The fiscal year 2019 findings are based on 633 survey responses that were collected from participating local arts agencies (LAAs) during May through August of 2019.

Local Arts Agencies by the Numbers in 2019:

• 95% use the arts to address community development issues such as social, education, or economic challenges.

• 83% expect the demand for their services to increase over the next two years.

• 76% provide arts education programs and/or services to the community.

• 76% provide financial support directly to organizations and/or artists in any form such as grants, contracts start-up capital, loans/microloans, and/or commissions/fellowships/ scholarships—63% to organizations, and 65% to individual artists

• 70% are private nonprofit organizations; 30 percent are government agencies.

  • 58% operate a competitive grantmaking program—55% award grants to organizations, and 39% award grants to individual artists.

• 64% report that their operating budget increased or remained the same from FY2018 to FY2019 (54 percent and 10 percent, respectively); 36 percent experienced a decrease in their operating budget.

• 62% manage one or more cultural facilities (e.g., performance or exhibition spaces, arts centers, galleries, incubators).

• 54% manage a public art program; 33% of those manage a percent-for-art program.

• 49% work in partnerships with their local Chamber of Commerce.

• 49% have adopted a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement.

• 49% work in communities that have integrated the arts into a community-wide planning effort such as a city’s master plan or a community foundation’s regional needs assessment.

• 34% report that their community has completed (or updated) a community cultural plan within the past five years

Reports: 2019 Profile of Local Arts Agencies

• Introduction by Randy Cohen (PDF)
• Executive Summary (PDF)
• 2019 Profile of Local Arts Agencies (full report, PDF)
• Detailed Data Tables (XLS)
• Survey Instrument (PDF)
• Description of Local Arts Agencies (PDF)
• ArtsBlog: Unpacking the 2019 Profile of Local Arts Agencies Study (published April 24, 2020)
• Webinar: 2019 Profile of Local Arts Agencies (recorded April 22, 2020)

Reports: 2019 Supplemental Modules

• Partnerships with Non-Arts Organizations
• ArtsBlog: How Partnerships with Non-Arts Organizations Work Best (published April 29, 2020)

The Local Arts Agency Dashboard

The Local Arts Agency Dashboard lets you compare your organization to another LAA or to a group of LAAs with similar characteristics. You can customize graphs based on characteristics like budget, service area population, legal status, or state.

Infographics

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Additional Local Arts Agency Resources

• What is a Local Arts Agency?
• Local Arts Network
• 2015 Local Arts Agency Census
• Arts + Social Impact Explorer
• Cultural Equity
• Professional Development
• The pARTnership Movement

Profile of Local Arts Agencies

Local Arts Agency Census Released May 2016

Americans for the Arts partnered with the National Endowment for the Arts to conduct The Local Arts Agency Census to illuminate the ever-adapting role our nation’s 4,500 local arts agencies play in ensuring the arts have a vital presence in every community. With surveys collected from more than 1,000 local arts agencies throughout 2015, the census represents the most comprehensive survey to date of the local arts agency (LAA) field.

The Local Arts Agency Census paints the portrait of the programs, budgets, and operations of the LAA field as of 2015.  Below, please find our 25 Highlights Report along with other resources. We will be releasing more topic-based one-page reports throughout the year. The schedule of topics below will help guide you on when to expect future reports.

Visit the Local Arts Agency Census Page to details.

Local Arts Agency Salaries 2013 Research Report

The Local Arts Agency Salaries 2013 research report benchmarks the vast and varied compensation practices of the local arts field in America today. As the previous iteration of this report did when it was published in 2001, the 2013 report will assist LAA executives and employees in evaluating staffing and salary levels, setting pay rates, determining incremental compensation adjustments, and better understanding the varied benefit options and structures currently at play in the field.

Some quick figures from the report:

• Full-time employees earn an average annual salary of just more than $66,000.
• 86 percent of the full-time respondents were white and 72 percent were female.
• Full-time employees had an average approximate age of 52.5 years.
• 91 percent of full-time employees have a college degree.
• Salaries of staff at city agencies averaged about $5,000 more than at county agencies and about $10,000 more than at multi-county agencies.
• Salaries increased by budget size, number of people in the service region, and number of employees.

Read the full report for more details and check out responses to this survey we published on Americans for the Arts ARTSblog.

New Community Visions Initiative

Launching in 2015 with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation—and in partnership with 30 local, state, and national arts organizations, arts agencies, and foundations—the New Community Visions Initiative is an ambitious two-year effort to explore the future of local arts in America and the role of community-based arts enabling organizations, funders, cultural institutions, and artists in shaping that future.

Incorporating twelve regional and national convenings, ten commissioned essays, and the release of a library of resources and digital engagement anchored by three books, this project aims to put forth a forward-looking blueprint for 21st century local arts development that will drive ten years of local-level capacity building, transformation, and change in order to create healthier communities over time. More information

Webinars

We know that local arts professionals are committed to expanding their professional skills and knowledge, but can't always travel to meetings and presentations. In response, the Local Arts Network has develops high-quality, online professional development webinars focused on topics specific to local arts leaders. From basic local arts management to successful ways to engage businesses in the arts, local arts leaders can engage in these discussions both live and on-demand. All webinars are free to Americans for the Arts members.

Annual Convention

Every year, Americans for the Arts hosts the largest gathering of arts and community leaders at our Annual Convention. The Local Arts Network ensures that local arts leaders connect and discuss strategies for building stronger towns, counties, and cities through the arts—learning both from field experts and each other. As our professional field has grown, so has our convention. What started as a small group of 45 people in 1955 has now grown to more than 1,100 local arts professionals each year.

Forum Programs

The Forum programs are a professional development opportunity that includes peer exchange, leadership skill development, and artmaking. It is also an opportunity to share your work, successes, and challenges and make new connections with potential collaborators.

Bringing together leaders from around the country who are steeped in their local ecosystem and community, the Forum is an opportunity to explore and examine relevant topics that advance local practice, share knowledge, provide an opportunity to break from your routine, and find community.

April 2020 Update: Due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, Americans for the Arts is postponing the 2020 Forum programs. This program will be reevaluated in the second half of the year and an update will be provided once available. We aim to relaunch the program in its entirety in 2021.

Blog Salons

ARTSblog is a highly curated space for Americans for the Arts staff, members, stakeholders, and constituents to share and learn from each other and gain the latest perspectives on everything in the arts field. Blog Salons—a modern take on the “old fashioned” salons, where arts professionals used to convene in person to share tips and trends—feature experts from the field who take a deep dive on a specific topic and post blogs from a variety of perspectives over the course of a week.

Previous blog salons have explored advocacy in arts education, the future of arts marketing, artist-municipal partnerships, the pursuit of cultural equity, and many more topics. The complete collection of Blog Salons is available to read at blog.americansforthearts.org — find the yellow “Blog Salon Archive” drop-down menu on the right-hand side of the page.

Local Arts News (LAN)

The LAN is a bi-weekly newsletter with the latest news and trends in local arts development including economic development, creative economy, board development, rural and small communities, fundraising, philanthropy, and opportunities for local arts professionals. The LAN is available to Americans for the Arts members.

The LAN is also a listserv that provides a platform for questions to and from the field about tools, resources, and professional development.

Other Services and Trainings

We also offer unique in person or online professional development opportunities including topic driven trainings at our annual convention preconferences, online classrooms, and regional trainings. Get more information.