Field Scan Finds One-Third of States Have No Functioning Arts Advocacy Organization

Recent research published by Barry Hessenius provides an overview of state arts advocacy in the US. "This scan sought to identify which states were organizationally active on the advocacy stage, the assets each state had to carry out its advocacy mission, which states were only minimally equipped to be effective advocates, and which states currently had no real operational advocacy organization." The characteristics evaluated included staffing, funding sources, communications, major initiatives launched, local political climate, and more. Hessenius then classifies each state based on the size and activities of its arts advocacy organizations, finding that one-third of states had “no real functioning arts advocacy organization.”

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