valley Arts Council gathered data for Arts & Economic Prosperity IV, our fourth economic impact study of the region’s nonprofit arts industry since 1997. (I am pleased to report that 88 cultural nonprofits participated.) Data collection and analysis are essential advocacy tools because the information a community learns can chart the growth of an industry over time, identify current trends and help shape public policy.

SAVE THIS DATE: On June 7, 2012, the Lehigh Valley Arts Council and the Lehigh Valley Partnership will convene a public forum, Whose Business is the Arts?, to announce the findings. Ben Cameron, Program Director for the Arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, will deliver the keynote address.

The forum presents a unique opportunity for arts, government, and business leaders to confront a changing arts and cultural landscape. The economic stagnation and declining participation in the arts of the past few years indicate nonprofits can no longer depend on 50% or more of unearned income to balance their budgets. After a decade of expansion in arts facilities, communities must now turn their attention to serious issues of sustainability and finding ways for nonprofits to be more entrepreneurial.

The event will take place at Cedar Crest College in Allentown.  Stay tuned for more program details.