Are Arts Relevant in a 21st Century World?

Americans themselves, as repeated Gallup polls have found, say that the variety of social offerings — primarily arts and culture — is the most important factor in keeping them attached to the place they live. But as many artists and cultural groups know all too well, public money hasn’t always followed public sentiment. With that in mind, the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations is launching a multiyear project to analyze links among funding, participation, and the vitality of the arts in six U.S. urban centers, starting with Detroit and the San Francisco Bay area. The hope, its leaders say, is to use hard data to develop bold policies to support the arts at the local and national level.

In the United States, “the arts are treated as a public good and funded as a private good,” said Jim Bildner, a Hauser Center senior research fellow and an adjunct lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), at a panel discussion launching the new Initiative for Sustainable Arts in America. “The arts community needs to recognize both realities. There may be some public support going forward, but we have to figure out where our audience is, and how to reach them in a cost-effective way.”

In launching the initiative, also known as SustainArts, the Hauser Center hopes “to have as broad a conversation as we can with as many stakeholders as possible,” Bildner said.