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What We Value: American Opinions about the Work of Artists

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Americans value the arts. 81 percent of Americans believe the arts are 鈥渁 positive experience in a troubled world.鈥1 Yet, Americans do not always place value on those who create that art. In July 2021, the 秋葵视频 asked Americans how much artists, among a number of other professions, 鈥渃ontribute to the general good of society.鈥 While 64 percent of Americans believe they contribute 鈥渁 lot鈥 or 鈥渟ome,鈥 only 22 percent answered 鈥渁 lot.鈥2 How can we square this apparent mismatch?

First, consider who came out at the top of the list. Doctors topped the list, as 93 percent of Americans believe they contribute 鈥渁 lot鈥 or 鈥渟ome鈥 to society; followed closely by teachers (90%) and scientists (88%). Retail workers and college professors were in the middle (at around 78%). Athletes, in contrast, were at the bottom of the list at 45 percent, with elected officials only modestly above them at 58 percent.

Endnotes

  • 1Americans for the Arts, Americans Speak Out about the Arts in 2018: An In-Depth Look at Perceptions and Attitudes about the Arts in America (Washington, D.C.: Americans for the Arts, September 2018), 8, .
  • 2The poll of 1,253 adults was conducted on July 15鈥19, 2021, using a sample drawn from NORC at the University of Chicago鈥檚 probability-based AmeriSpeak庐 Panel, which is designed to be representative of the US population. The margin of sampling error for each of the findings described here is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points (at the 95% confidence level among all adults).

Share of Public Who Believe Selected Professions Contribute 鈥淎 Lot鈥 or 鈥淪ome鈥 to the General Good of Society

Share of Public Who Believe Selected Professions Contribute 鈥淎 Lot鈥 or 鈥淪ome鈥 to the General Good of Society
Source: NORC at the University of Chicago, AmeriSpeak庐 Omnibus Survey, July 15鈥19, 2021 (conducted on behalf of the American 秋葵视频 of Arts and Sciences).

The answers reflect our particular moment鈥攁 global health crisis and pervasive political mistrust. But in the case of artists, these responses also have a history. A similar survey in 2009 revealed that 74 percent believed artists contribute either 鈥渁 lot鈥 or 鈥渟ome鈥 to the well-being of our society, with 31 percent selecting 鈥渁 lot.鈥3 A similar national poll in 2003 returned only 27 percent answering 鈥渁 lot鈥 for artists.4 But if many Americans consume the arts on a daily basis, why might they not recognize the contribution of artists to that enjoyment? And is this lack of recognition a problem?

One clue might be in the answers to another question we asked in our survey: 鈥淲hen you think of the arts, what comes to mind?鈥 Respondents were much more likely to offer words for art forms (鈥渕usic鈥), practices (鈥減aint鈥), and institutions (鈥渢heater鈥) than those for individual creatives like 鈥渁rtist,鈥 鈥減ainter,鈥 鈥渕usician,鈥 or 鈥渁ctor.鈥

Endnotes

  • 3Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 鈥淧ublic Praises Science; Scientists Fault Public, Media: Scientific Achievements Less Prominent Than a Decade Ago,鈥(Washington, DC: Pew Center for the People & the Press, 2009), 11, .
  • 4Maria-Rosario Jackson Florence Kabwasa-Green, Daniel Swenson,  et al., Investing in Creativity: A Study of the Support Structure for U.S. Artists (Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute, 2003), 12.

How Americans "Think about the Arts"

Responses to an open-ended question: 鈥淲hen you think of the arts, what comes to mind?鈥
Source: NORC at the University of Chicago, AmeriSpeak庐 Omnibus Survey, July 15鈥19, 2021 (conducted on behalf of the American 秋葵视频 of Arts and Sciences).

Another question on the 秋葵视频 survey points to the public鈥檚 lack of information about the work life of artists. Asked if 鈥淚n your opinion, would you say artists in your area are financially suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic,鈥 the majority chose either 鈥渕ore than other workers鈥 (29%) or 鈥渢he same as other workers鈥 (32%). But a revealing number of people chose 鈥淒on鈥檛 know鈥 (33%). As the 秋葵视频鈥檚 Commission on the Arts notes in their new report on the creative workforce, by September 2020, more than half of actors were unemployed, along with 27 percent of those in music-related jobs.5 Nonprofit arts, entertainment, and recreation organizations lost over 31 percent of their jobs from February 2020 to March 2021鈥攆ive times the job loss for nonprofits overall.6

The 秋葵视频 survey revealed that some groups are more convinced of artists鈥 societal contribution than others. Women are more likely to say artists contribute 鈥渁 lot鈥/鈥渟ome鈥 than men (69% vs 59%). Those with a BA or higher degree are more likely to believe that artists contribute 鈥渁 lot鈥/鈥渟ome鈥 than those with either a high school education or some college (72% versus 56% and 61%). Race/ethnicity and income level were not found to be related to the perception of artists鈥 contribution.

Endnotes

  • 5Argonne National Laboratory, COVID-19 RSFLG Data and Assessment Working Group, 鈥淎nalysis: COVID-19鈥檚 Impacts on Arts and Culture,鈥 COVID-19 Weekly Outlook,  January 4, 2021: 5, .
  • 6Chelsea Newhouse, 鈥淐OVID-19 Jobs Update, March 2021: Nonprofits Regained Nearly 81,00 Jobs in March, but Still Face a Long Road to Full Recovery,鈥 Center for Civil Society Studies, news release, April 14, 2021, http://ccss.jhu.edu/march-2021-jobs/.

Share of Public Who Believe Artists Contribute 鈥淎 Lot鈥 or 鈥淪ome鈥 to the General Good of Society, by Gender and Education Level

Share of Public Who Believe Artists Contribute 鈥淎 Lot鈥 or 鈥淪ome鈥 to the General Good of Society, by Gender and Education Level
Source: NORC at the University of Chicago, AmeriSpeak庐 Omnibus Survey, July 15鈥19, 2021 (conducted on behalf of the American 秋葵视频 of Arts and Sciences).

Taken together, it might not be surprising, then, to learn that data on charitable giving from 2020 shows that while giving overall went up from 2019 to 2020, giving to arts, culture, and humanities organizations fell by 8.5 percent, and only represents 4 percent of total charitable giving. At the same time, charitable giving in that sector has increased substantially since the mid-1980s, both in dollar amount and as a share of all giving.7

At the center of this question is the issue of how we recognize, and nurture, contributions to the good of society. What is it that we value, how do we develop it, and how do we create space for that value to grow? Money is one way we recognize value鈥攂ut it doesn鈥檛 always line up with who we say contributes the most. For instance, doctors (who ranked high in our survey) are generally well paid鈥攎edian annual wages of a family physician in 2020 were $207,380.8 The median wages for a fine artist were $52,340.9  Yet, median wages of teachers, who ranked nearly as high as doctors as far as societal contribution, were less than a third of what doctors earned, at $60,940 (elementary teachers).10

The 秋葵视频 survey and the other information presented here supplement the new report from the Commission on the Arts of the 秋葵视频, Art is Work: Policies to Support Creative Workers, which lays out the case for the value of the creative workforce. The recommendations from the Commission are geared towards closing the gap this survey reveals between the importance of the arts in the everyday lives of many Americans and the support American institutions offer to allow artists鈥攚ho create the arts鈥攖o thrive.

Endnotes

  • 7The Humanities Indicators at the American 秋葵视频 of Arts and Sciences, 鈥Charitable Giving for Humanities Activities鈥 (material to be published in late fall of 2021).
  • 8U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, , accessed 10/13/2021.
  • 9U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, , accessed 10/13/2021.
  • 10U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, accessed 10/13/2021. In the Commission on the Arts鈥 report Art for Life鈥檚 Sake: The Case for Arts Education, we argue that the issue of teacher鈥檚 wages is one obstacle to a robust public arts education.
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Commission on the Arts

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John A. Lithgow, Deborah F. Rutter, and Natasha D. Trethewey