This third study by SMU DataArts analyzing the demographic makeup of the arts and cultural workforce in LA County finds a significant shift toward greater racial and ethnic diversity since 2019, particularly at the leadership level.

This study explores the role that young adult advisory councils (YAACs) can play in helping arts and culture nonprofits address emerging issues, better understand the communities they serve, and achieve their missions. Through interviews with 25 YAAC managers and participants at arts nonprofits across the US, five key themes emerged:

An evaluation of the first six residencies of the Creative Strategist program finds that a significant amount of art-as-process occurred across the residencies, with many of the creative strategists doing work engaging communities, especially those historically underserved by local government.

Make or Break: Race and Ethnicity in Entry-Level Compensation for Arts Administrators in Los Angeles County is a study of compensation for entry-level arts administrators in Los Angeles County and reveals troubling disparities between those who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and their White counterparts.

Based on interviews with disabled and non-disabled artists and art professionals, this research study, Accessibility and the Arts: Reconsidering the Role of the Artist, investigates the role of artists and the museums that exhibit their work in making artwork accessible to people with disabilities.

What began as a health crisis has become an economic crisis and a moment of reckoning for racial justice. Since mid-March, systemic and structural inequities across LA County have become more visible than ever before.

A study using qualitative methods to understand arts audiences in LA County.

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 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.