Worcester Arts Council

Funding Priorities Survey Report Summer 2015

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Executive Summary and Acknowledgements

This report presents the key findings and suggestions from the 2015 Worcester Arts Coun-

cil (WAC) Funding Priorities Survey. The survey gathered community input to help council mem-

bers determine funding priorities for the upcoming 2016 grant cycle.

Council members collaboratively developed the survey with Erin Williams, Cultural Officer

for the City of Worcester. Hosted by Worcester State University through the Department of Urban

Studies, it was open and publicly-accessible from May 14 to July 8, 2015. There were 117 respond-

ents, which, while not a mandate from residents, amounted to more respondents than previous

years’ surveys and gives WAC both a benchmark for the future and a blueprint to proceed.

Access to the survey was publicized through:

• Worcester Magazine online • email blasts from the Worcester Cultural Council (WCC) • notices on the WAC and WCC websites • multiple announcements on the WAC and WCC Facebook pages • invitations, online and personal, by individual WAC members and staff liasons

Based on the community input received through this survey, community input meetings,

and less formal discussions with the community, WAC members voted to prioritize community

projects in the following categories in this year’s grant cycle:

• Public Art (murals, monuments, street art, etc.) • Visual Arts (ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography,

video) • Music/Performing Arts (including theatre and dance)

However, all projects in the realm of arts, sciences, and humanities will be considered for funding.

Beyond determining funding priorities for grants that will

be active in 2016, the survey also yielded useful information that

will help council members better understand their interaction

with the city. Council members look forward to broadening

WAC’s reach and community access to arts and culture.

This report was produced by the WSU Department of

Urban Studies’ research institute, the Vincent “Jake” Powers City-

Lab, in collaboration with the Worcester Arts Council.

Worcester Arts Council

Members, 2015

Jennifer Carey

Thomas Conroy

Paul DiDomenico, chair

Samantha Fiakofi

Pedro Figueroa, treasurer

Matthew Foster

Kelly Momberger, vice-chair

Sarah Murphy, secretary

Christina Zlody

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Patronage of/Interest in Worcester Arts & Culture Events

To get a sense of how engaged the Worcester community is in local arts and culture, the

WAC Grant Funding Priority Survey asked respondents to indicate how many arts-related or cul-

tural events they attended last year.

Nearly 40% of respondents reported that they had attended “7 or more” events and 24%

responded they had attended between 4 and 6. Only 7% of respondents said they attended no

events.

When asked what sorts of events or exhibitions they attended in the last year, respondents

most frequently noted “Visual Arts Show or Presentation” (70%), “Street Art/ Murals /

Memorials” (57%), and “Music Performance/Concert” (55%). The least types of programs noted

Number of Arts-Related or Cultural Events Attended Last Year

Types of Arts-Related or Cultural Events Attended Last Year

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were “Arts Instruction or Class” (13%), “Children’s Programs” (15%), and “Dance Performance/

Recital” (15%).

Worcester Arts Council members also wanted to know which events respondents thought

were supported by WAC funds. Of course, there are many arts and culture events in the city with-

out WAC sponsorship. When asked how many events respondents attended were funded by WAC,

though, 56% replied, “I am not sure.” This finding suggests WAC needs to pursue ways of better

publicizing its events and its sponsorship of them.

Only 22% of respondents had previously applied for a WAC grant, but they supplied telling

feedback on the application process, and about how to encourage more groups and artists to apply.

Suggestions for improving the process included creating an online application, which the Massa-

chusetts Cultural Council is pursuing, and providing training and clear application materials. While

the application process is largely determined by the state (MCC), the local council (WAC) can pur-

sue its own ways to broaden outreach, offer trainings, and publicize the grant process. For instance,

WAC already offers annual grant-writing workshops. In the future, WAC members are committed

to exploring ways to use the internet, newspapers, and social media to provide the sorts of infor-

mation that respondents suggested and to increase awareness of WAC’s grants.

WAC members also used the survey to learn which outlets people consult when looking for

information about area arts/culture events. Respondents indicated the frequency with which they

used particular media from a provided list.

Which Events Were Sponsored by WAC?

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The most frequent outlets noted were Facebook and Worcester Cultural Council emails.

Worcester Magazine also figured prominently in the mix, slightly more than the Worcester Telegram

did. On the other end of the spectrum, particularly high concentrations of respondents replied

that they “never” learned about events from Twitter or the WAC website.

A free-response section allowed respondents to note additional venues through which

they learned about local arts/culture events. The most common answers were: :

• word of mouth (friends, professors, WAC members)

• flyers/posters (at Worcester Public Library; local coffee shops, stores, etc.)

• radio (NPR in particular)

• websites (WorcesterScene.com; Google)

• communications/PR materials of individual offices/organizations (e.g. WooCard; Hanover Theater, ArtsWorcester, and Worcester Center for Crafts)

This information is important both to cultivate WAC’s presence in the media outlets it

already uses and to explore new outlets through which it can reach more people.

As of this writing, council members have engaged in an assessment of WAC’s website

with an eye toward making it more useful on a variety of fronts. Also recognizing the importance

of using Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, WAC is seeking interns to help develop

and manage its social media presence.

How Area Residents Learn about Arts/Culture Events

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The answers to previous questions helped WAC members assess what events area residents

have experienced and enjoyed in the recent past. Not content to base the funding priority determi-

nation solely on extrapolation from past experiences, though, the council members included two

straight-forward survey questions:

• “What types of arts and culture experiences would you like to see more of in Worces-ter?”

• “What areas would you like to see the Worcester Arts Council prioritize in its 2015

grants cycle?” Both questions listed the same categories for respondents to rank.

• Arts Education and Instruction

• Children’s Programs

• Humanities/History

• Interpretive Sciences (nature, history, science, and technology)

• Music

• Performing Arts (including Theater and Dance)

• Public Art (mural, moments, street art, etc.)

• Visual Arts (ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, video)

However, each set of responses is reported here using a slightly different metric. The first

asked respondents to indicate their preferences using sliders that were on a scale from 1-100 —

responses are reported in terms of cumulative points each category received in the figure titled, Pre-

ferred Arts and Culture Experiences in Worcester. The second question also used sliders, but responses

are reported as the mean for each category in the figure titled, Suggested Funding Priorities for 2015

Grant Cycle. The idea was to ensure WAC got clear guidance from respondents.

The most highly-ranked categories were in both questions were: Music, Visual Arts, Public

Art, and Performing Arts. The lowest-ranked categories were: Humanities/History, Children’s Pro-

grams, and Interpretive Sciences.

Accordingly, members of the Worcester Arts Council voted to prioritize Visual Arts, Public

Art, and Music & Performing Arts for next year’s grant awards, although they will still consider all

applications as they have in the past.

Determining Funding Priorities for 2016

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Preferred Arts and Culture Experiences in Worcester

Suggested Funding Priorities for 2015 Grant Cycle

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LOCATION

In the only mandatory demographic question, the survey asked respondents to indicate

where they lived. If they were residents of Worcester, respondents were asked to provide zip codes;

those who lived outside the city were asked to select “Outside of Worcester.”

The greatest portion of respondents (31%) lived outside the city. This is not as disconcert-

ing a statistic as it may seem at first. Many people who work and enjoy arts and culture programs in

the city do not live here. For example, a May 2013 Worcester Telegram article found that up to 45% of

Worcester’s public employees (excluding the school department) lived outside the city. The mission

of WAC, or any local cultural council, is to ensure funds are granted only to programs that occur in

the city, not solely to artists and audiences from the city. (Still, the large bulk of WAC grants have

gone to local artists and serve local audiences.)

Of the respondents who lived in Worcester, another 31% came from zip codes 01602 and

01609 with 15% and 16%, respectively. The final 38% came from the city’s 7 remaining zip codes.

Two zip codes had especially low participation: 01603 and 01608. The latter, 01608, actually has

the smallest overall population of any zip code in the city. According to the 2010 census, only 2.1%

Residency of Respondents

Demographic Information About Survey Respondents

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of the city’s population lived there. On the other hand, 01603 is among the more populous zip

codes containing 11% of the city’s population in 2010.

In the future, the Worcester Arts Council has resolved to pursue ways to expand its out-

reach to the whole city generally, but especially to those areas with the lowest participation.

ETHNICITY/RACE

Respondents who provided the optional ethno-racial information answered this way:

This turnout does not precisely represent an accurate cross-section of Worcester’s demog-

raphy. The American Community Survey of the US Census Bureau estimated Worcester’s 2013

population to be 181,901 and over 96% of it were estimated to be of one race. Using these figures

as a guide provides a way to gauge how representative the survey was and where WAC members

need to improve outreach efforts in the future.

Ethno-Racial Composition of Worcester and the 2015 WAC Funding Priorities Survey

Survey 2013 ACS

White 90.0% 73.7%

African-American 10.0% 12.4%

Asian 4.3% 6.1%

Native American or 1.4% 0.3% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

Latino 2.5% 20.4%

Race of Respondents

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GENDER

Almost three-quarters (73%) of respondents were female. The American Community Sur-

vey of the US Census Bureau estimated that females actually comprised 52.4% of the Worcester

population in 2013. In other words, respondents were far more likely to be female suggesting an-

other area in which WAC members should focus outreach efforts.

AGE

The below group shows the age distribution of respondents. Nearly half were between the

ages of 41 and 65.

The 2010 American Fact Finder reports divided the ranges in a slightly different way, but

general comparisons can easily be made. The total population in Worcester that year was

18.24% less than 14 years old 19.13% ages 15-24 21.24% ages 25-39 29.70% ages 40-64 11.69% age 65 and greater The 2013 American Community Survey estimated Worcester’s median age as 33.6 years. Moving

forward, WAC members will use this data to try to reach under-represented age groups.

INCOME

Approximately one-third of respondents indicated their household incomes were between

$50,000 and $74,999. The second highest category noted, selected by nearly 25% of respondents,

Age of Respondents

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was greater than $100,000. The median household income in Worcester according to the 2013

American Community Survey was $45,932, making most survey respondents higher than average.

HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILY SIZE

The survey asked respondents to indicate who lives in their households with them. This

was an attempt to understand more about family arrangements and household composition. The

responses to this question are.

Over two-thirds of the respondents said they shared a house with a spouse or significant

other suggesting most respondents were married or in . Almost 40% reported that children lived in

their houses with 18% having younger children and 20% having pre-teens and teenagers. Only 5 %

Household Income of Respondents

Household Composition of Respondents

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said there were elders in their homes while respondents reported equal numbers of family members

and non-family members (16.95%).

Census figures in the 2013 American Community Survey again provide a good barometer

to gauge the representativeness of these findings. In 2013, 57.8% of Worcester households were

occupied by families and 30.7% had children under 18 years old. In other words, the survey re-

spondents were more likely to be married (or in a relationship with a significant other) and more

likely to have children than the statistical averages suggest.

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These findings suggest that WAC members pursue the following initiatives more effectively

in the coming year:

• ensure WAC-funded events are well-advertised before the actual events

• underscore the WAC connection to projects via follow-up initiatives on WAC media fo-rums (e.g. posting pictures, linking WAC media to event sites and their artists, etc.)

• more systematically ensure funded programs follow grant parameters and verify the WAC logo and verbiage mandated by the MCC is present on published and posted materials.

• explore ways to emphasize connections between WAC and the city’s arts and culture com-munities beyond funding.

Looking to the future and to WAC’s role in the city, the survey included an open-ended

question asking what respondents would like to see from their arts council: “In what other ways

would you like the Worcester Arts Council to participate in the local arts/culture community?”

There were a variety of responses and some particularly good ideas.

Some respondents suggested WAC help produce city-wide events and thematic celebra-

tions such as a large ethnic celebration, indigenous art showcases of the different immigrant and

refugee communities in Worcester, mural-creation and public art events, a monthly folk music con-

cert series, outdoor arts events such as Shakespeare on the Common. These were events that, as

one respondent noted, “can grow into a weekend or weeklong (or more) events that become signa-

ture cultural draws for the City.”

There was a clear interest in WAC becoming a more proactive body connecting artists,

people, institutions, and businesses and providing opportunities for partnerships and collaborations

among them. For example, a few respondents noted the importance of tying universities to the

larger community through the arts, although no specific initiatives were offered. But there were

many suggestions, general and specific, about connecting arts, people, and especially locally-owned

businesses. One respondent said, “I would also like to see the arts and local businesses collaborate

more to bring creativity to the business’ storefronts, web sites, marketing, and community out-

reach.” Another respondent called for “local art displayed in more stores/restaurants.” Members

of WAC have even been looking for opportunities to encourage art and business connectivity.

Other feedback was broader still and more specifically aimed at WAC becoming a mecha-

nism for artist outreach and artist/community networking. One respondent noted that it was im-

Suggestions for the Future

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portant to “get everyone connected. [There are] so many artists and no central meeting place.” An-

other suggested that WAC explore a “convention drawing together artists’ groups and organiza-

tions that Worcester adults and children could attend free.” A few replies talked of developing liv-

ing/working spaces for artists in the city through public-private development partnerships. One

respondent noted “Main South is ripe for this as well as many other areas including older former

industrial sites.” A couple of responses suggested WAC promote the crowd-funding efforts of

Worcester-area artists, “so, basically,” as one respondent wrote, “not only give out grants, but help

artists get the word out when they make a DIY grant.”

Finally, respondents offered a variety of outreach strategies for WAC to consider. Some

included specifically reaching out to new audiences such as youth and people in all of Worcester’s

neighborhoods, which was underscored in the survey results too. Others suggested the creation of

platforms for networking and collaboration. One respondent said she wanted to see WAC engaged

in more “active scouting/recruiting of players already on the scene — for example, going to an un-

derground DIY show to seek out new, emerging artists that could be involved in WAC’s future

projects.” Putting it simply, one response noted that WAC should “encourage more people to get

out and enjoy Worcester, the creative city.”