Supply and Demand for Art Organizations

The Washington Post has an interesting article about arts organizations and a survey by the nonprofit group Americans for the Arts.  The survey results are both good and bad, as well as having some very interesting figures.  The good news is the growth of art organizations over the past 10 years has been very strong, although the article did not reveal the percentage of annual growth,  What I also found very interesting was the statement from American for the Arts that a new art organization is created every three hours.

Now, for the downside of the story, the survey reveals there has been a decline in the number of visitors at art institutions.  The article notes a 13 percent decline at art museums between 2003 and 2008. In effect, the supply and demand for arts organizations was out of equilibrium, with a growing supply and weakening demand.  Part of the decline is the way many people now consume cultural information......through the internet.

The Washington Post article states

This issue of supply and demand in the arts world is a troubling one, said the authors of the National Arts Index, because many groups have financial troubles and people of all ages are discovering new ways to experience the arts, including the Internet.

"Audience demand has failed to keep pace" with this boom in opportunities for arts participation, said Randy Cohen, the vice president for local arts advancement at the Americans for the Arts. "There is a new arts organization created every three hours."

Straitened financial circumstances and audience drift are issues that have been festering for years, and the recent recession didn't help. The analysts behind the index hope their data -- taken between 1998 and 2008 -- will clarify the predicament the arts find themselves in and provide a roadmap for new artistic and business models. "This first-ever annual measure confirms observations we have had for years," said Robert L. Lynch, the group's president and chief executive.

Attendance at art museums was down 13 percent from 2003 to 2008, the index found, while audiences at popular music events were down 6 percent. More people are taking classes in knitting and ceramics, as an arts participation survey by the National Endowment for the Arts reported last year.

Increasingly, people turn to the Internet for their arts consumption, whether they're seeking snippets of concerts or replays of stand-up comedy routines.

To read the full Washington Post article, click HERE.