On Friday, October 26, over one hundred members of the Rhode Island arts community joined with arts researchers at Trinity Rep in Providence for a day-long meeting they called "DataFest", a first-ever gathering to explore the role that data and information play in helping arts organizations and community leaders tell the story of how the arts and culture contribute to Rhode Island's economy, education and quality of life.

"Those of us who live in Rhode Island understand that the arts are an important part of our state's economy," explained Randall Rosenbaum, Executive Director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and one of the organizers of the event, along with the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism. "We continually need to back that understanding up with facts and figures. DataFest is a first step in proving that the arts provide a great return on our state's investment."

"We all know arts and culture have played a major role in the re-invention of Providence. From our city's major cultural institutions, to the incredible youth arts organizations, our individual artists and design based businesses, Providence is a deeply creative place. Having hard data that backs up what we all know is significant. The data provided in these reports will allow the city to continue to invest in the arts, culture and design sectors in a strategic and measurable way."

DataFest kicked off with a presentation on the Rhode Island Cultural Data Project, a collaboration between the State Arts Council, the Rhode Island Foundation and the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. Ashley Berendt, an associate with the Cultural Data Project, offered arts organizations a better understanding about how they can use their own cultural data project information to manage their operations more effectively. Part of a thirteen state initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Cultural Data Project gathers information from arts organizations in Rhode Island on attendance, spending and programming. That information helps put numbers on the level of arts and cultural activity in our state. The Cultural Data Project also provides tools that Rhode Island arts organizations can use in measuring their own progress in a number of important areas - from raising money to assessing spending on personnel and marketing.

After a lunch break, participants heard from Randy Cohen, Vice President of Research & Policy with Americans for the Arts, a national arts advocacy organization. Cohen presented the findings of Arts & Economic Prosperity IV, a study that looked at the economic impact of the arts throughout the country, and will report specifically on what they learned about the impact of the arts in the City of Providence. "What do you do with a $191million dollar industry that supports 4,669 jobs and generates $9 million in local government revenue? Invest in it, nurture it and grow it! If you care about community and economic vitality, can feel good about investing in the arts."

Cohen referenced these research studies in his presentation:

• Arts & Economic Prosperity IV: The Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations and Their Audiences in the City of Providence. (Americans for the Arts, 2012 ) Executive Summary | Full Report
• The Creative Industries in Providence County, RI. (Americans for the Arts, 2012)
• National Arts Index (Americans for the Arts, 2012)
• Ready to Innovate: Are educators and executives aligned on the creative readiness of the U.S. workforce? (The Conference Board, 2008)
• Click Here For More

Cohen was followed by Steven A. Wolff, a principal of AMS Planning & Research Corporation, who has done research for the Department of Art, Culture + Tourism on the economic impact of the arts in Providence, specifically comparing our capital city with other selected cities throughout the country. This project is funded in part by the Rhode Island Foundation. You can view a summary of Wolff's presentation here.

DataFest was organized by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism, with additional support from the Rhode Island Foundation, the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities and Rhode Island Citizens for the Arts.

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Presenter Bios

Ashley B. Berendt
Associate, Cultural Data Project, The Pew Charitable Trusts
Ashley joined the CDP in March 2010 as an associate, managing strategy and operations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Prior to joining the CDP, Ashley was a fellow and research associate at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University. Her previous nonprofit experience includes administering social justice grant programs at the Tides Foundation in San Francisco, managing microenterprise programs for family farmers and at California FarmLink, and providing focus group analysis for nonprofit clients at the public opinion research firm Peter D. Hart Research Associates in Washington, DC. Ashley holds a BA in Religion and Sociology from Bowdoin College and a Master's of Theological Studies in Religion, Ethics, and Politics from Harvard University.



Randy I. Cohen
VP of Research & Policy, Americans for the Arts
Randy is among the most noted experts in the field of arts funding, research, policy, and using the arts to address community development issues. He publishes The National Arts Index, the annual measure of the health and vitality of arts as well as the two premier economic studies of the arts industry--Arts & Economic Prosperity, the national impact study of nonprofit arts organizations and their audiences; and Creative Industries, an annual mapping study of the nation's 760,000 arts establishments and their employees. Randy led the development of the National Arts Policy Roundtable, an annual convening of leaders who focus on the advancement of American culture, launched in 2006 in partnership with Robert Redford and the Sundance Preserve.

In the late 1990's, Randy collaborated with the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities to create Coming Up Taller, the White House report on arts programs for youth-at-risk; and the U.S. Department of Justice to produce the YouthARTS Project, the first national study to statistically document the impact of arts programs on at-risk youth. Randy is a sought after speaker who has given speeches in 48 states, and regularly appears in the news media--including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and on CNN, CNBC, and NPR.

Randy has been a policy specialist for the National Endowment for the Arts, founded the San Diego Theatre for Young Audiences and served as its managing director, as well as worked in medical research for Stanford University and Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation. He was Chairman of the Takoma Park Arts & Humanities Commission for three years, during which time the Commission completed a cultural plan, established the city's Poet Laureate and public art programs, and a million dollar conversion of the city council chambers into a performing arts space. Randy lives with his wife and two children in Takoma Park, Maryland.


Steven A. Wolff CMC
Principal, AMS Planning & Research Corporation
For over 25 years, Steven has provided counsel to leading arts, culture and entertainment enterprises on strategic initiatives, the planning and development of capital facilities and arts market and consumer research.

Steven has participated in the development of more than $4 billion of new and renovated capital facilities for the arts. AMS has played an instrumental role in the planning and operation of many of the most significant arts center projects in North America. Among the most recent, the Smith Center for the Performing Arts (Las Vegas), AT&T (Dallas) Center for Performing Arts, the Dr. Phillips (Orlando) Performing Arts Center and new homes for Signature Theatre and Theatre for a New Audience in New York City and Writers' Theatre in Chicago, among many others. Steven has guided projects through all stages, from needs assessment through project definition to site selection, financing and project implementation and operation.

In the area of strategic planning and organizational development, Steven provides research and management counsel to explore innovative new business models, including change initiatives, governance, management audits, long-range strategic planning and program design and evaluation for diverse organizations: the historic Apollo Theater, the Music Center of Los Angeles County, the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami and universities from Dartmouth College to Stanford University, as well as national foundations, leading producers, presenters and national service organizations.

Steven is on the faculty at the Yale School of Drama, where he received a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater administration and teaches Decision Support. He is a frequent keynote speaker at national conferences, including the League of American Orchestras, Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Association of Asia Pacific Performing Arts Centers and League of Historic American Theatres, among others, and a guest lecturer at major universities.

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