The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that provides the opportunity for Americans to get involved and participate in the arts in their communities. The NEA’s office of Research and Analysis provides funding to support projects nationwide that investigate the value and impact of the arts. The NEA provided a fifteen thousand dollar grant to fund a three-year research project at Boise State University called “Universities: Cultural Anchors in the Intermountain West.”
Amanda Ashley, assistant professor of community and regional planning and Leslie Durham, Boise State professor of theatre arts and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, are overseeing the project. The study will further develop and analyze …show more content…
“This evidence has the potential to hone the instincts and channel the energy of local change agents who shape university strategic plans and create urban cultural plans, thereby translating an enhanced recognition of the value and impact of the arts into actionable terms across the region,” Durham explained.
One of the major goals for the study is to develop a research based assessment tool which will enable universities to determine how they currently support artist-driven economic development as well as cultivating the universities role as art economic development anchors within their communities. Durham and Ashley see their assessment tool as being instrumental in how communities and institutions efficiently assess and evaluate their involvement in the economic development of the arts.
“We believe that beyond a region-wide snapshot, it would also be useful for public universities to evaluate the perceptions and realities of artist-driven investment in order to create awareness of the multiple and comprehensive ways to anchor Arts Economic Development.” Durham
Amanda Ashley, assistant professor of community and regional planning and Leslie Durham, Boise State professor of theatre arts and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, are overseeing the project. The study will further develop and analyze …show more content…
“This evidence has the potential to hone the instincts and channel the energy of local change agents who shape university strategic plans and create urban cultural plans, thereby translating an enhanced recognition of the value and impact of the arts into actionable terms across the region,” Durham explained.
One of the major goals for the study is to develop a research based assessment tool which will enable universities to determine how they currently support artist-driven economic development as well as cultivating the universities role as art economic development anchors within their communities. Durham and Ashley see their assessment tool as being instrumental in how communities and institutions efficiently assess and evaluate their involvement in the economic development of the arts.
“We believe that beyond a region-wide snapshot, it would also be useful for public universities to evaluate the perceptions and realities of artist-driven investment in order to create awareness of the multiple and comprehensive ways to anchor Arts Economic Development.” Durham