What’s Next: Connecting artists and creatives to opportunity and access
Over a year and half ago, the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) reached out early on during the COVID-19 shutdown to our community and stakeholders to ask what their needs were during this extremely challenging time. Administered in 2020, the What’s Next survey sought to understand the types of support that the arts community most needed to survive and thrive during the pandemic and what it would need to recover. A total of 392 people responded to our survey, 63% of respondents identifying as artists. (Read the What’s Next Survey Summary for a visual breakdown summary of respondents and findings. Note: the report was published in May of 2021 and contains opinions, language, and information that has since been addressed by RACC. Clarification is indicated by brackets.)
You can read full results and report here.
Key Findings and Highlights
The following are key highlights and some findings, along with a summary of the initiatives RACC implemented to address these answers and continue to inform our future plans. Full results from the 2020 What’s Next survey can be found here
The What’s Next survey centered around themes of support, service, engagement, and connection during the early period of the shutdown, a time when the creative sector was hit hard by the impact of the global pandemic and successive shutdowns. RACC was interested in understanding how we could support and build resilience for the challenges, changes, and opportunities that would, and still do, lay ahead of us. With a commitment to equity and access, we intentionally sought to gather information on how best to support artists of color and others marginalized by traditional and mainstream support systems.
The survey results revealed that the most critical needs across all respondents were as follows (language pulled from the original survey and answers given by respondents, listed here in order of importance determined by the frequency of each response):
- Funding
There remains an overwhelming need for arts funding in the region as organizations and individual artists face extreme challenges resulting from the Covid pandemic and struggle to remain financially viable.
- Professional Development
Training, professional development, collaboration, and mentorship opportunities remain essential, especially with the need to reinvent and reimagine the ways in which art is presented during and while recovering from a pandemic with limited in-person gatherings.
- Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion [and Advocacy]
More than ever before support is needed for inclusion of local artists from underrepresented groups and those who work in unconventional art genres. Outreach efforts are essential to attract and retain more diverse audiences.
- Space [both physical and time/ability to work]
A shortage of spaces, both physical and mental, was highlighted by respondents as a challenge to surviving and thriving in the past and still current environment. Physical spaces have been lost due to rising rents and limitations on in-person capacity. Reductions in mental space for creativity and networking opportunities have been difficult.
- Connection
Community-building is essential in the arts and respondents found it lacking here in Portland. It was indicated that collaboration is needed now more than ever. New ways to engage communities need consideration and are required.
- Marketing Support
Artists and arts organizations need assistance with advertising, marketing, and promotion in order to help recover from the ongoing pandemic losses. Reaching and engaging an audience is complicated with the ebb and flow of restrictions more than ever.
Responses from a combination of participants indicated an overwhelming need for funding to ensure viability as well as a sustainable future. Artists needed income and arts organizations needed patrons to survive the pandemic restrictions.
“Without audiences or with limited ones, operational funds are the highest priority, to avoid cultural organizations totally going under and disappearing.”
Apart from asking respondents about the most helpful financial support needs, the What’s Next survey also asked respondents to identify their top future professional development priorities to help RACC focus its resources to best meet the needs of the arts community.
Artists Identified:
Survey participants were given a list of possible professional development, technical support, or other related services and asked to identify which ones would be most helpful in the next 6-18 months.
- Social Media and marketing support (35%)
- One-on-one coaching with RACC staff or other professional (28%)
- Skill development workshops (25%)
- Review and feedback of draft proposals (22%)
- Post-decision feedback (22%)
Arts Organizations Identified:
Survey participants were given a list of possible professional development, technical support, or other related services and asked to identify which ones would be most helpful in the next 6-18 months.
- Skill development (34%)
- Coordinated political advocacy (29%) [RACC as guide for calls to action and coordination]
- One-on-one or group coaching for staff, board and/or professionals (27%)
- Group info sessions for opportunities (grants, public art calls) (21%)
- Convening discussion around urgent topics (20%)
How RACC Continues to Respond
As a result of the What’s Next survey findings, RACC responded by bolstering programming and processes already in place along with stepping into new arenas. Some, of these included:
- Make | Learn | Build Grants: To increase financial assistance to a greater number of recipients, these flexible awards supported artists, creatives, organizations, and businesses during a time of rapid change and creative innovation. Funds were provided to 317 artists and 99 businesses in FY21, with the programming continuing through the pandemic.
- Capturing the Moment supported by PDXCARES funding: In response to current social concerns, this initiative called for submissions from Portland artists of color that captured a creative response to the global pandemic, Black Lives Matter movement, racial justice protests, climate crisis, and/or the political environment. Work was purchased from 34 Black, Indigenous, and other artists of color.
- Capacity expansion for grant funding: By partnering with multiple governmental entities, RACC was able to support Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) funds impact in the community. Additional grants supported projects, Oregon Film, venues, and emergency operational support.
Looking Forward
The Regional Arts & Culture Council continues to be focused on making the greatest impact and aligning its investments with its commitment to community, racial equity, and access. RACC continues enhancing support for the creative community in the tri-county region through investment, centering and lifting up artists’ voices, and promoting connection and collaboration.
We will continue to reach out to engage our community by asking for their thoughts and insights to ensure we are effectively meeting their needs. We look forward to your consideration in participating in our next survey in Winter 2022.