research

Topic: Leadership and Management

Local arts agencies (LAAs) are private nonprofits or public agencies that present cultural programming, provide grants and technical assistance to artists and arts organizations, manage cultural facilities, and help the arts community grow through cultural planning.  Through these activities local arts agencies play a leadership role in their communities, galvanizing greater support for the arts, strengthening their social and economic impact, and making the arts accessible to all. 

Cultural leaders—from across the country, with a multitude of interests, and at every stage in their own development—also work to create environments in which the arts can thrive.  Cultural leaders may be artists, managers, consultants, board members and/or volunteers.  They may work independently, in a creative business, at a nonprofit arts organization or with a local, state, or national service organization.  Most cultural leaders work in partnership with government agencies and the business, education and philanthropy communities throughout the country.

Key Statistics
When the National Endowment for the Arts was founded in 1965, there were 23 professional resident theater companies, 39 professional dance companies, 58 professional orchestras, and 27 professional opera companies in the United States. Since that time, organizations of all sizes and disciplines have spread out across the country, bringing art and artists to the largest cities and the most remote locales.

• The number of local arts agencies climbed from 500 in 1965 to approximately 4,000 today. 
• There are 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies, up from eight in 1965. 
• The most recent survey of public arts programs found more than 350 operating across the country. 
• The creative industries—including both nonprofit and for-profit arts-related businesses—have also exploded in both numbers and influence in American communities.  The just-released 2005 Creative Industries Report found 578,000 arts-related businesses—4.4 percent of all businesses in the United States. 

Advocacy
Because decision makers and the general public respond to different messages, it is critical that arts advocates are informed and well-versed on a variety of issues that affect arts policy—economic, social, and political. The Americans for the Arts' Arts Action Center provides all the resources you need to become an effective arts advocate at the national, state, and local level.

Cultural Planning
Cultural planning is a public process in which representatives of a community undertake a comprehensive community assessment and create a plan of implementation for future cultural programming. Local arts agencies are pivotal players in the cultural planning process. Our research shows that local arts agency budgets and local government revenue increase at a higher rate for those communities with a cultural plan than for those without.

Grantmaking
Grantmaking is a primary means for distributing funds to artists and arts organizations. Myriad concerns face grantmakers: funding trends, equity in funding, evaluation criteria, and grantee accountability. The Americans for the Arts Grantmaking Peer Group enables members to communicate on
professional development initiatives, information distribution, and the development of standards within the grantmaking area.

Leadership
Honing professional skills, tracking trends in the arts field, and meeting the growing needs of our communities are perennial issues facing arts leaders. To learn more about leadership opportunities at Americans for the Arts, visit the professional development section of our website.

Emerging Leaders
The changing landscape of the arts administration field, leadership development, diversity, and balancing one's professional and personal life are central issues facing today’s emerging arts leaders. The Emerging Leader Council is an advisory body to Americans for the Arts and assists in developing programs and resources for emerging arts professionals nationwide.

Marketing and Communications
Audience development, organizational branding, the targeting of new markets, and the need for earned income strategies are critical issues facing arts organizations. The National Arts Marketing Project (NAMP) is the leading marketing source for nonprofit arts organizations.

Nonprofit Management
Arts organizations and agencies across the country are demanding higher levels of sophistication from the next generation of arts administrators. Founded in 1975, Association of Arts Administration Educators provides a forum for communication among its members and advocates for formal training and high standards of education for the next generation of arts administrators.

Technology
Technology is playing a pivotal role for arts organizations nationwide. Its use in advocacy, program management, fundraising, and networking is changing the landscape of the nonprofit arts industry.