National Arts Index presentation w/ Randy Cohen

A Presentation and Discussion of
“The National Arts Index”
featuring

RANDY COHEN
Vice President of Policy & Research, Americans for the Arts

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010
9am Registration
9:30-11:30am Presentation
Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater

How do we measure the health of the cultural sector? Although tools exist to take the pulse of the economy, until now, Americans have not had an index of cultural indicators that tells us about the cultural health of the country. The National Arts Index combines four kinds of measures—

• financial (measures of artists’ income; revenues to arts organizations);
• capacity (measures of capital assets and employment);
• participation (measures of attendance and personal art making); and
• competitiveness (the number of degrees granted in the arts; philanthropic support for the arts).

Taken together, these indicators present a comprehensive assessment of the health of the arts in the U.S and, considered over time, the Index gives us a sense of the direction for the arts sector—a kind of cultural “canary-in-the-mine.”

Join us as Randy Cohen presents the National Arts Index. The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion about what this means for the arts in Chicago and how we can use this kind of research to strengthen the sector.

For more information about the National Arts Index visit www.americansforthearts.org/information_services/arts_index/001.asp