As one of the key areas that the Local Grantmaking Program supports, we believe that the arts are essential to strong, vibrant communities, and that public engagement in the arts is a critical component to its success in a community. Building Public Will for Arts and Culture, a national initiative led by Arts Midwest and the Metropolitan Group to make arts and culture a more recognized, valued, and expected part of everyday life, embarked on an extensive research process that examined core public values and the relationship of those values to arts and culture.
Creating Connection outlines their findings and the new opportunities, strategies, and messages to engage broad and diverse audiences in arts and culture. Findings include the identification of connection to family, friends and community as a core value that can be served by participating in arts and cultural activities and the understanding that people under 40, women, parents of children under 18, and people of color are more likely to indicate that creative expression are important in their lives.
