ArtsIndicators

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© 10/11/09 Jon Hawkes <email> <web>
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Arts Indicators

This is a list of indicators, specifically focused on the arts, that one could imagine emerging from a process of 'community efforts to track progress towards a desired future'.

Naturally, the main focus is on the connectedness of the arts community to wider communities and on the development of opportunities for community members to actively engage in arts practice. It is taken for granted that the natural desire to creatively express oneself would be a primary motive in the development of this framework. Support for the professional arts is nevertheless included but it is secondary to active community participation.

The reason this perspective has been adopted arises directly out of the Community Indicator movement (see notes at the conclusion) - indicators developed in areas such as governance, health, education and access to services have all manifested this desire for direct involvement as against an expectation that professional experts will determine, and provide, the necessities of life.

In other words, this is a framework based on assumptions about what the citizenry may want, rather than on assumptions about what a public authority should (or could) deliver.

The arts community's connections to larger community issues and expectations:

types of new and ongoing experiences created by the arts community specifically aimed at community development;
extent to which members of the arts community embrace working with communities as a fundamental role;
working artists and arts groups that are active contributors to community life;
types and numbers of arts projects working with specific communities;
types and numbers of issue-based arts projects;

Community perceptions of the arts:

recognition of the range of arts practices; eg, folk to fine arts, ballet to hip hop, Beethoven to Ruby Hunter, Nolan to graffiti;
recognition of the role the arts can play in community development;

Community expectations of the arts community:

level of community expectations that the arts can be a meaningful reflection of the community's values, history and aspirations;
community perceptions of the arts community's willingness to work with communities addressing community issues;
community perceptions of the nature and extent of publicly accessible arts resources;
levels of community involvement in the management of arts organisations;
community opportunities to influence what arts offerings are available;

Connections across groups/boundaries:

types of activities offered by the arts community with the intended purpose of linking groups of people;
number of activities that examine connections among groups or across issues;

Diversity of opportunities for arts participation, including opportunities for continuous and deepening participation:

opportunities for community members to fully participate in residency and other community-based arts projects;
range of types of community contribution offered by arts organisations (including volunteers and 'friends');
proportion of adults surveyed who report significantly meaningful arts experiences over the past year;
level of significance and satisfaction of participation;
perceived accessibility of arts institutions;
number/location of public art sites;
low cost opportunities to attend performances and/or view exhibitions and demonstrations;

Diversity of opportunities for youth and level and continuity of participation by youth:

level and representativeness; eg, neighbourhood, race, ethnicity, language, gender, of participation by children in public school arts programs;
range of arts visits to schools;
students who are enriched intellectually and emotionally through experiences with the arts;
types of non-school arts offerings specifically targeted at youth;

The arts community's response to cultural diversity:

participation reported by members of racial/ethnic subgroups in arts activities;
level and type of Indigenous arts activities;
range of arts activities specifically designed with and for cultural sub-groups; eg, women, youth, children, aged, of a particular neighbourhood, homeless, unemployed, incarcerated;

Vitality of arts offerings:

number and nature of community-initiated/controlled arts projects;
extent to which participation results in inspirational experiences that are technically proficient and meaningful;
depth of connections between arts resources and citizenry;
value(s) reflecting community connections that the artist is trying to convey;
diversity of ways to engage with arts activities; eg, creation, presentation, witness, volunteer;

Health of the arts community:

dollar amount of local sales of local artists' works;
number (and proportion in comparison with aggregate) of new works presented by local artists;
opportunities for artists to be involved in public design;
opportunities for artists to pass on their skills in community contexts;
extent to which local artists gain exposure beyond the municipal boundaries;
extent of interstate and international exchanges of artists and their work;
level of investment in public art as a component of building development;
accumulated sponsorship/philanthropic support for the arts;
extent of partnerships between and among arts institutions/groups and with the communities in which they are based;
types of partnership activities;
level of volunteer opportunities;
attendance at arts events;
numbers of artists domiciled and/or working in the municipality;
numbers of artists in financial difficulties;

Opportunities for vocational arts training:

eg, apprenticeship, residency, and master class opportunities;
accessibility of short and long term post secondary arts training programs;

Diversity of institutions involved in the arts, including non-traditional examples:

venues of different types offering performances and exhibitions;
range of arts activities presented free in open air public places;
commercial and industrial projects with public art components;

Arts community's engagement with celebration of heritage:

range of oral history projects;
development of historical and culturally significant sites.

Sustainability of the arts community:

survival rate of established arts groups;
extent to which continued activities are independent of external support or established groups;

Municipal contribution:

local government financial support for arts organizations per capita;
types of infrastructural support for the arts community available through local government;
events and numbers of days booked for arts events in public facilities;
level and nature of community input into policy development;
level and nature of local government decision-making on arts matters.

This list originally appeared as an appendix in The Fourth Pillar in 2001. It was inspired by the 'community indicator movement' in general, and the RMC Research Corporation in particular. For more information see:
RMC Research Corporation
Community Indicators Consortium
Redefining Progress
Community Indicators Victoria

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