A Survey of the Arts in Everyday Life 2002

Produced By: Chicago Center for Arts Policy, May 2002, Chicago, IL: Columbia College Chicago

Funding Agencies/Sponsors:

• The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
• The Rockefeller Foundation
• The National Endowment for the Arts
• The Illinois Arts Council
• The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation
• The Urban Institute/Arts and Culture Indicators in Community Building Project
• Columbia College, Chicago

Author:

• Wali, Alaka, Ph.D.  (Center for Cultural Understanding and Change, Field Museum)
• Severson, Rebecca, M.A.
• Longoni, Mario, M.A.

Contributors:

• Karpiak, Kevin   --  statistician
• Marcheschi, Elena, JD   --  Project Director
• The University of Illinois Survey Lab   --  survey design

Abstract (CPANDA): This study examined the involvement of Chicago-area individuals in "informal" arts activities, such as acting in community theater, singing in a church choir, writing poetry at the local library, or painting portraits in a home studio. Participants in informal arts activities in twelve different settings were asked about their art work, the characteristics of art groups to which they belong, their interactions with other artists, their working situation as artists, their opinions concerning arts opportunities in their neighborhoods, and their levels of participation in various arts, cultural, and civic activities. Partial funding for this study was provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Urban Institute/Arts and Culture Indicators in Community Building Project (ACIP), and Columbia College, Chicago.

Abstract (Author):A Survey of the Arts in Everyday Life (The Survey) was a significant component in the larger study "Informal Arts: Finding Cohesion, Capacity and Other Cultural Benefits in Unexpected Places," which was a two and a half year study of the informal arts in Chicago undertaken by Columbia College Chicago's Center for Arts Policy. The research was undertaken by Principal Investigator Alaka Wali, Ph.D., ethnographers Rebecca Severson M.A. and Mario Longoni M.A., The Survey statistician Kevin Karpiak, and dedicated interns and professional volunteers. Elena Marcheschi JD took on the overall responsibilities of Project Director. The full research report is available online at http://artspolicy.colum.edu/pub.html, and we use The Survey frequently to reinforce and expand on ethnographic findings drawn from a series of case studies and at large fieldwork. The University of Illinois Survey Lab assisted in the survey design. As part of our strategy for the triangulation of data sources, we designed the instrument to test our findings and to gather additional data on areas such as participants' depth of involvement in civic life. The questionnaire contained 67 questions divided into broad topical areas such as organizational dynamics, networks, resources and barriers, and visibility of arts, in addition to demographics. The sampling goal was to get a census of all the participants at each case study location at a given moment in time. At locations where there was a high turnover in participants, survey-takers were sometimes people who had not participated in the earlier ethnographic fieldwork. At locations where there was a low turnover, many of the people who participated in the prior fieldwork also completed a survey. Most of the questionnaires were mailed to participants, although two other delivery methods were also used. At some sites the questionnaires were hand-delivered along with mailers so that they could be easily returned via the post office. In a couple of cases, the instrument was sent, completed, and returned electronically. The Survey was completed and returned by 165 of the 310 recipients (a 53 percent response rate). Kevin Karpiak compiled response data and prepared summary documentation comprising the bulk of materials included here.

Methodology (CPANDA) : A total of 165 Chicagoans completed a self-administered survey that was distributed to a selected population of informal arts participants in August 2001. Most of the questionnaires were mailed to respondents, although in some cases the questionnaires were either hand-delivered or sent to respondents electronically. In almost all cases, the surveys were returned to the researchers by mail. The sampling frame was all participants at a given moment in time in each of twelve different informal arts settings, as follows -- Chicago theater (church basement), suburban theater (public park recreation center), Asian music ensemble (church basement), quilting guild (public park field house), church choir (church), drum circle (public park), painting class (public park), writing group (public library branch), artists who share the same employer (large cultural institution), individual visual artists (homes/studios), masters and apprentices of ethnic and folk arts (homes/studios), hip-hop artists (homes). These 12 case studies were selected to reflect a variety of artistic disciplines and a range of locations throughout the Chicago metropolitan region. The survey was administered near the end of the field research stage of a larger study, which employed multiple research methodologies including participant-observation, open-ended and semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. The total response rate was 53%. The University of Illinois Survey Lab assisted in the design of the survey.