Blog & White Papers

The nonprofit arts and culture sector has been profoundly affected by these developments and faces severe challenges in the coming months and years of recovery.

Cities Ranked by Per Capita Supply, Demand and Government Support for the Arts

SMU DataArts examined the arts vibrancy rankings of Benton and Washington counties to uncover trends over five years, 2013-2017.

Karen Brooks Hopkins’ The Anchor Project shares important findings that emerged from her work as Inaugural Senior Fellow-in-Residence at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. 

What factors made it possible for SMU's National Center for Arts Research and DataArts to unite? A longtime trustee of DataArts and a member of the advisory committee for NCAR highlights the factors. 

Patricia Egan of Cool Spring Analytics talks about the importance of the balance sheet and cash flow.

Webinar: How can anchor arts institutions in low income communities make maximum cultural, social and economic impact?

Barry Hessenius, of WESTAF's Barry's Blog, reacts to NCAR's new Working Capital Report.

Study Finds Performing Arts Organizations and Over Half of Museums Struggle to Meet Day-to-Day Obligations

The Sphinx Organization's Director of Institutional Partnerships shares what has contributed to Sphinx's bottom line.

Lawrence J. Wheeler, Ph.D., director of the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA), has developed a set of principles that have guided the museum’s vision and success. Find out more about his "rules" and how they boost the museum's KIPIs.

Kate Barr, President & CEO of Propel Nonprofits, shares her notes on NCAR’s new bottom line report, including why small organizations are better able to adapt and manage expenses to match revenue.

NCAR worked with Propel Nonprofits on a research report on the financial profile of culturally specific organizations in the state of Minnesota, and the findings reinforced national research.

Economic Development Corporation of Utah discusses a study revealing how critical a strong arts and entertainment industry is to a business’ desire to remain in Salt Lake City.

The arts are known for making Asheville vibrant, but for how long? The arts council talks past, present and future.

What does arts vibrancy mean to other industries in a community? General Dynamics Mission Systems in Pittsfield, MA, shares its appreciation for arts and culture.

Find out how arts vibrancy took root in Flint and flourishes today. A good news story.

In this arts data blog salon article, Brea M. Heidelberg - arts management educator, consultant, and researcher - makes a case for more research training in arts administration. 

Guest blog salon this week: Is the arts field training leaders with the skills to collect and analyze the data we need to make informed decisions and advance our work?

The restoration of New York State’s oldest surviving theater became a catalyst for the growth of arts vibrancy in Hudson.

Are nonprofit arts organzations investing enough in their staff's development and salaries?

A majority of arts organizations are missing key pieces of data that can help them grow. To make that data readily available in a customized way, NCAR offers a free digital dashboard and is developing an interactive map showing which area households are likely to purchase tickets.

The American Planning Association (APA) recognizes the vital role that arts and culture contribute to livable communities, and provides best practices to help communities integrate the arts into planning processes through creative placemaking.

Newark's mayor sees arts vibrancy creating jobs, attracting new businesses and development, expanding tourism, improving neighborhood livability and the quality of life throughout Newark.

How do local arts agencies measure organizational and community health? Robert Bush of Charlotte's ASC shares his quest.

Mayor Steve Adler talks about the arts vibrancy of Austin and the challenge to keep it affordable for musicians and live music venues.

SMU DataArts' Visitor-to-Staff Index measures an arts organization’s staff capacity by examining the ratio of staff to total number of visitors.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) shares how NCAR's Interactive Arts Vibrancy Heat Map features data at the county level and highlights thriving arts communities across our nation’s counties.

Wendy F. Hsu, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, shares LA's arts vibrancy initiatives and innovations at their diverse neighborhood level

Arts vibrancy in the City of Frederick, Maryland, is a communal effort, with successful public-private partnerships.

Suzan Jenkins, CEO of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, talks about arts vibrancy, challenges, values and planning.

How does the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council measure arts vibrancy and more? CEO Mitch Swain shares their research sources and findings.

Ithaca, NY ranked #7 on our top 10 list of most arts-vibrant medium MSAs. Find out why from Tompkins County Community Arts Partnership.

The 2017 NCAR Arts Vibrancy Index ranks the most vibrant arts cities in America. How is the rest of the country faring when it comes to arts vibrancy?

Guest post by Jill Garland, DUNCH Vice President

New joint research with The Art Newspaper shows museums are presenting more shows than they used to, and contemporary art dominates.

This edition, which focuses on expenses related directly to the cost of programming, shows that two-thirds of total program-related expenses, or 42% of all operating revenue, goes to payment of program-related personnel.

Karen Brooks Hopkins, NCAR Nasher Haemisegger Fellow, provides suggestions for administrators and community leaders who face a divide between small and large arts and cultural organizations.

The arts don’t exist in a bubble, yet we often act as if they do. At such moments, we cut ourselves off from both audiences and donors who may not share our assumptions, conventions, language, and ideals for how arts or culture experiences should work.

Karen Brooks Hopkins, NCAR's New Nasher Haemisegger Fellow, recently visited Brooklyn's BRIC TV to talk about the new KIPI Dashboard

Report shows overall growth in unrestricted contributions, which outpaced both growth in expenses and inflation

NCAR Senior Advisor Robert Stein shares his views on why the new KIPI Dashboard is a valuable tool for gaining performance insights, benchmarking and making informed decisions.

The National Center for Arts Research (NCAR) has appointed Karen Brooks Hopkins, former president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and currently Senior Fellow in Residence.

Guest Post by Bruce W. Davis, President and CEO, ArtsKC

https://artskc.org

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, where is the most culturally vibrant place to have a ball? Kansas City of course. I moved to Kansas City from the Silicon Valley/San Francisco Bay area for a reason. Great things are happening in the Kansas City region. It has world class art and world class sports.

Six new cities added to the top 20 list of arts vibrant cities in our second annual Arts Vibrancy Index, which ranks more than 900 communities across the country, examining the level of supply, demand, and government support for the arts in each city.

We hope you join us for what promises to be a fascinating conversation as we delve into addressing funding inequities for arts organizations of color. So honored to be a part of this illustrious panel!

To rsvp please use this link:

Guest blog post by Bronwyn Mauldin, Director of Research and Evaluation Los Angeles County Arts Commission

The concept of “engagement” in the arts is a tricky, slippery subject with a lot of room for miscommunication. At its most basic, engagement events are ones that allow people not just to be a passive consumer of the arts, but to engage in arts making.

NCAR study identifies the key differences between culturally-specific organizations and their mainstream peers and calls for a more equitable measurement of performance. The new white paper counters findings of the DeVos Institute study. 

Happy 2016!

The new year is often a time when many of us regroup and reboot taking stock of current practices that may/may not serve us to be whole, healthy individuals. The promise of self-improvement is often the purpose of New Year's resolutions in which we strive to be our best selves.

Philanthropist and civic leader Donna M. Wilhelm pursues a mission to promote global connection and learning through education, arts and cultural and civil society initiatives as well as the preservation of the environment.

She serves as a Board Chair of TACA, trustee of Dallas Theater Center and KERA Public Broadcasting as well as on the Advisory Board for NCAR. In the following interview, Ms. Wilhelm shares her insights on the generational divide in the consumption of digital programming.

Take a listen and let us know what you think!

Jesse Rosen, President and CEO of the League of American Orchestras, shares his insights on the subscription model and its importance to symphony orchestras across the country.

Since becoming President and CEO of the League of American Orchestras in 2008, Mr. Rosen has been a leading voice for change, empowering the League’s 800 member orchestras with knowledge and perspective to navigate their own paths through a rapidly changing environment. We are honored that he has taken time out of his busy schedule to share his thoughts with us.

An Interview with arts and civic leader, Bess Enloe

Bess Enloe has decades of board service in the arts in multiple roles as President, Chair, Vice-Chair and lifetime trustee.

The SMU National Center for Arts Research is excited to announce a partnership with the League of American Orchestras.  As the only national organization dedicated solely to the orchestral experience, the League will be providing NCAR with organizational data from its diverse membership of approximately 800 orchestras across the United States.

There is no "one size fits all" performance measure. Instead, metrics for organizational health are as varied as the field itself. So this begs the question: What are the metrics that matter? One key area of earned revenue to examine is the revenue generated from patrons.

The “Edition 3” report just released by The National Center for Arts Research (NCAR) is a powerful addition to the set of comparative metrics available to help organizations understand and manage their operations. 
 
This project has several particularly interesting features. 

There is no one-size-fits-all performance measure for such a diverse field, only answers to relevant questions. With that spirit in mind, we want to hear from YOU what your top 10 critical questions are.. Take our poll and let us know!

"If you can't measure it, you can't manage it": Opinions and reflections from new NCAR Fellow Kate Levin

This fall the National Center for Arts Research (NCAR) released its second report examining the health of arts organizations nationwide. MPRINT, SMU Meadows Alumni Magazine, sat down with NCAR Director Zannie Voss and Research Director Glenn Voss to talk about some of the newest report's findings, the work of new NCAR Fellow Kate Levin, and what's next for the Center.

The National Center for Arts Research has found that organizations that primarily serve children engage more people. Also, organizations targeting children have lower marketing expenses that yield higher attendance.

SMU’s National Center for Arts Research (NCAR) today released its first annual Arts Vibrancy Index, along with an interactive heat map.  The index ranks more than 900 communities across the country.  Vibrancy is measured as the level of supply, demand, and government support for arts and culture on a per capita basis. The report highlights the top 20 large markets and top 20 medium and small markets.

DALLAS (SMU), December 4, 2014 – The National Center for Arts Research (NCAR) at Southern Methodist University unveiled its second major report that examines the financial, operating, engagement and staffing health of the nonprofit arts industry. The report is available online at smu.edu/artsresearch.