Arts Ecology

This is the second study conducted by SMU DataArts for Arts and Culture, analyzing the demographics of the arts and cultural workforce in LA County.

A report about the implementation of a new eligibility requirement for the Organizational Grant Program that requires all grantees to submit a statement, policy, or plan outlining their commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and access as part of their applications.

Building Creative Career Pathways for Youth analyzes opportunities for youth in 70 creative occupations in the creative industries as well as programs designed to help youth access those jobs. This field scan found that Arts Education programs are nearly ubiquitous in the County, although not necessarily high quality nor equitably accessible to all residents.

Read our report on the 2016-17 Research and Evaluation Plan: what we did and why, and some key lessons we learned along the way.

On Saturday, April 22, 2017, nearly 150 participants, speakers, volunteers, and observers assembled in downtown LA to spend the day exploring how data can be used to improve access to the arts for all ten million residents of Los Angeles County. This report tells the story of what we did, and provides a toolkit for others who want to do their own datathon.

This study analyzes the demographics of the arts and cultural workforce in Los Angeles County—specifically, staff members, board, volunteers, and independent contractors associated with 386 cultural nonprofits, most of which receive funding from Arts and Culture, and/or seven other municipal funders in the County. The findings presented in this report are based on 3,307 unique responses to the DataArts Workforce Demographics survey, conducted from May 2016 - July 2016. Among the key findings:

Analyzing data from the Cultural Data Project, Arts and Culture found that nonprofit arts organizations in Los Angeles County paid some $266.6 million in salaries to the equivalent of 4,650 full time employees in 2011.

Arts education across all 81 school districts in LA County has held steady since 2005/06, despite the recession and even as the total number of students enrolled in public schools has declined. That’s what Arts and Culture learned when analyzing data on arts courses, enrollment, and teachers that was reported by school districts to the California Department of Education (CDE).

In 2012, 35,076 volunteers worked nearly six million hours at 386 nonprofit arts organizations in LA County. This report explores the role of volunteers in arts nonprofits. 

This series of reports analyzes data reported by arts nonprofits in LA County to DataArts (formerly the Cultural Data Project). They explore how much is being paid on salaries and benefits, how many hours of time is volunteered, and they provide recommendations to how arts nonprofits can improve in these areas.