Measure for Measure

For this entry, I'm sharing the latest episode of Quick Study, the NEA's research podcast. This month, we discuss Emerging from the Cave, a study commissioned by the Sundance Institute and authored by Jesse Cameron Alick. The report captures the most pressing challenges and opportunities for today’s theater artists—in their own words. A transcript of this podcast is available … [Read more...] about Quick Study: Rethinking Theater Arts

An occupational hazard of the social sciences is that we tend to generalize. Even when writing about the dynamic and complex system of arts and culture, it becomes tempting to treat the component parts as monoliths. Thus, when attempting to quantify the arts’ benefits to individuals and society, we often overlook the roles and relationships of different units that work in … [Read more...] about But What About the Artists?

In the early 1990s, as a moon-eyed undergraduate at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, I often killed time between classes by straying into the Hopwood Room in Angell Hall. Named for Avery Hopwood (1882-1928), an alum and playwright whose Broadway credits include Getting Gertie’s Garter, the carpeted oasis lured few visitors—beyond faculty and students from the MFA … [Read more...] about Far from Frill—Large Investments in Campus Arts Facilities May Attract Higher-Tuition Students