Featured Clients
ArtsEd Washington
An initial 5-year evaluation of an innovative program linking elementary-school principals and arts education; identifying and analyzing opportunities for replication. learn more
ArtsEd Washington
The Principal’s Arts Leadership (PAL) program was created by ArtsEd Washington to inform and support elementary school teams, led by principals, in the development and implementation of arts plans to increase arts education. Each school’s plan was intended to build on and reflect the unique pathway appropriate to that school’s characteristics and community, using existing and new resources. AdvisArts conducted an extensive assessment and evaluation of the first five years of PAL to identify the program’s impact on participating individuals, schools and districts, and to inform continuation and replication of the program. Interviews were conducted on-site with school principals and arts team members at 16 schools, with further research investigating best practices. The resulting report, Anchoring Arts Education: Principals’ Arts Leadership, an Evaluation of ArtsEd Washington’s Elementary School Program, was completed in May 2009, with findings presented at the 2009 Americans for the Arts conference and other national forums. The assessment process was supported by the John F. Kennedy Center, 4Culture and the Robert B McMillen Foundation.
ArtsEd Washington, Principal’s Arts Leadership Research
Seattle Office of Film + Music, City of Seattle
Research for the City of Seattle to align governmental activities with Seattle’s economic and social assets in support of a new music initiative. learn more
Seattle Office of Film + Music, City of Seattle
AdvisArts worked with the City of Seattle’s Office of Film + Music, Office of Economic Development, to develop City of Music: a vision for the future of music in Seattle, and subsequently to assess the City of Seattle’s role in advancing this vision. The vision process, completed in September 2007, included convening of a 24 member advisory committee of leaders from all aspects of the music sector. The resulting document identified components relevant to musicians, music education, live music venues, music businesses and others engaged in making the vision a reality by 2020. To further explore existing and potential roles that the City of Seattle might play, AdvisArts interviewed leadership from twenty-seven City of Seattle departments to identify resources and ideas relevant to the City of Music vision. This research resulted in a report, City of Music/City of Seattle: A look at the City’s Relationship to the City of Music 2020 Vision. The report concluded with recommendations which were presented to the Mayor and other City of Seattle leaders, leading to the creation of the Seattle Music Commission and other ongoing efforts.
City of Music
Seattle Public Schools
A survey of arts teaching and activities within this large urban school district provided the first high-level picture of arts instruction and access in more than thirty years. learn more
Seattle Public Schools
Seattle Public Schools (SPS) identified arts education as important to fulfillment of its Strategic Plan. This revitalized commitment required a clear picture of current activity and an investigation of equity in access across the District. In 2008 AdvisArts conducted a survey of district arts activity for SPS with support through the partnership of Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs and the SPS Department of Visual and Performing Arts. The survey provided the first District-wide look at arts teaching and activities in elementary, middle, high and alternative schools since the 1970s, with 90% of all schools participating. The research also provided insights to assist SPS in meeting reporting standards for state-developed Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRS) in dance, music, theater and visual arts. The final report, Seattle Public Schools Survey of District Arts Activity, January 2009, provides a high-level picture of arts instruction and access at the District level with key findings in five areas: arts instruction and activities; resources for arts teaching and activities; barriers to the arts; policy and assessment; and attitudes regarding arts activity.
Seattle Public Schools Department of Visual and Performing Arts
Washington State Arts Commission’s City Partner Activities with Wallace Arts Participation Leadership Initiative
AdvisArts provided research for the Washington State Arts Commission (WSAC) on the work of entities serving as City Partners in five cities for the Wallace Foundation’s
Arts Participation Leadership Initiative (APLI) between 2006 and 2010. This research formed the basis for AdvisArts’ evaluation of options and opportunities for WSAC to strengthen its role as City Partner for Seattle, delivering services to the nine Seattle Wallace Excellence Awardees, and stretching the impact of the Wallace initiative broadly to other arts organizations in the region. The focus of the APLI effort in Washington State is building participation among youth, young adults and diverse populations, and expanding access through new technology.
Washington State Arts Commission:
Arts Participation Leadership Initiative
Graceful Exit: Thoughts on End-of-Life Issues for Arts Organizations, Grantmakers in the Arts
Conversations with arts funders and organization staff members reveal fundamental and distinct dynamics regarding life span and life cycle issues for arts organizations, with the economic recession adding additional factors. Claudia Bach, AdvisArts principal, was asked by Grantmakers in the Arts to research current topics regarding closure of arts organizations and to identify a checklist of issues related to closure. How can an organization best explore potential closure, and proceed with intentionality and grace if it has crossed the decision threshold?
Graceful Exit: Thoughts on End-of-Life Issues for Arts Organizations, published in fall 2009 GIA Reader, examines current practices and the insights of leading arts funders.
Grantmakers in the Arts
Artist Trust’s Artists and the Economy Survey
Artist Trust wanted to take the pulse of the Washington state artist community and to consider what programmatic solutions Artist Trust and others might offer in response to the economic downturn. In spring 2009 nearly 700 artists responded to an online survey developed by Artist Trust. The survey was not designed to collect data for quantitative analysis; rather, it started as a way to gather an informal snapshot of the situation. AdvisArts principal Claudia Bach was asked to review and analyze the narrative responses, resulting in the article,
Fear and Anxiety, or Resilience and Creativity, for the summer 2009 issue of Grantmakers in the Arts Reader.
Artist Trust
ROOTS Project, Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, Seattle
Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center (LHPAC) provides programming to serve diverse Seattle-area audiences, with a special emphasis on the African-American community. In 2003, LHPAC began the two-year ROOTS Project, which focused on audience development and community dialogue, funded by the Washington State Arts Commission through a grant from the Wallace Arts Participation Initiative. AdvisArts conducted community surveys, dialogue groups and interviews and provided LHPAC with analysis and recommendations to effectively respond to its current and potential participants.
Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center
images – ArtsEd Washington: Adams Elementary Student © courtesy Julia Kuskin, Students at PAL school, Adams Elementary © courtesy Julia Kuskin, ArtsEd Washington Principals’ Arts Leadership (PAL) program training © courtesy of ArtsEd Washington – Seattle Music Commission: Seattle Music Commission © 2011 – Seattle Public Schools: Editing in Room 12 a, Arbor Heights Elementary School, Seattle, Washington, Earth Day © mahlness 2009, Untitled © allie bishop pasquier 2008, painting a forest © allie bishop pasquier 2008
