One spring day in 1840, on the bank of Goose Pond in Massachusetts—not far from Walden Pond, where Henry David Thoreau would make his stand—Ralph Waldo Emerson and the poet Jones Very were admiring the interplay of wind and water. “I declare this world is so beautiful that I can hardly believe it exists,” Emerson was moved to say. His more empirically-minded companion noted: … [Read more...] about Momentum Gains with Small-Scale Studies about the Arts and Mental Health
Poet Leslie Sainz
We’re celebrating National Poetry Month with 2021 NEA Literature Fellow and poet Leslie Sainz who discusses her debut poetry collection, "Have You Been Long Enough at Table." Sainz reads from her collection and talks about its major themes including the ambiguity, displacement, and impact of cultural heritage as a daughter of Cuban immigrants. She discusses the variety of … [Read more...] about Poet Leslie Sainz
Quick Study: Cultural Districts and Well-Being Strategies
In this episode, we learn how leaders of a global network of arts and cultural districts regard their influence on community health and well-being. A transcript is available on the NEA website. … [Read more...] about Quick Study: Cultural Districts and Well-Being Strategies
Performing Arts “Crossover” Strategies Fail to Diversify Core Audiences, According to New Report
"Organizations should frankly assess whether they seek to expand audiences or whether they seek to expand audiences strictly for their artistic priorities, because these can be in tension. Organizations can choose to do either or both but should not conflate the two." — Francie Ostrower, PhD, In Search of a Magic Bullet: Results from the Building Audiences for … [Read more...] about Performing Arts “Crossover” Strategies Fail to Diversify Core Audiences, According to New Report
Quick Study: NEA Chair in Conversation with U.S. Census Bureau Chief
In this special edition, I interview National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson and U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos about the mutually reinforcing roles of the arts and the social sciences, and about artists' contributions to trust-building and community engagement. A transcript is available here. For a transcript, click here … [Read more...] about Quick Study: NEA Chair in Conversation with U.S. Census Bureau Chief