1. Abigail Gilmore. Cultural Trends 26:1, 34-46. “The Park and the Commons: Vernacular Spaces for Everyday Participation and Cultural Value.” 2017. United Kingdom. This article looks at public parks as vernacular spaces for everyday participation, drawing on empirical research, including ethnographic fieldwork, household interviews and focus groups, and community engagement.
2. Gwendolyn W. Saul and Diana E. Marsh. Museum Anthropology 41:2. “In Whose Honor? On Monuments, Public Spaces, Historical Narratives, and Memory.” 2018. United States. In this context of charged public discourse on Confederate monuments, the authors discuss whether the immediate removal of these statues and monuments changes the representation of histories and heritage.
3. Robert Hewison. Apollo International Arts Magazine.“The culture secretary has no business threatening museums.” 2020. United Kingdom. A recent letter from Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has stirred up controversy around contested heritage and government non-interference in arts and heritage matters.
5. Waldemar Cudny and Hakan Appelblad. Norwegian Journal of Geography 73:5, 273-289. “Monuments and Their Functions in Urban Public Space.” 2020. Poland. The aim of the article is to present and discuss functions of public monuments in relation to different dimensions of geographical space.
6. Brandon Baker. University of Pennsylvania. “Reflections on public spaces in the age of COVID.” 2020. United States. In an interview with “Penn Today,” Ken Lum and Paul Farber of the Weitzman School of Design reflect on how public spaces are observed through a new lens during the pandemic.
7. Nora Greani. Cahiers d’études africaines 227:3, 495-514. “Public monuments in the twenty-first century.” 2017. Africa. This special report is dedicated to the study of contemporary monumentality in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This virtual study group (VSG) focused on efforts related to decolonizing evaluation. Tue 27 October 2020, 6pm EDT: Toronto/New YorkWed 28 October 2020. 9am AEST: Sydney / 11am Auckland Description: What has been written on First Nations methods of evaluation? What are the case studies or projects where decolonization of evaluation has been developed and tried? Is decolonization of evaluation even… Read more →
1) Brea M. Heidelberg. Cultural Trends 28:5, 391-403. “Evaluating equity: assessing diversity efforts through a social justice lens.” 2019. United Kingdom. This paper provides a formative evaluation of The Art Institute of Chicago’s initial efforts to diversify the museum field through the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative (DAMLI) programme.
2) Jeremy Vachet. Cultural Trends 26:3, 272-274. “Creative justice: cultural industries, work and inequality.” 2017. Ireland. Book review of “Creative Justice,” an account of the need to give justice to culture by Mark Banks, Professor in the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Leicester.
3) Heather Carey, Rebecca Florisson, Dave O Brien, and Neil Lee. Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Center. “Getting in and getting on: Class, participation and job quality in the UK creative industries.” 2020. United Kingdom. Prior to the pandemic, there were growing concerns that the opportunities created in the creative economy were ‘out of reach’ for many. This paper represents the first phase of the PEC’s Policy Review Series on Class in the Creative Industries.
4) Arts Emergency, Orian Brook, Mark Taylor, and David O’Brien. Create London. “Panic! Social class, taste and inequalities in the creative sector.” 2019. United Kingdom. This report demonstrates that the creative industries are marked by significant inequalities. It looks at the social class background of the workforce and how this intersects with other issues.
5) Emily Matchar. Smithsonian Magazine. “Does Creativity Breed Inequality in Cities?” 2017. United States. Interview with Richard Florida on his book “The New Urban Crisis.”
6) Aline Moch Islas, Casey Moser, Shomya Tripathy, and Louie Tan Vital. University of Washington. “Assessing the Creative Economy of Seattle through a Racial & Equity Lens.” 2019. United States. This report lays out policy options to mitigate racial disparities in the creative economy in Seattle.
1. Steven Hadley, Patrick Collins and Maria O’Brien. Cultural Trends 29:2, 145-159. “Culture 2025 A National Cultural Policy Framework for Ireland.” 2020. Ireland. Published in January 2020, Culture 2025 A National Cultural Policy Framework for Ireland is the first single national cultural policy in Ireland since the formation of the Irish State in 1922.
2. Bethany Rex. Cultural Trends 29:2, 129-144. “Roses for everyone? Arts Council England’s 2020–2030 Strategy.” 2020. United Kingdom. In this review article, Rex critically reflects on the ambitions set out in Arts Council England’s 10-year strategy “Let’s Create”.
3. Arts Council England. “Let’s Create: Strategy 2020-2030.” 2020. United Kingdom. This report is a cultural plan from Arts Council England with a vision of the creative landscape of the United Kingdom for 2020-2030.
4. Government of South Australia. “Arts & Culture Plan South Australia, 2019 – 2024.” Australia. 2019. Following extensive community and industry consultation, the Arts and Culture Plan South Australia 2019-2024 was developed to guide the growth of and investment in the state’s leadership in the arts and cultural sector.
5. The Department of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Government of Ireland. “Culture 2025: A National Cultural Policy Framework to 2025.” 2020. Ireland. This document sets out an overarching vision and framework for the future of culture in Ireland and outlines the plans for action over the coming years.
6. Arts Council of Ireland. “Making Great Art Work: Leading the Development of the Arts in Ireland.” 2016 Ireland. This plan describes the investment strategies, projects and programmes Arts Council will prioritise during 2017–2019 and sets out the achievements and milestones we have set ourselves over this period.
7. National Endowment for the Arts. “Strategic Plan FY 2018-2022.” 2018. United States. A strategic plan from the National Endowment for the Arts for fiscal years 2018-2020.
8. New England Foundation for the Arts. “Strategic Plan 2018-2021.” 2017. United States. In February 2017, the New England Foundation for the Arts crafted a three-year plan that is both comprehensive and adaptable to changing conditions.
This article argues that policy relevance and influence represent legitimate goals of critical research, which does not necessarily mean accepting the pressures and restrictions of arts advocacy and lobbying, or the relinquishing research excellence.
In this platform, the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture describes ten ways to advance toward cultural democracy, a social order which embodies and affirms the right to culture in every aspect of our public and private policies.
The Cultural Plan establishes a framework to inclusively grow the District’s cultural community informed by the Office of Planning’s experience in community development, land use, systems planning, public facilities and infrastructure
A growing number of Indigenous artists are sharing their significant stories through artistic mediums. The Department of Culture and the Arts supports this sector as part of its vision for a community enriched by unique and transforming arts and culture.
This virtual study group (VSG) focused on how COVID-19 has disrupted arts and culture research and policy. Date: June 17, 2020 CRN hosted two VSGs over two days. Diversity/Equity/Inclusion and COVID-19: Options for Cultural Research and Public Funding occurred on June 16th. Purpose Cultural researchers, arts agencies, arts organizations, and artists around the globe are grappling with the COVID-19 crisis,… Read more →
Cultural researchers, arts agencies, arts organizations, and artists around the globe are grappling with the COVID-19 crisis, how it is affecting the arts field now, and how it will change the future of the field. As an international forum for cultural research practices, CRN is convening the collective brain power of the network to discuss topics relevant to the crisis. Objectives for this conversation are to allow for shared learning, to understand challenges, to share relevant research, and to provide ideas for future research.
This session explored how cultural research and data sources can help public arts agencies make the case for equitable, sustained cultural funding in the post-COVID-19 economy. What do we know now, where are gaps in knowledge, what do we need to track during/post COVID, to what extent are arts inequities unique and/or reflect larger systems? How is DEI prioritized in COVID-related arts policy responses, and to what ends?
The session was moderated by David Pankratz (Creative Sector Research). Holly Sidford (Helicon Collaborative), Pam Breaux (National Assembly of State Arts Agencies) will join David and attendees in bringing their perspectives and questions to the conversation as discussants.
Akonadi Foundation/Kenneth Rainin Foundation, “Mapping Small Arts and Culture Organizations of Color in Oakland,” 2018
Nonprofit AF/Vu Le, “The Curb-cut Effect and READI,” 2020
Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, “Racial Equity and Arts Funding: Executive Summary,” 2018
Panel Bios
Pam Beaux joined the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) in 2015. As president and CEO, she works with the association’s board of directors and staff to advance NASAA’s policy and programmatic mission to strengthen America’s state and jurisdictional arts agencies. A native of Lafayette, Louisiana, Pam has held leadership positions at the local, state and national levels. While in Louisiana state government, she was secretary of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism (CRT), assistant secretary of CRT (overseeing its cultural development portfolio), and executive director of its state arts agency (the Louisiana Division of the Arts). During her time at CRT, Pam developed and led Louisiana’s cultural economy initiative and spearheaded the successful UNESCO inscription of Poverty Point State Historic Site (an ancient Indian site) as a World Heritage site.
David Pankratz retired recently as Research & Policy Director for the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council after a 35-year career in research and evaluation in arts policy, advocacy, and management. Topics of recent research are racial equity and arts funding, impacts of the arts, and individual artists, while his co-edited books include The Arts in a New Millennium. David also held senior positions for EmcArts, The Independent Commission on the NEA, and the J. Paul Getty Trust. He has taught for Carnegie Mellon University and earned his Ph.D. in Arts Policy and Administration from The Ohio State University.
Holly Sidford is Co-Director of Helicon Collaborative, a national consulting firm that works with artists, cultural organizations, foundations and other creative enterprises to make communities better places for all people – more vital, adaptive and just. Helicon focuses on three themes central to healthy communities: equity, sustainability and beauty. Holly has 30 years’ experience leading cultural and philanthropic organizations and is nationally recognized for her work in expanding access to arts and culture, enhancing support for artists, and building organizations’ strategic capacity. Before starting Helicon, Holly was the founding President of Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), a ten-year national initiative to improve support systems for artists. She has held leadership positions at Ford Foundation, The Howard Gilman Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts and Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities.
Are we ready to face the global challenge of Covid-19 pandemic outbreak? Do we know how microbes, migration and metropolises cohabitate or relate to each other? Can we tap into the artistic and cultural creativity to better understand the global infectious diseases or even investigate how they travel across urban and human borders?
The VSG discussed these questions in a live conversation with artists, curators, researchers and cultural producers of the Contagious Cities. This international cultural project was developed by Wellcome Trust in 2018 to mark the centenary of the 1918 flu pandemic that infected a third of the world’s population and killed 50 million people. The VSG will share important insights from the Contagious Cities project, that brought together international curators, artists and scientists through residences across New York, Hong Kong and Geneva to explore how epidemics spread in urban environments.
What do we hope to achieve?
The VSG aims to inform and educate a wider community of cultural researchers, artists, academics and creative workers on the key questions of pandemic diseases to share support and solidarity in the midst of the global spread of the Covid-19. It intends to expose and promote a creative and artistic intake on the crucial issues of the pandemic physical, social and cultural impacts upon urban communities.
The Panelists
Moderator: Dr Natalia Grincheva
Ken Arnold – Creative Director at Wellcome (London, UK)
Sarah Henry – Chief Curator and Deputy Director at the Museum of the City of New York (New York, USA)
Ying Kwok – Curator of Contagious Cities: Far Away, Too Close at Tai Kwun Contemporary (Hong Kong, China)
Matt Adams – Co-founder of Blast Theory (London, UK)
Dr James Doeser – Freelance cultural researcher (London, UK)
Ken Arnold – Creative Director at Wellcome (London, UK)
This article describes the phenomenon of cultural districts in the US, reviews some claims made about their impacts, and provides evidence of districts’ effects.
This report analyses the different ways social impact is defined; draws out current good practice, highlighting gaps and challenges; and suggests a framework and principles for future action.
This report was prepared by the California Arts Council to encourage the development of a broad array of authentic and sustainable cultural districts that reflect the breadth and diversity of California’s cultural assets.
This study from Chung Hagen Consulting looks at how to stabilize and expand the Latino Cultural District in San Francisco by synthesizing findings from interviews, focus groups, and community meetings.
Egle Rindzeviciute reviews “Scenescapes,” a book by Daniel Aaron Silver and Terry Nichols Clark that looks at how localities shape social, cultural, and economic lives.
This article looks at how arts participation in the US has been influenced by the imprint of time (early life, socialization, and historical circumstances) on preferences and behavioral patterns.
This report and case studies of illustrative projects help provide a better understanding of how people are engaging in the arts, and of how arts organizations are enabling this involvement. Researchers at WolfBrown investigated active arts participation across the arts sector in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, learning from more than 100 organizations currently engaging in participatory arts.
Community-arts researcher and advocate Francois Matarasso presents a book on participatory art and community art written from the perspective of engagement.
This concluding evaluation report on the Exploring Engagement Fund offers insights, best practices, and considerations for arts organizations and funders who prioritize engagement, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
