By Any Measure

Among minor casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic—at least in my neighborhood— were troops of parents and young children going door to door for Halloween, wearing costumes with masks that were not N95s. In those years, leaving a bucket of candy out on the stoop with a “Have at it!” sign became an enduring option.  Back then, the diminution of trick-or-treaters reflected … [Read more...] about We Know What You Did Last Summer

In this episode, we look at a new NEA research report, 50 States of Arts Participation, to learn how patterns of art-going and art-making vary by state. A transcript is available here. … [Read more...] about Quick Study: Arts Participation Rates at the State Level

A poet-friend of mine runs a blog that carries, as its tagline, “Would it kill you to read a #$%&% book?” To my ears, the slogan has come to sound less like a writer’s rant, or the crude appeal of a beleaguered parent, than a knee-jerk reaction to federal stats about reading in the U.S. Most recently, survey results from three different sources—the U.S. Bureau of Labor … [Read more...] about Federal Data on Reading for Pleasure: All Signs Show a Slump

In this episode, we discuss government statistics about arts managers, based on forthcoming results from an analysis to be posted to the NEA website. A transcript is available here. … [Read more...] about Quick Study: Arts and Cultural Managers