ARTS FUNDING PICTURE NOT SO BLEAK, SAY STUDIES

Two new studies offer a somewhat encouraging picture of arts funding in the United States, Leonard Jacobs reports in Backstage. The first, issued by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), reports that in the current fiscal year, appropriations for the arts at the state level held steady for the first time in several years. The other study, a biennial survey conducted by the Business Committee for the Arts, shows that American corporations are more generous to the arts than many may realize. Meanwhile, a third study, this one commissioned by the Wallace Foundation and issued by the RAND Corporation, takes a new tack on the funding question, contending that arts advocates should shift their focus from maintaining the supply of the arts for audiences to building demand by “introducing more Americans to engaging arts experiences, especially when they are young.”