High-performing arts organizations primarily serving communities of color rest on a foundation of community orientation and high-quality programming. This is one of the main takeaways from a 2021 report from researchers at SMU DataArts. The report is a follow-up to a 2020 report identifying elements high-performing arts organizations appear to share. While the first report takes a broader look at high-performing arts organizations, the 2021 report focuses on high-performing organizations rooted in communities of color—an area that aligns with the focus of Wallace’s current arts initiative.
While both reports found that quality and community are important to both groups of organizations, the second report found a greater emphasis on and orientation to communities of color.
“When you build community with a group of people that have been historically underrepresented, it builds a lot of loyalty,” one arts leader shared with the authors of the 2021 report. “Organizations rooted in their community are very valued because it’s where people find their people. We get a lot of value from our resources and because there’s such loyalty, people want to work with us.”
Those interviewed said understanding which programs resonate with the local community requires engaging beyond the organization—listening, learning, and responding in ways that build genuine relationships.
“To succeed, most importantly, you need the trust of the artists and the trust of the community members,” another arts leader shared with the researchers. “We spend a lot of time in our daily work constantly in touch with each community to understand it. Each project has an organizing committee. We have to understand it with a real sensitivity towards the art form so that when the artists and community present it, they are confident we’re behind them and in their voice. These are relationships.”
Leaders described their organizations as integral parts of the community, not just places that put on events or attract audiences.
“Develop relationships across communities, develop relevant programming and client services that serve those relationships,” one arts leader shared. “It all has to be welcoming and relevant. I think about ‘what are the barriers’? What can we do to get beyond the barriers?”
Organizations rooted in their community are very valued because it’s where people find their people. We get a lot of value from our resources and because there’s such loyalty, people want to work with us.
A strength of the organizations serving communities of color is that their cultures are built on trust, transparency, open communication, and respect. They adhere to long-term plans but are quick to adapt to changing circumstances.
However, according to the report, even with a clear vision and strong foundation, outside forces like natural disasters, racism, gentrification, limited funding access, and economic hardship in the communities they serve, can make it hard to achieve short-term success.
With limited access to institutional funding, some organizations turn to their communities to help pay their bills. But many serve low-income communities with little ability to contribute. Organizations that can tap their communities for funding can grow and serve more people. Those that cannot remain effective but small, the report says.
The focus on community can sometimes help organizations weather headwinds, including overhead costs from marketing and fundraising, staff burnout, and difficulty attracting new talent. “Their commitment to meeting community needs, smaller size, and nimbleness may provide distinct advantages for survival,” the report concludes.
Supporting arts organizations rooted in communities of color is at the heart of Wallace’s current Advancing Well-Being in the Arts initiative, which is working with organizations in three ways:
- Partnering with 18 relatively large organizations nationwide to help them advance their organizational well-being. The organizations span visual and performing arts, media arts, and community-based organizations focused on artistic practice.
- Funding intermediary organizations to help them support smaller arts organizations rooted in communities of color.
- Supporting research-practice partnership projects proposed by arts service organizations rooted in communities of color.
Click here to learn more about the initiative and the three groups of organizations participating in it.
