The Public Benefits and Value of Arts & Culture: What Have We Learned and Why Does It Matter?

Monday, October 13, 3:15pm – 4:45pm

Organized and moderated by Karen Gahl-Mills, Executive Director, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

Presented by Nick Rabkin, Managing Partner, reMaking Culture; and Holly Sidford, President, Helicon Collaborative.

Public funding for the arts depends on a broad recognition of a positive return on public investment. A richer understanding of how public value is created and distributed through the arts is key for public funders to sustain and enhance strong support for arts and culture. Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, the public grantmaker for the region surrounding Cleveland, Ohio, commissioned a study on the benefits of arts and culture in our community. From its findings, we are formulating recommendations to stimulate the conversations and experiments needed to evolve our assumptions about the public value of the arts in the 21st century. We will report on initial findings and discuss what we have learned and how it applies to the field as a whole.